1.Effect of polystyrene microplastics combined with high-fat treatment on vascular endothelial cells
Jing WANG ; Jiani DIAO ; Jing LONG ; Yuguang HE ; Lipin TAN ; Xuemei CHEN ; Fangfang LI ; Junlin HE ; Yingxiong WANG ; Rufei GAO ; Weike LI
Journal of Chongqing Medical University 2025;50(7):969-976
Objective:To investigate the effect of polystyrene microplastics(PS-MPs)combined with high-fat treatment on vascular endothelial cells.Methods:Human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs)were cultured in the DMEM medium containing 5%fe-tal bovine serum.HUVECs were treated with conventional culture,high-fat treatment,and PS-MPs combined with high-fat treatment.The experiment was conducted in the three groups of control group,high-fat treatment group and PS-MPs+high-fat treatment group.CCK-8 assay was used to measure cell viability,F-actin staining was used to observe cell morphological changes,and flow cytometry,scratch assay,and tube formation assay were used to measure the apoptosis,migration,and tube-forming ability of cells.Results:After HUVECs were exposed to the high-fat environment,there was a significant reduction in cell viability,shrinkage of cells,a signifi-cant increase in cell apoptosis,and significant reductions in cell migration and tube-forming ability.Compared with the high-fat treat-ment group,there were no significant changes in cell viability,cell morphology,cell apoptosis,and cell migration ability after PS-MPs combined with high-fat treatment,but the tube-forming ability of cells was further impaired.Conclusion:High-fat treatment will affect cell viability,change cell morphology,and damage vascular endothelial cell function,and PS-MPs combined with high-fat treat-ment can aggravate the damage of vascular endothelial cell function.
2.Effect of Loki Zupa on Airway Remodeling in Asthma Based on UPLC-MS Combined with Network Pharmacology and Experimental Verification
Jiani LIU ; Li LI ; Xue HAN ; Yue CHEN ; Wei LI ; Juanjuan DIAO
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae 2022;28(24):87-97
ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Loki Zupa on airway remodeling in asthma based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS)combined with network pharmacology and experimental verification. MethodThe chemical constituents in Loki Zupa were identified by UPLC-MS. The potential active constituents of Loki Zupa were screened out based on literature retrieval, oral availability (OB) and drug-likeness (DL) in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP) and Lipinski's rule of five in SwissADEM. The constituent targets of Loki Zupa were obtained through the SwissTargetPrediction. The relevant targets of airway remodeling in asthma were screened out from Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM), GeneCards, DrugBank, and DisGeNET. The STRING was used to conduct protein-protein interaction (PPI) among the main targets. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were carried out through DAVID. Finally, an asthmatic airway remodeling model was induced by ovalbumin (OVA) in mice, followed by hematoxylin and eosin(HE), periodic acid Schiff(PAS), and Masson staining for the observation of the pathological conditions of lung tissues. The inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) of mice were detected. The protein expression levels in mouse lung tissues were detected by Western blot and key signaling pathways were further determined. ResultEighty-two constituents were detected in the negative ion mode and 74 in the positive ion mode by UPLC-MS. Thirty-six candidate constituents and 578 predicted targets of Loki Zupa were screened out through network pharmacology, and 173 common targets with airway remodeling in asthma were obtained, including key compounds such as sebacic acid, pectolinarigenin, naringenin, apigenin, and potential targets such as protein kinase B1(Akt)1 and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α(HIF-1α). As predicted by KEGG enrichment analysis, Loki Zupa mainly exerted the effect against airway remodeling in asthma through phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt, HIF-1α, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and other signaling pathways. Animal experiments showed that the compound formula of Loki Zupa could reduce the proliferation of airway goblet cells in asthmatic mice, improve the deposition of collagen under the airway epithelium, and decrease the up-regulated relative expression levels of phosphorylate(p)-Akt/Akt and HIF-1α by OVA sensitization in mice (P<0.05, P<0.01), which was consistent with the results of network pharmacology. ConclusionUPLC-MS combined with network pharmacology was used to preliminarily clarify the chemical composition of Loki Zupa and its underlying mechanism in intervention in airway remodeling in asthma. Specifically, Loki Zupa presumably synergistically intervened in airway remodeling in asthma through key targets represented by Akt1 and HIF-1α, and multiple pathways represented by the PI3K/Akt and HIF-lα pathways, which is expected to provide ideas for further research on Loki Zupa.

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