Search

Objective To analyze the effects and molecular mechanisms of AhR signaling pathway in the treatment of scleroderma with Bushen Yijing Decoction. Methods The active ingredients of Bushen Yijing Decoction and its target genes, AhR signaling pathway genes and the genes related to scleroderma were searched through TCMSP and other databases, and LC-MS results. Target gene network diagram of scleroderma, AhR pathway and the key active ingredients in Bushen Yijing Decoction were constructed. The protein-protein interaction network was constructed with STRING database, and GO and Genome KEGG were also performed. Finally, the molecular docking of the active ingredients and AhR were verified. Results Ferulic acid, quercetin, kaempferol, isoferulic acid and luteolin were key active ingredients in Bushen Yijing Decoction for the treatment of scleroderma by targeting AhR signaling pathway. These active ingredients possibly regulated AhR signaling pathway molecules, including IL-6, CTNNB1, HSP90AA1, TNF and PTGS2, which were involved in the pathogenesis of scleroderma. Molecular docking showed that the binding energies of ferulic acid, kaempferol, quercetin, isoferulic acid and luteolin with AhR were lower than -6. 0 kcal/mol, indicating a good binding activity. Conclusions The mechanisms by which Bushen Yijing Decoction treats scleroderma can be attributed to the active ingredients such as ferulic acid, quercetin, kaempferol, isoferulic acid, luteolin, which target AhR signaling pathway and regulate core targets, including IL-6, CTNNB1, HSP90AA1, TNF and PTGS2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psoriasis is considered as an inflammatory disease driven by T cells, and its pathogenesis is closely related to the imbalance of intestinal bacteria flora. It has been reported that Bacteroides fragilis could play an anti-inflammatory role by regulating the expression of cytokines in T cells. To date, there is no report using B. fragilis to treat psoriasis. In this study, we explored the therapeutic effect of B. fragilis BF839 on psoriasis. We selected 27 psoriasis patients who were treated in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University from April to October 2019. The patients were given B. fragilis BF839 orally for 12 weeks while maintaining the original treatment. The psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) score was evaluated before and after the treatment. The rate of drug withdrawal and reduction after 12 weeks of treatment were calculated. Our results showed that the rate of 12-week trial completion was 96.3% (26/27). We used PASIN to define the proportion of people whose PASI score decreased more than or equal to N% after treatment. At 12 weeks, PASI30, PASI50, and PASI75 were 65.4%, 42.3%, and 19.2%, respectively. The PASI score was 9.1±5.9 and 5.8±4.9 before and after 12 weeks of treatment respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01). The effective rate of the visual analog scale (VAS) score was 42.3% at 12 weeks, and the VAS score was 2.9±2.2 and 2.3±2.1 before and after 12 weeks of treatment, respectively, which had no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). The adverse reaction rate of patients was 3.8% (1/26) within 12 weeks of treatment, including 1 case of constipation, and the rate of drug withdrawal and reduction was 60.0%. The above results suggest that B. fragilis BF839 may be functional on the treatment of psoriasis by reducing the PASI score and the drug usage rate with few side effect, which deserves further study.