Effect of Zishen Tongguan Formula on "Gut-prostate" Axis of Rats with Chronic Non-bacterial Prostatitis Based on 16S rDNA Sequencing
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20250366
- VernacularTitle:基于16S rDNA测序探讨滋肾通关方对慢性非细菌性前列腺炎大鼠“肠-前列腺”轴的影响
- Author:
Xiran LI
1
;
Mengjiao CHEN
1
;
Kaiping ZOU
1
;
Chenguang ZHAO
1
;
Xingbin DAI
1
;
Xiaoqing ZHANG
1
;
Shun LIU
1
Author Information
1. Jiangsu Engineering Research Centre for Innovative Chinese Medicine Preparations， Jiangsu Integration Innovation Centre for Specialty Chinese Medicine Preparations，Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine/Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine，Nanjing 210029，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
chronic non-bacterial prostatitis;
gut microbiota;
inflammatory factors;
Zishen Tongguan formula;
"gut-prostate" axis;
16S rDNA sequencing
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2025;31(7):63-71
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveBased on the theory of "gut-prostate" axis， this study explored the effects and mechanisms of Zishen Tongguan formula and Cinnamomi Cortex in the formula in treating rats with chronic non-bacterial prostatitis（CNP） by detecting the levels of inflammatory factors， and the composition and structure of intestinal flora in CNP rats. MethodsEight out of 42 SD rats were randomly selected as the normal group， and the remaining rats were injected with carrageenan to prepare the CNP model. After successful modeling， 32 rats were randomly divided into the model group， Ningmitai capsule group（0.50 g·kg-1）， Zishen Tongguan formula group（2.00 g·kg-1）， and the Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex-Anemarrhenae Rhizoma pair group（PCC-AR group， 2.00 g·kg-1）， with 8 rats in each group. The administered groups were given the corresponding medicinal solution by gavage， and the normal and model groups were intragastrically administered with an equal volume of normal saline， once a day for 14 consecutive days. The prostate tissues of rats were collected and subjected to hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining and Masson staining to observe the pathological changes of the tissues in each group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was used to detect the levels of related inflammatory factors in rat serum， and 16S rDNA sequencing was used to analyze the abundance and diversity changes of gut microbiota before and after administration， and species difference analysis was performed. ResultsAll the administered groups could alleviate the inflammatory symptoms of CNP rats， increase the expression levels of anti-inflammatory factors and decrease the expression levels of pro-inflammatory factors， with the most sIgnificant effect observed in the Zishen Tongguan formula group. Compared with the normal group， the expression levels of interleukin（IL）-8， hypersensitive C-reactive protein（hs-CRP）， immunoglobulin（Ig）M， secretory IgA （sIgA）， and inducible nitric oxide synthase（iNOS） were sIgnificantly increased in the model group（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the expression levels of the above inflammatory factors in all administered groups were significantly reduced（P<0.01）. When compared with the PCC-AR group， the Zishen Tongguan formula group showed a significant decrease in transforming growth factor（TGF）-β1 expression level（P<0.05） and a significant increase in IgM expression level（P<0.01）. The results of gut microbiota analysis showed that， compared with the PCC-AR group， at the order level， the Zishen Tongguan formula group significantly reduced the relative abundance of conditional pathogens such as Bacteroidales， Acidaminococcales， Rhodospirillales， Clostridiales， and Elusimicrobiales（P<0.01）. And at the genus level， the Zishen Tongguan formula group significantly decreased the relative abundance of pathogenic microbiota such as Lachnospira and Bacteroides（P<0.01） and significantly increased the relative abundances of beneficial microbiota such as Ruminococcus and Lactobacillus（P<0.01）. ConclusionZishen Tongguan formula can reduce the level of harmful intestinal bacteria， increase the level of beneficial intestinal bacteria， down-regulate the expression of serum inflammatory factors， and the small amount of Cinnamomi Cortex in the formula may play a key role in the treatment of CNP with this formula.
