No abstract

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the primary reason of death of cardiovascular diseases. Paeoniflorin (PF), a monoterpene glycoside extracted from Radix Paeoniae Rubra or Paeoniae Radix Alba, can ameliorate myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI), but its mechanism is not still defined. In this study, network pharmacology was utilized, the protein interaction network between PF and MIRI targets were screened for bioenrichment analysis. Moreover, the anti-MIRI effects of PF (30, 60 and 120 mg/kg) were investigated in vivo on rats for verification. The myocardial infarction area was assessed by TTC/Evans blue staining and morphological changes of tissues were evaluated using hematoxylin and eosin staining. The contents of myocardial enzymes and oxidation resistance were measured. The cell apoptosis was evaluated using TUNEL staining and the expression of proteins was estimated using Western Blot. In the results, the relevant targets and the biological processes of PF against MIRI were screened out, indicating its anti-MIRI potential pharmacological effects of PF. 120 mg/kg PF can shrink infarction area after ischemia/reperfusion, ameliorate pathological morphology in myocardial tissue, lower the levels of myocardial enzymes, and attenuate oxidative stress. Furthermore, PF could reduce the positive rate of TUNEL staining caused by MIRI. Moreover, 120 mg/kg PF could depress the protein levels of Bax, Caspase-3, Beclin-1 and Cathepsin B and increase the protein level of Bcl-2 on rats after reperfusion. In conclusion, Paeoniflorin has an anti-MIRI effect in rats via coordinate regulation of anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptosis and inhibition of autophagy.

This study explored the mechanism of paeoniflorin (PF) against atherosclerosis (AS) at the molecular level using network pharmacology and molecular docking. The targets of PF and disease targets related to AS were obtained through literature mining and database search, the PPI network diagram was drawn, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed, and the PF structure was docked with core target. In the results, 130 common target proteins of PF and AS were obtained. GO enrichment analysis found 1071 items related to biological processes, mainly related to metabolism, protein modification, regulation of cell activity, regulation of macromolecule synthesis, etc. There were 107 items related to molecular functions, mainly related to cyclic compounds, ions, nucleotides, and ribose Combine etc. KEGG analysis revealed 79 pathways, mainly Pathways in cancer, PI3K-Akt signalling pathway, Proteoglycans in cancer, Ras signalling pathway, FoxO signalling pathway, etc. The molecular docking results showed that PF had good binding activity with the screened target. In conclusion, this study indicated that PF treatment of AS involves multiple direct or indirect targets and signal pathways, providing a reference for further research on the mechanism of PF treatment of AS.

Radix Paeoniae Rubra (RPR) is a widely used herb medicine. To better understand the mechanism of RPR in the treatment of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI), in this study, the network of protein–protein interaction of the RPR-MIRI targets was constructed and analyzed through network pharmacology and molecular docking. The enrichment analysis was performed and the network map was established, and the componenttarget network was then verified by molecular docking. In the result, there were 14 components and 52 targets related to MIRI. The results of Gene Ontology (GO) analysis displayed 182 biological processes, 44 cellular components, 56 molecular functions. 45 signal pathways were collected from Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, which were mainly related to Rap1, PI3 K-Akt signal pathway and so on. Molecular docking verified that the active components had lower binding energy with key targets, indicating that it had better binding activity. In conclusion, the treatment of RPR on MIRI is implemented through multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway, which makes a provision for exploring the therapeutic mechanism of RPR and expanding its clinical application.

Alatamine is a constituent in the extract of a traditional herbal medicine Ramulus euonymi widely used for cardiac protection. However, its precise effects remain unclear. In the present study, we found that alatamine was able to reduce acute myocardial ischemia (AMI)-induced cardiac dysfunction in a rat model, as reflected by significantly restored electrocardiograms, M-mode echocardiograms, and left ventricular hemodynamics. Also, Nagar Olsen staining revealed that alatamine markedly reduced AMI-induced cardiac injury and cardiac myocyte apoptosis. TUNEL and caspase-3 activity assay showed that cardiac myocytes underwent significant apoptosis during AMI, and levels of LDH and CK-MB increased in the serum. However, such changes were significantly inhibited by pre-administration of alatamine. Furthermore, such anti-apoptotic effects of alatamine was also confirmed in a cardiac myocyte model of isoproterenol (ISO)-induced damage. Mechanistically, it was also found that alatamine improved the expression and activity of sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) ATPase (SERCA), which were inhibited during AMI, promoting contractility and relaxation. Meanwhile, alatamine decreased Bax and increased Bcl-2 expressions both in vivo and in vitro, therefore inhibiting cardiac myocyte apoptosis and preventing cardiac dysfunction caused by AMI at the cellular level. The present study revealed the beneficial role of alatamine in cardiac protection and highlighted it as a potential therapeutic reagent for reduction of AMI-induced cardiac injury.