Compound Yuye Decoction protects diabetic rats against cardiomyopathy by inhibiting myocardial apoptosis and inflammation via regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

Abstract

To explore the therapeutic mechanism of compound Yuye Decoction against diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Drugbank, Gene Cards, OMIM and PharmGKb databases were used to obtain DCM-related targets, and the core targets were identified and functionally annotated by protein-protein interaction network analysis followed by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. The "Traditional Chinese Medicine-Key Component-Key Target-Key Pathway" network was constructed using Cytoscape 3.9.1, and molecular docking was carried out for the key components and the core targets. In the animal experiment, Wistar rat models of DCM were treated with normal saline or Yuye Decoction by gavage at low (0.29 g/kg) and high (1.15 g/kg) doses for 8 weeks, and the changes in cardiac electrophysiology and histopathology were evaluated. The changes in serum levels of LDH, CK, and CK-MB were examined, and myocardial expressions of PI3K, P-PI3K, Akt, P-AKT, BAX, IL-6, and TNF-α were detected using Western blotting. We identified 61 active compounds in Yuye Decoction with 1057 targets, 3682 DCM-related disease targets, and 551 common targets between them. Enrichment of the core targets suggested that apoptosis, inflammation and the PI3K/Akt pathways were the key signaling pathways for DCM treatment. Molecular docking studies showed that the active components in Yuye Decoction including gold amidohydroxyethyl ester and kaempferol had strong binding activities with AKT1 and PIK3R1. In DCM rat models, treatment with Yuye Decoction significantly alleviated myocardial pathologies, reduced serum levels of LDH, CK and CK-MB, lowered myocardial expressions of BAX, IL-6 and TNF-α, and increased the expressions of P-PI3K and P-AKT. The therapeutic effect of compound Yuye Decoction against DCM is mediated by its multiple active components that act on multiple targets and pathways to inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis and inflammatory response by regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.