Integrative pharmacology reveals the mechanisms of Erzhi Pill, a traditional Chinese formulation, against diabetic cardiomyopathy

Autor: Mingming, Peng, Tianyi, Xia, Yanmei, Zhong, Mantong, Zhao, Yimin, Yue, Lanyuan, Liang, Renxing, Zhong, Han, Zhang, Chuanqiu, Li, Xia, Cao, Mengru, Yang, Yi, Wang, Zunpeng, Shu
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 296:115474
ISSN: 0378-8741
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2022.115474
Popis: Erzhi Pill (EZP) is a traditional Chinese prescription that has marked effects in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus and diabetic nephropathy. However, its underlying pharmacological mechanisms in the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), remain to be elucidated.This study aimed to apply an integrative pharmacological strategy to systematically evaluate the pharmacological effects and molecular mechanisms of EZP, and provide a solid theoretical basis for the clinical application of EZP in the treatment of DCM.In this study, the potential targets and key pathways of EZP were predicted and validated using network pharmacology and molecular docking, respectively. Changes in cardiac metabolites and major metabolic pathways in rat heart samples were examined usingWe found that EZP decreased fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels, increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels in the serum, and alleviated the morphological abnormalities of the heart tissue in diabetic rats. Furthermore, EZP effectively restored superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 activity levels, as well as the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2, and Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) in the heart tissue. Network pharmacology prediction results indicated that the mechanism of EZP in treating DCM was closely related to apoptosis, oxidative stress, and the HIF-1, PI3K-Akt, and FoxO signaling pathways. In addition,The results confirmed that the overall therapeutic effect of EZP in the DCM rat model is exerted via inhibition of oxidative stress and apoptosis, alongside the regulation of energy metabolism and amino acid metabolism, as well as the AMPK and PI3K/Akt/FoxO3a signaling pathways. This study provides an experimental basis for the use of EZP in DCM treatment.
Databáze: OpenAIRE