Therapeutic Effect and Mechanism of Bushen-Jianpi-Jiedu Decoction Combined with Chemotherapeutic Drugs on Postoperative Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

There is a lack of effective therapeutic drugs in patients with postoperative colorectal cancer (PCRC). This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect and mechanisms of Bushen-Jianpi-Jiedu decoction (BSJPJDD) combined with chemotherapeutic drugs (oxaliplatin) on PCRC with liver and kidney yin deficiency and spleen deficiency syndrome (LKYD-SDS) through the therapeutic evaluation of clinical therapy and the integrative analysis of network pharmacology, RNA-seq and label-free data, and experiment verification in vitro. In clinical therapy, the median progression-free survival (PFS) and Karnofsky performance score (KPS) were increased in PCRC patients by the aqueous extract of BSJPJDD combined with oxaliplatin treatment for three months, compared to oxaliplatin alone (p < 0.05). The integrative analysis showed that 559 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 11 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were regulated by BSJPJDD, among which seven bioactive compounds through 39 potential targets were involved in the regulation of multiple signaling pathways including MAPK, PI3K-Akt, and HIF-1, etc. In the experimental verification, an ELISA assay showed that plasma ZEB2, CAT, and KRT78 were decreased, and IL-1Α, CD5L, FBLN5, EGF, and KRT78 were increased in comparison to the above (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the SW620 cell viability was inhibited and the expressions of MAPK and the p-ERK/ERK ratio were significantly downregulated by the aqueous extract of BSJPJDD combined with oxaliplatin treatment, compared with oxaliplatin treatment alone (p < 0.05). These data suggested that BSJPJDD combined with oxaliplatin prolongs the survival and improves Karnofsky performance status of PCRC patients with LKYD-SDS, and may be associated with the regulation of multiple signaling pathways.

Traditional Chinese Medicine in Colorectal Cancer Therapy: A Focus on <i>Panax quinquefolium L.</i> through Text Mining and Network Medicine Approaches

“…However, the 5-year survival rate is low, and chemotherapy has significant hazardous side effects [6]. Hence, new treatment schemes and strategies are of great significance, and notably, TCM combined with chemotherapy has unique advantages in the prognosis of CRC patients [7,8].…”

Integrative transcriptome-proteome approach reveals key hypoxia-related features involved in the neuroprotective effects of Yang Xue oral liquid on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

“…Recently, there has been a growing body of evidence supporting the widespread use of transcriptomics and proteomics in enhancing our understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms and facilitating the development of diagnostic tools for various diseases ( Li et al, 2020 ; Mu et al, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2021 ; Yang et al, 2023 ). Moreover, the utilization of weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) offers the ability to illustrate the interconnections between diverse genes through the creation of a co-expression network, which not only enables the identification of modules that are associated with specific phenotypes but also proves to be more efficient in the investigation of crucial pathways and genes involved in numerous human disorders ( Langfelder and Horvath, 2008 ; Zhang et al, 2024 ).…”

Gut Microbiota: The Potential Key Target of TCM’s Therapeutic Effect of Treating Different Diseases Using the Same Method—UC and T2DM as Examples

“…In recent years, researchers have conducted several studies to explore the scientificity; for example, network pharmacology research has found that different diseases have related or the same pathogenesis, and TCM can play a therapeutic role in two or more diseases by regulating these core targets ( Su et al., 2022 ). In addition, several omics studies have explored and confirmed the common characteristics of different diseases from the perspective of genes, proteins, and metabolites, and regulating these key targets is of great significance in disease treatment ( Chang et al., 2018 ; Yang, 2019 ; Liu et al., 2020 ). Moreover, we found gut microbiota disorders to also be related to the emergence and development of a variety of diseases, and restoration of the intestinal microecology may also be a potentially important link to TCM‘s therapeutic role in “treating different diseases using the same method”.…”