Network-based biomarkers for cold coagulation blood stasis syndrome and the therapeutic effects of shaofu zhuyu decoction in rats.

Shulan Su,Pei Liu,Yuping Tang,Gang Bai,Jinao Duan,Wenxia Cui,Erxing Shang,Dawei Qian,Sheng Guo

doi:10.1155/2013/901943

Abstract

In this study, the reverse docking methodology was applied to predict the action targets and pathways of Shaofu Zhuyu decoction (SFZYD) bioactive ingredients. Furthermore, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) cold coagulation blood stasis (CCBS) syndrome was induced in female Sprague-Dawley rats with an ice-water bath and epinephrine, and SFZYD was used to treat CCBS syndrome. A metabolomic approach was used to evaluate changes in the metabolic profiles and to analyze the pharmacological mechanism of SFZYD actions. Twenty-three potential protein targets and 15 pathways were discovered, respectively; among these, pathways are associated with inflammation and immunological stress, hormone metabolism, coagulation function, and glycometabolism. There were also changes in the levels of endogenous metabolites of LysoPCs and glucuronides. Twenty endogenous metabolites were identified. Furthermore, the relative quantities of 6 endogenous metabolites in the plasma and 5 in the urine were significantly affected by SFZYD (P < 0.05). The pharmacological mechanism of SFZYD was partially associated with glycerophospholipid metabolism and pentose and glucuronate interconversions. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that TCM CCBS pattern induced by ice water and epinephrine was complex and related to multiple metabolic pathways. SFZYD did regulate the TCM CCBS by multitargets, and biomarkers and SFZYD should be used for the clinical treatment of CCBS syndrome.

Highlights

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is guided by the theory of traditional Chinese medical science for clinical application
The results showed that 23 important potential protein targets were found, and these targets were put into the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway annotation, the 15 pathways were discovered
The results revealed that during the first three days of animal model preparation, there was no obvious departure of urine metabolic profiling, as determined by principal component analysis (PCA), while pronounced changes were observed after 5 and 7 days of preparation, especially on the eighth day after the injection of hypodermic epinephrine, when there was a remarkable change in the metabolic profile

Summary

Introduction

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is guided by the theory of traditional Chinese medical science for clinical application. Most herbal medicines are prescribed in combination to obtain synergistic effects or diminish possible adverse reactions [1]. This medical approach has played on increasingly important role in evidence-based personalized medicine, which is a new trend and a hot research topic of medical development. Based on the theory of TCM, which is rooted in the philosophy of treating the entire body as a whole, multipathogenic factors, such as cold coagulation, Qi stagnation, and blood insufficiency, are considered to be the main causes of many diseases or syndromes. The TCM ZHENG as a diagnostic approach may provide an invaluable guidance for therapeutic choices and personalized disease management, in traditional medical practices and in modern healthcare systems [3]

Methods

Results

Conclusion