Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (5): 1230-1239.DOI: 10.19852/j.cnki.jtcm.2026.05.015
• Original Articles • Previous Articles Next Articles
LIU Shengjing1, FENG Qiujian1, Elena Colonnello2, Andrea Sansone2, Susanna Dolci3, WANG Chunlin2, WANG Fu1, GUO Jun1, GUO Boda4(
), Emmanuele A. Jannini2(
)
Received:2025-07-12
Accepted:2025-12-05
Online:2026-10-15
Published:2026-10-09
Contact:
Emmanuele A. Jannini, Full Professor of Endocrinology & Medical Sexology (ENDOSEX), Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Roma 00133, Italy. eajannini@gmail.com; Guo Boda, Department of Urology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China. guoboda@126.com. Telephone: +86-10-82267017
Supported by:LIU Shengjing, FENG Qiujian, Elena Colonnello, Andrea Sansone, Susanna Dolci, WANG Chunlin, WANG Fu, GUO Jun, GUO Boda, Emmanuele A. Jannini. Multi-target therapeutic mechanism of Qianlie Shule granule (前列舒乐颗粒) against chronic prostatitis: network pharmacology-guided experimental validation[J]. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2026, 46(5): 1230-1239.
Figure 1 QG attenuates the prostate histological damage A: Body weight among groups; B: prostate index among groups; C: histological scores of HE-stained prostate tissues; D: histological analysis of prostate tissues by HE staining (× 200, scale bars = 200 μm). D1: control group; D2: sham group; D3: model group; D4: QG-low dose group; D5: QG-middle dose group; D6: QG-high dose group. Model group: CP model rats administered water by gavage; QG-low dose group CP model rats administered QG at 0.54 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks; QG-middle dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 1.08 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks; QG-high dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 2.16 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks. QG: Qianlie Shule granules; HE: hematoxylin and eosin. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (n = 8). Statistical differences were determined by one-way analysis of variance. Compared with control group, aP < 0.05; compared with model group, bP < 0.05.
Figure 2 QG inhibits prostate inflammation and enhances antioxidant capacity in CP rats A: IL-1β, IL-6, CXCL1, and MCP-1 levels in prostate tissues; A1: IL-1β; A2: IL-6; A3: CXCL1; A4: MCP-1; B: CD45+ cell infiltration in prostatic tissues and quantitative analysis; B1: prostate tissues of the control group; B2: prostate tissues of the sham group; B3: prostate tissues of the model group; B4: prostate tissues of the QG-low dose group; B5: prostate tissues of the QG-middle dose group; B6: prostate tissues of the QG-high dose group; B7: quantitative analysis of CD45+ cell infiltration in prostatic tissues among groups; Control group: administered water by gavage; sham group: received saline injection into the prostate and administered water by gavage; model group: CP model rats administered water by gavage; QG-low dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 0.54 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks; QG-middle dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 1.08 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks; QG-high dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 2.16 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks. C: MDA, T-SOD, and GSH-PX levels in prostate tissues; C1: MDA; C2: T-SOD; C3: GSH-PX. CP: chronic prostatitis; IL-1β: interleukin-1 beta; IL-6: interleukin-6; CXCL1: C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1; MCP-1: monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; CD45: leukocyte common antigen; MDA: malondialdehyde; T-SOD: total superoxide dismutase; GSH-PX: glutathione peroxidase; QG: Qianlie Shule granules. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (n = 8). Statistical differences were determined by one-way analysis of variance. Compared with control group, aP < 0.05; compared with model group, bP < 0.05.
Figure 3 QG inhibits apoptosis and Caspase 3 and Caspase 8 expression A: TUNEL staining of prostate tissue sections in each group; TUNEL-positive nuclei are labeled with FITC (green), and nuclei are counterstained with DAPI (blue); B: immunofluorescence staining of Caspase 3 in prostate sections; C: immunofluorescence staining of Caspase 8 in prostate sections; A1, B1, C1: control group; A2, B2, C2: sham group; A3, B3, C3: model group; A4, B4, C4: QG-low dose group; A5, B5, C5: QG-middle dose group; A6, B6, C6: QG-high dose group; Control group: administered water by gavage; sham group: received saline injection into the prostate and administered water by gavage; model group: CP model rats administered water by gavage; QG-low dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 0.54 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks; QG-middle dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 1.08 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks; QG-high dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 2.16 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks. D: quantitative analysis of TUNEL-positive cells and immunofluorescence intensity of Caspase 3 and Caspase 8; D1: quantitative analysis of TUNEL-positive cells; D2: immunofluorescence intensity of Caspase 3; D3: immunofluorescence intensity of Caspase 8. TUNEL: terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling; FITC: fluorescein isothiocyanate; DAPI: 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; QG: Qianlie Shule granules. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (n = 3). Statistical differences were determined by one-way analysis of variance. Compared with control group, aP < 0.05; compared with model group, bP < 0.05.
