Metabolomic Analysis of Biochemical Changes in Urine of Osteoarthritis Rat and Interventional Effects of Bushen-Huoxue Herb Couple

Abstract

ObjectiveOsteoarthritis (OA) is a kind of degenerative arthritis, involving degradation of joints, including articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Bushen-Huoxue Herb Couple (BHHC) is a Chinese herb pair with invigorating the kidney and promoting blood circulation. In our study, a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) based metabolomics was developed to achieve a systematic observation of the progression of OA and evaluate the efficacy of BHHC in OA rats. MethodsForty Sprague-Dawley rats (half males and half females) were randomly divided into five groups, including normal group, OA model group, sham-operated group, BHHC group, positive medicine (PM) group after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and meniscectomy on rats. Urine samples for analysis were collected on week 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 during the experiment. ResultsThe histological results showed that BHHC had a strong action of repairment and reconstruction of joint damage. By combining with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), 14 biomarkers were identified in urine samples. The biomarkers were mainly involved 10 metabolism pathways, such as tricarboxylic acid cycle metabolism, acid amino metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, lipid metabolism and phenylalanine metabolism. Using these potential biomarkers as a screening index, it indicated that BHHC could reverse the pathological process of OA through regulating amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism and energy metabolism. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that a metabolomics is a useful tool for identifying potential OA biomarkers and investigating the underlying mechanisms of Traditional Chinese Medicine in OA treatment.