OBJECTIVE To construct an insulin-resistant(IR)small intestinal organoid model of mice and study the protective effect of flavanomarein(FM)on the intestinal mucosal barrier in the model.METHODS ①Small intestinal organoid models of C57BL/6J and db/db of mice were constructed.The expressions of Ki-67,E-cadherin(E-cad),lysozyme(Lyz)and mucin-2(Muc-2)in small intestinal organ-oids were detected by 3D immunofluorescence.RT-qPCR was used to detect the expressions of fibro-nectin(Fn),glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1)and peotide YY(PYY)mRNA while Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of Fn,GLP-1 and PYY protein.The Lyz secretion level was detected by ELISA.② Small intestinal organoids were divided into five groups:C57BL/6J mice 'small intestinal organ-oids as the normal control group,db/db mice' intestinal organoids as the IR model group,db/db mice small intestinal organoids with flavanomarein 25,50 and 100 μmol·L-1 intervention for 48 h as IR model+ FM groups.RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of Lyz mRNA while Western blotting was used to detect the expression of Lyz protein.RESULTS ① On the 6th day of small intestinal organoid culture,a ring structure with a clear luminal structure was formed and an IR mouse small intestinal organoid model was established.3D Immunofluorescence detection showed that the established small intestinal organoids all expressed Ki-67,E-cad,Lyz and MUC-2.Compared with the normal control group,the expres-sion of Fn mRNA in the IR model group was significantly increased(P<0.05)while the expressions of GLP-1 and PYY mRNA were significantly decreased(P<0.05).Compared with the normal control group,the expression of Fn protein in the IR model group was significantly decreased(P<0.05)while the expressions of GLP-1 and PYY protein were significantly increased(P<0.05).ELISA results showed that compared with the normal control group,the secretion levels of Lyz in the IR model group were signifi-cantly decreased(P<0.01).② RT-qPCR results showed that compared with the normal control group,the expression of Lyz mRNA in the IR model group was significantly decreased(P<0.01).Compared with the IR model group,the expression of Lyz mRNA in the IR model+FM 50 and 100 μmol·L-1 groups was significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01).Western blotting results showed that compared with the normal control group,the expression of Lyz protein in the IR model group was significantly decreased(P<0.01).Compared with the IR model group,the expression of Lyz protein in the IR model+FM 50 and 100 μmol·L-1 groups was significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01).CONCLUSION The constructed IR mouse small intestinal organoid model provides a more complete in vitro research model for exploring the pathophysiological mechanism by which drug interventions help repair the intestinal mucosal barrier.FM may maintain the intestinal mucosal barrier by reversing the decrease in Lyz expression levels in IR mice,thereby improving IR.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of flavanomarein on the transcriptome of small intestinal organoids in insulin-resistant mice. MethodFirstly， small intestinal organoids of C57BL/6J and db/db mice were established. Ki-67 and E-cadherin expression was determined by immunofluorescence. Small intestinal organoids were divided into the following three groups： C57BL/6J mouse small intestinal organoids as the normal control group， db/db mouse small intestinal organoids as the model group （IR group）， and db/db mouse small intestinal organoids treated with flavanomarein as the administration group （FM group）. Western blot was used to detect the expression of glucagon-like peptide-1（GLP-1） protein on the small intestinal organoids of the three groups. Finally， transcriptome sequencing was performed on samples from the three groups. ResultOn the 6^th day of small intestine organoids culture， a cyclic structure was formed around the lumen， and a small intestine organoids culture model was preliminarily established. Immunofluorescence detection showed that ki-67 and E-cadherin were expressed in small intestinal organoids. Western blot results showed that the expression of GLP-1 protein was increased by flavanomarein. In the results of differential expressed gene （DEG） screening， there were 1 862 DEGs in the IR group as compared with the normal control group， and 2 282 DEGs in the FM group as compared with the IR group. Through protein-protein interaction（PPI） network analysis of the DEGs of the two groups， 10 Hub genes， including Nr1i3， Cyp2c44， Ugt2b1， Gsta1， Gstm2， Ptgs1， Gstm4， Cyp2c38， Cyp4a32， and Gpx3， were obtained. These genes were highly expressed in the normal control group， and their expression was reduced in the IR group. After the intervention of flavanomarein， the expression of the above genes was reversed. ConclusionFlavanomarein may play its role in improving insulin resistance by reversing the expression levels of 10 Hub genes， including Nr1i3， Cyp2c44， Ugt2b1， Gsta1， Gstm2， Ptgs1， Gstm4， Cyp2c38， Cyp4a32， and Gpx3.

