Untargeted Metabolomics Reveals Mechanism of Modified Sinisan in Ameliorating Anxiety-like Behaviors Induced by Chronic Restraint Stress in Mice
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20251004
- VernacularTitle:基于非靶向代谢组学探讨四逆散加减方改善慢性束缚应激小鼠焦虑样行为的作用机制
- Author:
Jie ZHAO
1
;
Zhengyu FANG
1
;
He XIAO
1
;
Na GUO
1
;
Hongwei WU
2
;
Hongjun YANG
1
Author Information
1. Experimental Research Center， China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences， Beijing 100700， China
2. Institute of Chinese Materia Medica， China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences， Beijing 100700， China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
modified Sinisan;
chronic restraint stress;
anxiety;
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis;
metabolomics
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2025;31(21):70-79
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo elucidate the potential mechanism of modified Sinisan （MSNS） in alleviating anxiety-like behaviors induced by chronic restraint stress （CRS） in mice at the metabolic level based on serum untargeted metabolomics and identify key metabolites and metabolic pathways regulated by MSNS. MethodsSeventy-two male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned into six groups： control， model， high-dose （2.4 g·kg-1） MSNS， medium-dose （1.2 g·kg-1） MSNS， low-dose （0.6 g·kg-1） MSNS， and positive control （fluoxetine， 2.6 mg·kg-1）. Except the control group， the other groups were subjected to CRS for the modeling of anxiety. Mice were administrated with corresponding agents by gavage 2 h before daily restraint for 14 days. Anxiety-like behaviors were evaluated by the open field test （OFT）， elevated plus maze （EPM） test， and light/dark box （LDB） test. Serum levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone （CRH）， adrenocorticotrophic hormone （ACTH）， and corticosterone （CORT） were measured via ELISA to assess stress levels. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS） was employed to detect 9 metabolites in the brain tissue and serum metabolites. Orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA） was adopted to identify differential metabolites （VIP>1.0， P<0.05）. MetaboAnalyst 5.0 was used for metabolic pathway enrichment analysis of the differential metabolites. ResultsCompared with the control group， the model group showed reductions in the central activity time and central distance in the OFT （P<0.05）， the proportions of open-arm residence time and open-arm residence times in the EPM test （P<0.01）， and the proportions of open box activity time and open box activity distance in the LDB test （P<0.05）， which were increased in the medium- and high-dose MSNS groups compared with the model group （P<0.05）. Compared with the control group， the model group showed elevated levels of CRH， ACTH， and CORT in the serum （P<0.01）， and the elevations were diminished in the medium- and high-dose MSNS groups （P<0.05）. UPLC-MS results indicated that compared with the control group， the model group presented declined DA， GABA， 5-HIAA， 5-HT， and 5-HT/Trp levels （P<0.05， P<0.01） and raised Glu， NE， Kyn， and Kyn/Trp levels （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， high-dose MSNS increased the GABA， 5-HIAA， and 5-HT/Trp levels （P<0.05） and lowered the Glu and Kyn/Trp levels （P<0.05）. Untargeted metabolomics identified that 16 CRS-induced metabolic disturbances were reversed by MSNS. KEGG pathway analysis indicated that MSNS primarily modulated eight core pathways including alanine/aspartate/glutamate metabolism， butyrate metabolism， arginine-proline metabolism， TCA cycle， unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis， and tryptophan metabolism. The mechanisms involved multidimensional biological processes， including neurotransmitter homeostasis regulation， TCA cycle energy metabolism optimization， and inflammatory response suppression. ConclusionMSNS alleviates CRS-induced anxiety-like behaviors in mice by mitigating hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity， improving hippocampal neurotransmitter and tryptophan metabolic pathways， and regulating alanine/aspartate/glutamate metabolism， butyrate metabolism， arginine-proline metabolism， and TCA cycle.
