Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine ›› 2025, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (6): 1330-1341.DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2025.06.012
• Original Articles • Previous Articles Next Articles
MA Guiping1, CHEN Ran2, LI Junlong3, SUN Le3, HU Shiping1, ZHANG Yiyi2(
), HONG Chuangxiong3(
)
Received:2024-10-12
Accepted:2025-01-25
Online:2025-12-15
Published:2025-11-24
Contact:
Prof. HONG Chuangxiong, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of cardiology, Guangzhou 510400, China. 787109008@qq.com, Telephone: +86-18320070508;Supported by:MA Guiping, CHEN Ran, LI Junlong, SUN Le, HU Shiping, ZHANG Yiyi, HONG Chuangxiong. Network pharmacology combined with in vivo experiments to explore the molecular mechanism of Jiawei Erzhi pill (加味二至丸) protects against atherosclerosis by inhibiting ferroptosis[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2025, 45(6): 1330-1341.
| Group | n | TC | TG | HDL-C | LDL-C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CON | 10 | 3.523±0.113a | 2.518±0.297 | 2.841±0.063a | 0.363±0.022a |
| MOD | 10 | 48.706±2.770b | 3.685±0.30 | 1.583±0.115b | 35.021±1.109b |
| SIM | 10 | 37.045±3.721ab | 2.961±0.932 | 1.801±0.067bc | 26.905±4.955ab |
| L-JWEZP | 10 | 43.981±2.871b | 3.293±1.437 | 1.771±0.191b | 34.682±2.277b |
| M-JWEZP | 10 | 43.735±1.765b | 2.910±0.403 | 1.998±0.236ab | 30.428±3.337ab |
| H-JWEZP | 10 | 40.393±2.883bc | 3.556±0.958 | 1.930±0.305ab | 29.086±1.896ab |
Table 1 Effects of JWEZP on blood lipids of mice ($\bar{x}$ ± s, mmol/L)
| Group | n | TC | TG | HDL-C | LDL-C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CON | 10 | 3.523±0.113a | 2.518±0.297 | 2.841±0.063a | 0.363±0.022a |
| MOD | 10 | 48.706±2.770b | 3.685±0.30 | 1.583±0.115b | 35.021±1.109b |
| SIM | 10 | 37.045±3.721ab | 2.961±0.932 | 1.801±0.067bc | 26.905±4.955ab |
| L-JWEZP | 10 | 43.981±2.871b | 3.293±1.437 | 1.771±0.191b | 34.682±2.277b |
| M-JWEZP | 10 | 43.735±1.765b | 2.910±0.403 | 1.998±0.236ab | 30.428±3.337ab |
| H-JWEZP | 10 | 40.393±2.883bc | 3.556±0.958 | 1.930±0.305ab | 29.086±1.896ab |
Figure 1 JWEZP improves AS in ApoE-/- mice A: body weight change trend in mice from week 12 to week 22; B: body weight of mice at week 12; C: body weight of mice at week 22; D: Oil-red O staining of aorta; E: HE staining of the aortic sinus (magnification at × 400; scale bar, 50 μm. F: Masson staining of the aortic sinus (magnification at × 400; scale bar, 50 μm); G: percentages of plaque lesions in the aorta; H: atherosclerotic plaque areas in the aortic sinus; I: collagen fiber positive areas in the aortic sinus; D1, E1, F1: CON group; D2, E2, F2: MOD group; D3, E3, F3: SIM group; D4, E4, F4: L-JWEZP group; D5, E5, F5: M-JWEZP group; D6, E6, F6: H-JWEZP group. CON: treated only with physiological saline; MOD: treated only with physiological saline; SIM: treated with simvastatin by gavage (2.6 mg·kg?1·d?1); L-JWEZP: treated with low-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill by gavage (3.9 g·kg?1·d?1); M-JWEZP: treated with medium-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill by gavage (7.8 g·kg?1·d?1); H-JWEZP: treated with high-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill by gavage (15.6 g·kg?1·d?1). CON: control group; MOD: model group; SIM: simvastatin group; L-JWEZP: low-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill; M-JWEZP: medium-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill; H-JWEZP: high-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill. The results are expressed as mean ± standard deviation (n = 3), and the groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance. aP < 0.01, compared with model group; bP < 0.01, compared with control group; cP < 0.05, compared with model group.
