1. Academic Validation
  2. Integrated network pharmacology and metabolomics analyses of the mechanism underlying the efficacy of Ma-Mu-Ran Antidiarrheal Capsules against dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis

Integrated network pharmacology and metabolomics analyses of the mechanism underlying the efficacy of Ma-Mu-Ran Antidiarrheal Capsules against dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis

  • Biomed Chromatogr. 2023 Sep 21;e5732. doi: 10.1002/bmc.5732.
Hailing Huang 1 Bailu Duan 2 Sili Zheng 1 Yan Ye 1 Dongning Zhang 1 Zhuang Huang 1 Shanshan Wang 1 Fengyun Zhang 1 Ping Huang 2 Fang Huang 2 Lintao Han 1 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 College of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China.
  • 2 College of Basic Medicine, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China.
  • 3 Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Resources and Compound Chinese Medicine, Ministry of Education, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, China.
Abstract

The current study utilizes a comprehensive network pharmacology and metabolomics analysis to investigate the mechanism of action of Ma-Mu-Ran Antidiarrheal Capsules (MMRAC) for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). In this study, we established a mouse model of UC using dextran sulfate sodium. Colonic tissues were collected from mice and then subjected to hematoxylin and eosin staining, as well as histopathological analysis, to assess the therapeutic effect of MMRAC. Furthermore, we assessed the mechanisms through which MMRAC combats UC by employing integrated metabolomics and network pharmacology strategies. Lastly, we validated the key targets identified through western blot and molecular docking. An integrated network of metabolomics and network pharmacology was constructed using Cytoscape to identify eight endogenous metabolites involved in the therapeutic action of MMRAC on UC. Further comprehensive analyses were focused on four key targets and their associated core metabolites and pathways. The results of western blot and molecular docking demonstrated that MMRAC could modulate key targets and their expression levels. The cumulative results indicated that MMRAC restored intestinal function in UC, reduced inflammatory responses, and alleviated oxidative stress by influencing the methionine and cysteine metabolic pathways, as well as the urea cycle. In addition, it had an impact on arginine, proline, glutamate, aspartate, and asparagine metabolic pathways and their associated targets.

Keywords

Ma-Mu-Ran Antidiarrheal Capsules; metabolomics; molecular docking; network pharmacology; ulcerative colitis.

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