Effect and mechanism of the Hypericum japonicum-Rehmannia glutinosa-Salvia plebeian compound in alleviating inflammation,promoting autophagy,and mitiga-ting liver injury
10.16303/j.cnki.1005-4545.2025.09.23
- VernacularTitle:田基黄复方通过减轻炎症促进自噬缓解肝损伤的作用及机制
- Author:
Kunzhao YANG
1
;
Yafen LU
;
Weijie SONG
;
Junjie WAN
;
Fugui ZHANG
;
Jingyi YANG
;
Liting CAO
;
Hongxu DU
Author Information
1. 西南大学动物医学院,重庆荣昌 402460
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Hypericum japonicum-Rehmannia glutinosa-Salvia plebeian;
network pharmacology;
autophagy;
liver injury
- From:
Chinese Journal of Veterinary Science
2025;45(9):2017-2029,2039
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Based on network pharmacology,through molecular docking and experimental validation,the study explored the mechanism of the Hypericum japonicum-Rehmannia glutinosa-Salvia ple-beian compound(HRS)in the treatment of liver injury.Mice were randomly divided into a control group(CON group),a model group(CCL4 group),a high-dose drug group(HRS-H group),and a low-dose group(HRS-L group).A mouse liver injury model was established using CCL4 induction,liver tissue pathological morphology was observed,and the relative expression levels of liver in-flammatory cytokine genes was measured.Active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine and targets related to Chinese medicine and diseases were obtained from databases such as Herb,TCM-SP,PubChem,Swiss Target Prediction,Gene Cards and DisGeNET.The intersection of targets was used to obtain potential drug targets.The potential targets were analyzed for protein-protein inter-action(PPI)using the string database and a network diagram of"drug-active component-intersec-tion target"was constructed using Cytoscape.DAVID database was used for GO and KEGG path-way analysis,and Auto Dock Tools software was used for molecular docking.Finally,the results of molecular docking by examining the expression of key target genes and downstream genes such as those related to the PI3K-AKT pathway and the autophagy pathway were experimentally valida-ted.Results:Animal experiment results showed that compared to the CON group,the CCL4 group of mice exhibited disrupted liver architecture,hepatocyte steatosis,vacuolization,and extensive in-flammatory cell infiltration.These characteristics were ameliorated by drug treatment groups with the HRS-H group demonstrating superior effects compared to the HRS-L group.RT-qPCR results from mouse livers showed significantly increased relative expression of TNF-α and INOS mRNA compared to the CON group in the CCL4 group(P＜0.01),and significantly increased IL-1β mR-NA relative expression(P＜0.05).Compared to the CCL4 group,the HRS-H group showed signifi-cantly decreased TNF-α,INOS,and IL-1β mRNA relative expressions(P＜0.01).155 potential tar-gets for HRS in alleviating liver damage were identified through network pharmacology,with top-ranked key target points including STAT3,SRC,PIK3R1,PIK3CA,AKT1,HSP90A11,EGFR,and ESR.Key active ingredients included Tetramethoxyluteolin,Hispidulin,Eupafolin,Kaempferol,and Eupaformonin.GO enrichment analysis yielded 940 entries,and KEGG enrichment analysis yielded 177 biological pathways.Molecular docking results showed a strong binding ability between the main components of HRS and key target points.RT-qPCR results showed increasing trends for EGFR,PI3KCA,HSP90A11,and NF-κB mRNA compared to the CON group in the CCL4 group,significantly increased AKT1 mRNA relative expression(P＜0.05),significant decreases in ULK1,ATG5,LC3B,and ATG7 mRNA relative expressions(P＜0.05),and extremely significant decreases in PTEN,ATG13,BECLIN-1,ATG16L1,ATG12,ATG4B,and ATG3 mRNA relative expressions(P＜0.01).Compared to the CCL4 group,the HRS-H group showed significantly de-creased PI3KCA,HSP90A11,and NF-κB mRNA relative expressions(P＜0.05),extremely signif-icantly decreased EGFR,AKT1,and mTOR mRNA relative expressions(P＜0.01),increased ULK1 relative expression trends,significantly increased PTEN,ATG16L1,ATG5,LC3B,and ATG7 mRNA relative expressions(P＜0.05),extremely significantly increased ATG13,BECLIN-1,ATG12,ATG4B,and ATG3 mRNA relative expressions(P＜0.01).Conclusion:The HRS ex-erts hepatoprotective effects through multi-component,multi-pathway approaches,with alleviating inflammation and promoting hepatocyte autophagy through PI3K-AKT pathway likely being im-portant mechanisms for its protective effects.