Figure 4 QG activates PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway in prostate tissue A: relative mRNA expression of PI3K, AKT, and mTOR measured by RT-qPCR using the 2-ΔΔCt method with β-actin as the reference gene (n = 8); A1: PI3K; A2: AKT; A3: mTOR; B: Representative Western blots of p-PI3K, p-Akt, and p-mTOR; β-actin served as the loading control (n = 3); C: quantitative analysis of p-PI3K, p-Akt, and p-mTOR protein levels; C1: p-PI3K; C2: p-Akt; C3: p-mTOR. Control group: administered water by gavage; sham group: received saline injection into the prostate and administered water by gavage; model group: CP model rats administered water by gavage; QG-low dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 0.54 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks; QG-middle dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 1.08 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks; QG-high dose group: CP model rats administered QG at 2.16 g·kg-1·d-1 by gavage for 4 weeks. RT-qPCR: real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction; PI3K: phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; AKT: protein kinase B; mTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin; p-PI3K: phosphorylated PI3K; p-Akt: phosphorylated Akt; p-mTOR: phosphorylated mTOR; QG: Qianlie Shule granules. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Statistical differences were determined by one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. Compared with control group, aP < 0.05; compared with model group, bP < 0.05.
| [1] | Shoskes DA, DeWitt-Foy ME, Nickel JC. Management of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Eur Urol Focus 2019; 5: 2-4. |
| [2] | Clemens JQ, Mullins C, Ackerman AL, et al. Urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome: insights from the MAPP research network. Nat Rev Urol 2019; 16: 187-200. |
| [3] | Liu SJ, Gao QH, Deng YJ, Zeng Y, Zhao M, Guo J. Knowledge domain and emerging trends in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome from 1970 to 2020: a scientometric analysis based on VOSviewer and CiteSpace. Ann Palliat Med 2022; 11: 1714-24. |
| [4] | Li HJ, Kang DY. Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in men with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a Meta-analysis. World J Urol 2016; 34: 1009-17. |
| [5] | Magistro G, Wagenlehner FM, Grabe M, Weidner W, Stief CG, Nickel JC. Contemporary management of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Eur Urol 2016; 69: 286-97. |
| [6] | Schoeb DS, Schlager D, Boeker M, et al. Surgical therapy of prostatitis: a systematic review. World J Urol 2017; 35: 1659-68. |
| [7] | Polackwich AS, Shoskes DA. Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a review of evaluation and therapy. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 2016; 19: 132-8. |
| [8] | Zhu P, Su Z, Fan Q, Zhang C, Wang T. Network pharmacology and animal experiments revealed the protective effects of Guilong prescription (归龙方) on chronic prostatitis and its possible mechanisms. J Tradit Chin Med 2025; 45: 89-99. |
| [9] | Nickel JC. Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: it is time to change our management and research strategy. BJU Int 2020; 125: 479-80. |
| [10] | Liu SJ, Zhao F, Deng YJ, et al. Investigating the multi-target therapeutic mechanism of Guihuang formula on chronic prostatitis. J Ethnopharmacol 2022; 294: 115386. |
| [11] | Liu SJ, Deng YJ, Zeng Y, Zhao M, Guo J, Gao QH. Efficacy and safety of Guihuang formula in treating type Ⅲ prostatitis patients with dampness-heat and blood stasis syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. Chin J Integr Med 2022; 28: 879-84. |
| [12] | Shaohu Z, Jun G, Gang C, Zhiwei W, Bin Y. Qianlie Shule granule for chronic prostatitis: a multicenter self-controlled clinical trial. Zhong Guo Nan Ke Xue 2019; 33: 48-51. |
| [13] | Zhang B, Wang X, Li Y, Wu M, Wang SY, Li S. Matrine is identified as a novel macropinocytosis inducer by a network target approach. Front Pharmacol 2018; 9: 10. |
| [14] | Li S. Exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine by a novel therapeutic concept of network target. Chin J Integr Med 2016; 22: 647-52. |
| [15] | Zhang R, Zhu X, Bai H, Ning K. Network pharmacology databases for Traditional Chinese Medicine: review and assessment. Front Pharmacol 2019; 10: 123. |
| [16] | Li S, Zhang B, Zhang N. Network target for screening synergistic drug combinations with application to Traditional Chinese Medicine. BMC Syst Biol 2011; 5 Suppl 1: S10. |
| [17] | Ru J, Li P, Wang J, et al. TCMSP: a database of systems pharmacology for drug discovery from herbal medicines. J Cheminform 2014; 6: 13. |
| [18] | Liu SJ, Guo BD, Gao QH, et al. Ursolic acid alleviates chronic prostatitis via regulating NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated Caspase-1/GSDMD pyroptosis pathway. Phytother Res 2024; 38: 82-97. |