Figure 2 JWEZP ameliorates ferroptosis in arterial tissues of mice A: content of GSH in the aortas of mice; B: content of LPO in the aortas of mice; C: content of MDA in the aortas of mice; D: content of NADPH in the aortas of mice; E: content of GSH-PX in the aortas of mice; F: content of iron in the aortas of mice; G: expression of ROS in thoracic aortic tissues; H: expression of GPX4 in thoracic aortic tissues were evaluated by immunofluorescence. G1, H1, I1, J1: CON group; G2, H2, I2, J2: MOD group; G3, H3, I3, J3: SIM group; G4, H4, I4, J4: L-JWEZP group; G5, H5, I5, J5: M-JWEZP group; G6, H6, I6, J6: H-JWEZP group. CON: treated only with physiological saline; MOD: treated only with physiological saline; SIM: treated with simvastatin by gavage (2.6 mg·kg?1·d?1); L-JWEZP: treated with low-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill by gavage (3.9 g·kg?1·d?1); M-JWEZP: treated with medium-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill by gavage (7.8 g·kg?1·d?1); H-JWEZP: treated with high-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill by gavage (15.6 g·kg?1·d?1). CON: control group; MOD: model group; SIM: simvastatin group; L-JWEZP: low-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill; M-JWEZP: medium-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill; H-JWEZP: high-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill; GSH: glutathione; LPO: lipid peroxide; MDA: malondialdehyde; NADPH: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate; ROS: reactive oxygen species; DAPI: 4',6-Diamidino-2-Phenylindole; GPX4: glutathione peroxidase 4. The results are expressed as mean ± standard deviation (n = 3), and the groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance. aP < 0.01, compared with model group; bP < 0.01, compared with control group; cP < 0.05, compared with model group.
Figure 3 Target-pathway network for JWEZP in ferroptosis A: venn diagram of JWEZP and ferroptosis targets; B: protein-protein interaction network of JWEZP and ferroptosis; C: results of KEGG enrichment analysis. JWEZP: Jiawei Erzhi pill; KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes.
Figure 4 JWEZP inhibits ferroptosis via p53, MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways against AS A: protein expression of p53 signaling pathway; B: protein expression of p53; C: protein expression of COX2; D: protein expression of FTH1; E: protein expression of SLC7A11; F: protein expression of GPX4; G: mRNA expression of p53; H: mRNA expression of PTGS2; I: mRNA expression of FTH1; J: mRNA expression of SLC7A11; K: mRNA expression of GPX4; L: protein expression of MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways; M: protein expression of p-JNK/JNK; N: protein expression of p-PI3K/PI3K; O: protein expression of p-Akt/Akt. CON: treated only with physiological saline; MOD: treated only with physiological saline; SIM: treated with simvastatin by gavage (2.6 mg·kg?1·d?1); L-JWEZP: treated with low-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill by gavage (3.9 g·kg?1·d?1); M-JWEZP: treated with medium-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill by gavage (7.8 g·kg?1·d?1); H-JWEZP: treated with high-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill by gavage (15.6 g·kg?1·d?1). CON: control group; MOD: model group; SIM: simvastatin group; L-JWEZP: low-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill; M-JWEZP: medium-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill; H-JWEZP: high-dose Jiawei Erzhi pill; COX2: cyclooxygenase-2; FTH1: ferritin heavy chain 1; SLC7A11: solute carrier family 7 member 11; GPX4: glutathione peroxidase 4; JNK: c-Jun N-terminal kinase; PI3K: phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; Akt: protein Kinase B; MAPK: mitogen-activated protein kinase. The results are expressed as mean ± standard deviation (n = 3), and the groups were compared using one-way analysis of variance. aP < 0.01, compared with model group; bP < 0.01, compared with control group; cP < 0.05, compared with model group.
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