The effects of Qi Teng Xiao Zhuo granules, traditional Chinese medicine, on the expression of genes in chronic glomerulonephritis rats

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology Vol. 193; pp. 140 - 149
• Main Authors: Gao, Jia-Rong, Qin, Xiu-Juan, Jiang, Hui, Wang, Ting, Song, Jun-Mei, Xu, Shuang-Zhi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier Ireland Ltd 04.12.2016
• Subjects: Adriamycin-induced; Animals; Chronic glomerulonephritis; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - pharmacology; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - therapeutic use; Gene Expression Regulation - drug effects; Glomerulonephritis - drug therapy; Glomerulonephritis - genetics; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Molecular mechanism; Qi Teng Xiao Zhuo granules; Rats; Whole genome microarrays; Oleanolic acid (PubChem CID: 10494); Triptolide (PubChem CID: 107985); Molecular mechanism; Triptonoterpenol (PubChem CID: 159330); Daucosterol (PubChem CID: 5742590); Rats; Ursolic acid (PubChem CID: 64945); β-sitosterol (PubChem CID: 222284); Tripterygic Acid A (PubChem CID: 21672627); Stachydrine hydrochloride (PubChem CID: 44150282); Qi Teng Xiao Zhuo granules; Astragaloside (PubChem CID: 45006101); Whole genome microarrays; Glycerol trioleate (PubChem CID: 5497163); Chronic glomerulonephritis; Adriamycin-induced
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2016.08.011

Chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) is a primary glomerular disease that is related to immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Qi Teng Xiao Zhuo granules have been proposed as a prescription of traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of CGN, but the comprehensive molecular mechanism underlying this therapeutic effect is not clear to date. The aim of this study was to evaluate and analyze the possible roles and molecular mechanisms of Qi Teng Xiao Zhuo granule-mediated treatment of CGN induced by adriamycin in rats. For gene expression analysis, four samples of glomerular tissue from rats in the Qi Teng Xiao Zhuo granule group and four samples each from the adriamycin treated and control groups were hybridized with Agilent Rat 4×44K whole genome microarrays. KEGG and Gene Ontology (GO) analyses and LIMMA, String and Cytoscape software were used to analyze the functional microarray data and screen differentially expressed genes. Hub genes were identified using Pathway Studio software. Real-time PCR was performed to verify the selected genes. Microarray gene expression analysis showed that Pnoc, Cacfd1, Fos, Igll1, Lcn2, and Syk were among the most downregulated genes in the Qi Teng Xiao Zhuo granule group compared with the adriamycin treated group, whereas Cyp2c7, Hsd3b6, Acsm5, and Ugt2b15 were significantly upregulated. Functional analysis demonstrated that metabolism of xenobiotics by cytochrome P450, the B cell receptor signaling pathway, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways were significantly downregulated in the Qi Teng Xiao Zhuo granule group and that GO terms related to positive regulation of immune response, immune response-activating signal transduction, cell differentiation, cell cycle, proliferation, and adhesion were significantly affected. Fos and Syk were considered to be potential hub genes. In the adriamycin-induced CGN rat model, comprehensive molecular mechanisms were involved with complex gene expression alterations containing many altered pathways and GO terms. However, how Qi Teng Xiao Zhuo granules regulate these events warrants further investigation. [Display omitted]