ObjectiveTo improve the therapeutic effect of Buyang Huanwutang（BYHW） on diabetic kidney disease （DKD） and explore new methods for developing new Chinese medicine decoctions，we utilized 5-hydroxymethylcytosine （5hmC）-Seal sequencing technology and network pharmacology to modify BYHW. MethodsWe selected 14 diabetes mellitus （DM） patients and 15 DKD patients hospitalized in the Department of Endocrinology of Peking University Third Hospital in 2021. Circulating free DNA （cfDNA） in the patients’ plasma was sequenced. After data processing and screening， we performed temporal clustering analysis to select a DKD 5hmC gene set， which was then cross-validated with a DKD database gene set to obtain the DKD gene set. We retrieved target genes of the seven herbal components of BYHW from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP） and the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine （ETCM）， and performed cross-analysis with the DKD gene set to identify common genes shared by the disease and the Chinese medicines. A protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed for the common genes to screen out the key genes. Chinese medicines targeting these key genes were searched against ETCM to identify removable Chinese medicines. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） enrichment analysis was performed on non-common DKD genes， and key genes in DKD-related pathways were selected based on machine learning. The GSE30529 dataset was used to verify the expression trends of 5hmC-modified genes and the feasibility of target genes as drug targets. TCMBank was used to search for target genes and obtain compounds targeting these genes and the corresponding Chinese medicines to construct a "key target-compound-Chinese medicine" network. Molecular docking was employed to verify the binding affinity of compounds with key targets. TCMSP and ETCM were used to search and count the candidate Chinese medicines targeting DKD-related genes， and a new decoction was formed by adding the selected Chinese medicines. A mouse model of DKD was established to examine the efficacy of the new decoction based on the mouse body mass， random blood glucose， urinary microalbumin （mALB）， serum creatinine （Scr）， and blood urea nitrogen （BUN） and by hematoxylin-eosin staining， periodic acid-Schiff staining， Masson staining， immunofluorescence assay， and Real-time PCR. ResultsThe cross-analysis results showed that the DKD gene set included 507 genes， of which 30 were target genes of BYHW. The PPI analysis indicated that the top 15% target genes regarding the degree were interleukin-6 （IL-6）， Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）， lactotransferrin （LTF）， lipoprotein lipase （LPL）， and sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1 （SREBF1）. Persicae Semen and Pheretima in BYHW were unrelated to key genes and removed. Machine learning identified 10 potential target genes， among which TBC1 domain family member 5 （TBC1D5）， RAD51 paralog B （RAD51B）， and proteasome 20S subunit alpha 6 （PSMA6） had expression trends consistent with the GSE30529 dataset and could serve as drug targets. The "key target-compound-Chinese medicine" network and molecular docking results indicated that the compounds with good binding affinity to target proteins were arginine， glycine， myristicin， serine， and tyrosine， corresponding to 121 Chinese medicines. The top 10 Chinese medicines targeting DKD-related genes were Lycii Fructus， Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma， Dioscoreae Rhizoma， Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata， Isatidis Radix， Glehniae Radix， Ophiopogonis Radix， Allii Sativi Bulbus， Isatidis Folium， and Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma. Based on traditional Chinese medicine theory， the new decoction was obtained after removal of Persicae Semen and Pheretima and addition of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata and Dioscoreae Rhizoma. Animal experiment results indicated that the modified BYHW improved the kidney function and inhibited renal fibrosis in DKD mice， with better effects than the original decoction. ConclusionThe BYHW modified based on 5hmC-Seal sequencing demonstrates better performance in inhibiting fibrosis and ameliorating DKD than the original decoction. This elucidates the biomedical theory behind the epigenetic modification of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions， potentially offering new perspectives for the exploration of these prescriptions

