Abstract
The molecular mechanism of the regulatory effed of schizandrol A (SA) on the immune function of cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressive mice was explored in this study. On the basis of 1619 differentially expressed genes related to the regulatory effect of SA on the immune function of mice screened in our previous study, transcription factors and their corresponding target genes were screened in the Transcriptional Regulatory Element Database (TRED), and a transcription factor target gene regulatory network was constructed. The key nodes of the network were statistically analyzed to clarify the role of transcription factors in the regulatory network. The correlation of network genes with diseases was analyzed with an online annotation tool through the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Finally, the key factors related to the regulatory effect of SA on the immune function of mice were screened and verified by animal experiments and the detection of related protein expression by western blot analysis. The results showed that SA could alleviate the immunosuppression induced by cyclophosphamide in mice and regulate the protein expression of Jun, Trp53, and Creb1 in the spleen tissue of mice, together with the transcription factors Atf4 and E2f2. SA may thus play a role in the alleviation of some immunity-related diseases (such as cancer) by regulating the immune function of mice through multiple genes and their transcription factors.
Highlights
The immune system, composed of immune organs, immune cells, and independent lymphatic vessels, plays a defense function and serves as a main communication system among tissues, organs, and organic systems in the body
Cytoscape software was used to construct a regulatory network of the six transcription factors and 257 corresponding target genes (Figure 4), and the regulatory network showed that there were 18 target genes regulated by more than two transcription factors and six target genes regulated by three transcription factors (Table 2)
Six transcription factors and their corresponding 257 target genes were screened out from the 1619 differentially expressed genes related to the regulation of immune function by schizandrol A (SA) in mice, and a regulatory network of differentially expressed genes related to the regulation of immune function by SA was established
Summary
The immune system, composed of immune organs, immune cells, and independent lymphatic vessels, plays a defense function and serves as a main communication system among tissues, organs, and organic systems in the body. The pathogenesis of immune system abnormalities remains unclear, and chemical synthetic drugs, human or animal immune products, and microbial drugs are mainly used for the treatment of abnormalities in the clinic, but these drugs have different degrees of side effects (Peng et al, 2020; Vavla et al, 2020). Schisandra chinensis is listed as the top-grade medicine in “The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing” (the first existing traditional Chinese medicine classic); it has been used for more than 2000 years and is a famous traditional Chinese medicine for the effect of “Yi Qi” (tonifying Qi, improving body function and increasing the body’s resistance to external pathogenic factors) (Xing et al, 2021). The expression of mRNA is regulated by a variety of factors, especially transcription factors, and the role of transcription factors in the regulation of mRNA expression and its mechanism can be directly and better understood through the construction of a regulatory network of transcription factors and their target genes (Arora et al, 2013)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