| [19] | Janhavi P, Divyashree S, Sanjailal KP, Muthukumar SP. DoseCal: a virtual calculator for dosage conversion between human and different animal species. Arch Physiol Biochem 2022; 128: 426-30. |
| [20] | Zhang LG, Chen J, Meng JL, et al. Effect of alcohol on chronic pelvic pain and prostatic inflammation in a mouse model of experimental autoimmune prostatitis. Prostate 2019; 79: 1439-49. |
| [21] | Yang F, Meng L, Han P, et al. New therapy with XLQ® to suppress chronic prostatitis through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities. J Cell Physiol 2019; 234: 17570-7. |
| [22] | Schwartz ES, La JH, Young EE, Feng B, Joyce S, Gebhart GF. Chronic prostatitis induces bladder hypersensitivity and sensitizes bladder afferents in the mouse. J Urol 2016; 196: 892-901. |
| [23] | Ho DR, Chang PJ, Lin WY, et al. Beneficial effects of inflammatory cytokine-targeting aptamers in an animal model of chronic prostatitis. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21: 3953. |
| [24] | Said MM, Bosland MC. The anti-inflammatory effect of montelukast, a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor-1 antagonist, against estradiol-induced nonbacterial inflammation in the rat prostate. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2017; 390: 197-205. |
| [25] | Ren J, Jo Y, Picton LK, Su LL, Raulet DH, Garcia KC. Induced 45 proximity potentiates natural killer cell receptor antagonism. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11: 3426-39. |
| [26] | Liu J, Yu J, Peng X. Poria cocos polysaccharides alleviates chronic nonbacterial prostatitis by preventing oxidative stress, regulating hormone production, modifying gut microbiota, and remodeling the DNA methylome. J Agric Food Chem 2020; 68: 12661-70. |
| [27] | Zia A, Farkhondeh T, Pourbagher-Shahri AM, Samarghandian S. The role of curcumin in aging and senescence: molecular mechanisms. Biomed Pharmacother 2021; 134: 111119. |
| [28] | Yilmaz MI, Romano M, Basarali MK, et al. The effect of corrected inflammation, oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction on FMD levels in patients with selected chronic diseases: a quasi-experimental study. Sci Rep 2020; 10: 9018. |
| [29] | Chen H, Xie Y, Deng C, et al. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects of Ningmitai capsule in the experimental autoimmune prostatitis rat model. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2020; 2020: 5847806. |
| [30] | Meng LQ, Yang FY, Wang MS, et al. Quercetin protects against chronic prostatitis in rat model through NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways. Prostate 2018; 78: 790-800. |
| [31] | Nadendla EK, Tweedell RE, Kasof G, Kanneganti TD. Caspases: structural and molecular mechanisms and functions in cell death, innate immunity, and disease. Cell Discov 2025; 11: 42. |
| [32] | Guo Y, Bao C, Ma D, et al. Network-based combinatorial CRISPR-Cas9 screens identify synergistic modules in human cells. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8: 482-90. |
| [33] | Luo Z, Dong J, Wu J. Impact of icariin and its derivatives on inflammatory diseases and relevant signaling pathways. Int Immunopharmacol 2022; 108: 108861. |
| [34] | Breser ML, Salazar FC, Rivero VE, Motrich RD. Immunological mechanisms underlying chronic pelvic pain and prostate inflammation in chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Front Immunol 2017; 8: 898. |
| [35] | Facio F, Colonnello E, Alzweri L, et al. Infection, inflammation, and sexual function in male and female patients - recommendations from the Fifth International Consultation on Sexual Medicine (ICSM 2024). Sex Med Rev 2025; 13: 301-17. |
| [36] | Jang TL, Schaeffer AJ. The role of cytokines in prostatitis. World J Urol 2003; 21: 95-9. |
| [37] | Wang LL, Huang YH, Yan CY, et al. N-acetylcysteine ameliorates prostatitis via miR-141 regulating Keap1/Nrf2 signaling. Inflammation 2016; 39: 938-47. |
| [38] | Nakatsumi H, Matsumoto M, Nakayama KI. Noncanonical pathway for regulation of CCL2 expression by an mTORC1-FOXK1 axis promotes recruitment of tumor-associated macrophages. Cell Rep 2017; 21: 2471-86. |
| [39] | Ai D, Jiang H, Westerterp M, et al. Disruption of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 in macrophages decreases chemokine gene expression and atherosclerosis. Circ Res 2014; 114: 1576-84. |
| [40] | Kang SW, Park JH, Seok H, et al. The effects of Korea Red Ginseng on inflammatory cytokines and apoptosis in rat model with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis. Biomed Res Int 2019; 2019: 2462561. |
| Viewed | ||||||
|
Full text |
|
|||||
|
Abstract |
|
|||||
Sponsored by China Association of Chinese Medicine
& China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences
16 Nanxiaojie, Dongzhimen Nei, Beijing, China. 100700 Email: jtcmen@126.com
Copyright 2020 Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine. All rights reserved.