ObjectiveTo improve the therapeutic effect of Buyang Huanwutang（BYHW） on diabetic kidney disease （DKD） and explore new methods for developing new Chinese medicine decoctions，we utilized 5-hydroxymethylcytosine （5hmC）-Seal sequencing technology and network pharmacology to modify BYHW. MethodsWe selected 14 diabetes mellitus （DM） patients and 15 DKD patients hospitalized in the Department of Endocrinology of Peking University Third Hospital in 2021. Circulating free DNA （cfDNA） in the patients’ plasma was sequenced. After data processing and screening， we performed temporal clustering analysis to select a DKD 5hmC gene set， which was then cross-validated with a DKD database gene set to obtain the DKD gene set. We retrieved target genes of the seven herbal components of BYHW from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP） and the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine （ETCM）， and performed cross-analysis with the DKD gene set to identify common genes shared by the disease and the Chinese medicines. A protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed for the common genes to screen out the key genes. Chinese medicines targeting these key genes were searched against ETCM to identify removable Chinese medicines. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） enrichment analysis was performed on non-common DKD genes， and key genes in DKD-related pathways were selected based on machine learning. The GSE30529 dataset was used to verify the expression trends of 5hmC-modified genes and the feasibility of target genes as drug targets. TCMBank was used to search for target genes and obtain compounds targeting these genes and the corresponding Chinese medicines to construct a "key target-compound-Chinese medicine" network. Molecular docking was employed to verify the binding affinity of compounds with key targets. TCMSP and ETCM were used to search and count the candidate Chinese medicines targeting DKD-related genes， and a new decoction was formed by adding the selected Chinese medicines. A mouse model of DKD was established to examine the efficacy of the new decoction based on the mouse body mass， random blood glucose， urinary microalbumin （mALB）， serum creatinine （Scr）， and blood urea nitrogen （BUN） and by hematoxylin-eosin staining， periodic acid-Schiff staining， Masson staining， immunofluorescence assay， and Real-time PCR. ResultsThe cross-analysis results showed that the DKD gene set included 507 genes， of which 30 were target genes of BYHW. The PPI analysis indicated that the top 15% target genes regarding the degree were interleukin-6 （IL-6）， Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）， lactotransferrin （LTF）， lipoprotein lipase （LPL）， and sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1 （SREBF1）. Persicae Semen and Pheretima in BYHW were unrelated to key genes and removed. Machine learning identified 10 potential target genes， among which TBC1 domain family member 5 （TBC1D5）， RAD51 paralog B （RAD51B）， and proteasome 20S subunit alpha 6 （PSMA6） had expression trends consistent with the GSE30529 dataset and could serve as drug targets. The "key target-compound-Chinese medicine" network and molecular docking results indicated that the compounds with good binding affinity to target proteins were arginine， glycine， myristicin， serine， and tyrosine， corresponding to 121 Chinese medicines. The top 10 Chinese medicines targeting DKD-related genes were Lycii Fructus， Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma， Dioscoreae Rhizoma， Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata， Isatidis Radix， Glehniae Radix， Ophiopogonis Radix， Allii Sativi Bulbus， Isatidis Folium， and Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma. Based on traditional Chinese medicine theory， the new decoction was obtained after removal of Persicae Semen and Pheretima and addition of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata and Dioscoreae Rhizoma. Animal experiment results indicated that the modified BYHW improved the kidney function and inhibited renal fibrosis in DKD mice， with better effects than the original decoction. ConclusionThe BYHW modified based on 5hmC-Seal sequencing demonstrates better performance in inhibiting fibrosis and ameliorating DKD than the original decoction. This elucidates the biomedical theory behind the epigenetic modification of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions， potentially offering new perspectives for the exploration of these prescriptions