Etiology and Chinese Medicine Screening of Severe COVID-19 Based on Multiomics and Serum Pharmacology

Background At present, scholars believe that severe COVID-19 is related to a variety of basic diseases, and we also observe this point using multi-omics method. The latest sequencing data of severe COVID-19 patients were combined to analyze the pathological mechanism, and pharmacological experimental research on local drugs was conducted, and a compound ingredient was found to have potential medicinal value. Results Here, we observed, for patients with severe COVID-19 disease, the differential miRNA expression is mainly low but having higher expression of mRNA. These differential mRNA expressions are associated with the activation of inflammatory pathways and ultimately with hypoxia and coagulation. Using database analysis, we found that Yi Xin Tong Mai Granule(YXTMG) might regulate COVID-19 through Toll-like receptor signaling pathway by acting on different immune targets. We found a new molecular mechanism for COVID-19 to turn the crisis around, the down-regulated miR-181a-5p mediates the up-regulation of PLAU and SERPINE1 molecules to cause cardiovascular adverse events, and YXTMG may prevent it. At the same time, molecular docking indicated that the its various components have anti-inflammatory activity. In vitro studies, we confirmed that YXTMG had antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Conclusions The study has supplemented the potential mechanism for the conversion of mild to critical COVID-19 disease and screened the Chinese medicines for improving these factors, providing methodological reference for disease pathology and drug development.

The Application of Electrochemical Oscillation Methods for Identification of Traditional Chinese Medicine Materials

Electrochemical oscillation reflects the overall characteristics of the system under test in terms of redox activity. It has proven to be advantageous in analyzing and processing complex components of herbal systems, such as polysaccharides and proteins. Therefore, it is widely used in the quantitative or qualitative tests of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) for identification and quality control. Electrochemical oscillation has several advantages such as high sensitivity, stability and micro sample requirement. Compared with other traditional methods, the interaction of multi-component in the TCMs was taken into account, which provides new ideas for the search of TCMs. Here, we presented a brief introduction on the progress on the topic, which promoted the development of electrochemical oscillation and the standardization of TCMs in the last twenty years. Electrochemical oscillation method is cheap, sensitive, fast, stable and convenient for the identification and quality control of TCMs. Reaction systems and the visualization of the fingerprints can be improved in the future.

The Study of Steaming Durations and Temperatures on the Chemical Characterization, Neuroprotective, and Antioxidant Activities of Panax notoginseng

Panax notoginseng (PN) is one of the most valuable traditional Chinese medicines and has extensive pharmacological effects. Recent studies demonstrated that PN exhibited pharmacological effect related to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, whether steaming process can boost its anti-AD activity is still unexplored. To fill this gap, effects of steaming durations and temperatures on the chemical characterization, neuroprotective and antioxidant activities of PN were systematically investigated in this study. HPLC fingerprint coupled with quantitative analysis demonstrated striking conversion of original saponins to less polar ones with the increase in the steaming time and temperature. In the viewpoint of anti-AD activity on neuroprotective and antioxidant effects, several steamed PN samples (110°C-6/8/10 h, 120°C ‐4/6 h samples) displayed a significant increase both in cell viability and oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) values compared with the no steamed one ( P < 0.01 or P < 0.005 ). Steaming temperature had the greater impact on the change of chemical composition and anti-AD activity of PN. Moreover, the spectrum-effect relationship analysis revealed that the transformed saponins were partially responsible for the increased neuroprotective and antioxidant effects of steamed PN. Therefore, steamed PN could be used as a potential crude drug for prevention and treatment of AD.

Astragalin Ameliorates Cognitive Dysfunction Through Inhibiting PI3K/Akt-MTOR-Mediated Autophagic Flow in Hippocampal Neurons of APP/PS1 Mice

Astragalin (AST), a natural small molecule flavonoid, can exert anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer impacts by regulating autophagy. However, the potential mechanism of the neuroprotective effect of AST on neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is still not clear. In the present study, we firstly screened AST for the treatment of AD from the ingredients of Chinese medicines such as Acori tataninowii Rhizoma, Eucommiae Cortex, Paeoniae Radix Alba through the traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP) database. And then we found that AST could improve the cognitive abilities of APP/PS1 mice by Step-down passive avoidance (SDA) and Morris Water Maze (MWM) Test. Further, we identified that AST diminished Aβ plaques deposition in the brains of APP/PS1 mice and Aβ as well as Aβ42 levels in the serum of APP/PS1 mice. Next, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3B (LC3B), p62, Beclin-1, ATG5, ATG12, LAMP-1 were observed to be co-expressed with NeuN in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice by immunofluorescent multiplex staining, while AST was able to activate autophagy and maintain autophagic flow in hippocampal neurons of APP/PS1 mice by western blot (WB) analysis. Finally, AST reduced the expressions of p-PI3K, p-Akt, p-mTOR by WB analysis. Taken together, we confirmed that AST may play key neuroprotective effects on APP/PS1 mice by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt-mTOR signaling pathway to activate autophagy and keep autophagic flow smooth.

Identification of Potential Biomarkers of Depression and Network Pharmacology Approach to Investigate the Mechanism of Key Genes and Therapeutic Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Depression

Background. To explore the potential target of depression and the mechanism of related traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of depression. Method. Differential gene expression in depression patients and controls was analyzed in the GEO database. Key genes for depression were obtained by searching the disease databases. The COREMINE Medical database was used to search for Chinese medicines corresponding to the key genes in the treatment of depression, and the network pharmacological analysis was performed on these Chinese medicines. Then, protein-protein interaction analysis was conducted. Prediction of gene phenotypes was based on Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment scores. Results. The total number of differentially expressed genes in the GEO database was 147. Combined with the GEO dataset and disease database, a total of 3533 depression-related genes were analyzed. After screening in COREMINE Medical, it was found that the top 4 traditional Chinese medicines with the highest frequency for depression were Paeonia lactiflora Pall., Crocus sativus L., Bupleurum chinense DC., and Cannabis sativa L. The compound target network consisted of 24 compounds and 138 corresponding targets, and the key targets involved PRKACA, NCOA2, PPARA, and so on. GO and KEGG analysis revealed that the most commonly used Chinese medicine could regulate multiple aspects of depression through these targets, related to metabolism, neuroendocrine function, and neuroimmunity. Prediction and analysis of protein-protein interactions resulted in the selection of nine hub genes (ESR1, HSP90AA1, JUN, MAPK1, MAPK14, MAPK8, RB1, RELA, and TP53). In addition, a total of four ingredients (petunidin, isorhamnetin, quercetin, and luteolin) from this Chinese medicine could act on these hub genes. Conclusions. Our research revealed the complicated antidepressant mechanism of the most commonly used Chinese medicines and also provided a rational strategy for revealing the complex composition and function of Chinese herbal formulas.

Management Strategies for Oral Submucous Fibrosis- An Update

There are plentiful management trials in Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSMF), such as drugs, herbs, and Chinese medicines, but none proved to be entirely successful. So in this review, there are different management strategies tried in the management of OSMF, mechanism of action, and the dosage regimen.