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Abstract
Background
Hongjingtian injection (HJT) is administered in the treatment of vascular diseases, including diabetic angiopathies (DA). However, its underlying mechanisms have not been examined systematically.
Methods
In this research, we explored potential mechanisms of HJT through network pharmacology. HG-stimulated A7r5 cells served as the cell model. Cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis were investigated. The effects on key targets and the AKT pathway were verified by Western blotting in experiments with the AKT inhibitor LY294002 or activator SC79.
Results
Network analysis predicted that HJT targeted 10 candidate targets and 15 pathways including cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis in response to DA. Functional experiments showed that HJT markedly suppressed the proliferation and migration and promoted the apoptosis of HG-induced VSMCs, which validated the prediction. Mechanistically, HJT significantly downregulated the expression of pAKT, MMP9, and PCNA, upregulated the expression of p53 and cleaved caspase-3 and increased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio compared with the HG group. SC79, an AKT activator, partially reversed the inhibitory effects of HJT on HG-induced VSMCs, confirming the involvement of the AKT pathway. Furthermore, the presence of the AKT inhibitor LY294002 had a similar inhibitory effect as HJT.
Conclusion
These findings systematically evaluate the potential mechanisms of HJT for the treatment of DA. HJT suppressed the proliferation and migration and promoted the apoptosis of HG-induced VSMCs partly by inhibiting the AKT pathway. Additionally, this study may provide a quick and effective way to investigate the molecular mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81570742) and the Development of Science and Technology of Shandong Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. 2017-172).
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.