Andrological diseases have become an important public health problem threatening men's health worldwide， which significantly affects the quality of life of patients and brings a heavy disease burden. Western medicine often faces the dilemma of obvious side effects and limited efficacy. Traditional Chinese medicine has unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of andrological diseases and has accumulated rich clinical experience. Epimedii Folium， as a traditional Chinese medicine for strengthening kidney and Yang， exerts a key therapeutic effect on andrology diseases through multi-component synergy， multi-target regulation， and multi-pathway intervention. Recent studies have found that the main active components of Epimedii Folium， such as icariin， icariside， and icaritin， are the key material basis for the treatment of andrological diseases. The active components of Epimedii Folium can play a role in common andrological diseases such as erectile dysfunction， male infertility， and prostate cancer by regulating the activity of the nitric oxide/cyclic guanosine monophosphate （NO/cGMP） pathway， participating in oxidative stress response， regulating the secretion of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis hormones， improving spermatogenic dysfunction， and inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells. However， the systematic action network and molecular mechanisms of the active components of Epimedii Folium have not been fully elucidated， thereby limiting its potential for clinical translation and application. In the future， it is necessary to combine cutting-edge technologies such as metabolomics， single-cell sequencing， and targeted nanoscale drug delivery systems， strengthening the research on the compatibility rules of active components and organ-specific delivery， providing a scientific basis for the development of innovative andrology traditional Chinese medicine formulas with international competitiveness， and promoting the innovation and breakthrough of andrology disease treatment modes.

Objective To investigate the effect of Yes-associated protein(YAP)on intervertebral disc nucleus pulposus cells and its possible mechanism.Methods The relatively normal and degenerative intervertebral disc tissues of patients who underwent lumbar surgery in our hospital from March 2021 to July 2022 were harvested,and then the expression of YAP in the tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry assay and Western blotting.Human primary nucleus pulposus cells were isolated and primarily cultured,and treated with IL-1β to induce degeneration.Then the cells was divided into control group,IL-1β group,IL-1β+LV-YAP group,IL-1β+YAP-siRNA group,and IL-1β+LV-YAP+3-MA group.Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of the proteins related to extracellular matrix catabolism and autophagy in each group.Finally,a rat model of disc degeneration was established,and the expression of YAP and LC3 and disc degeneration were observed with MRI,Alcian blue staining and immunohistochemistry.Results The expression level of YAP was significantly lower in the degraded disc tissues than the relatively normal disc tissues(P＜0.05).The IL-1β+LV-YAP group had significantly increased protein levels of Collagen Ⅱ,Aggrecan,and LC3-11(P＜0.05),and decreased levels of MMP-3 and MMP-13(P＜0.05)when compared with the cells after IL-1β treatment,whereas the IL-1β+YAP-siRNA group showed the exact opposite effects.What's more,pretreatment with autophagy inhibitor 3-MA resulted in decreased number of GFP-LC3 positive particles and protein levels of Collagen Ⅱ,Aggrecan and LC3-Ⅱ(P＜0.05),and increased protein expression of MMP-3 and MMP-13(P＜0.05)in comparison with the conditions in the IL-1β+LV-YAP group.Furthermore,YAP overexpression promoted LC3 expression and inhibited disc degeneration in rat model of disc degeneration.Conclusion YAP overexpression can inhibit extracellular matrix degradation by promoting autophagy in human nucleus pulposus cells and thus delaying disc degeneration.