Exploring Cistanche's therapeutic potential and molecular mechanisms in asthma treatment

作者：Jiliu Liu, Jie Gao, Anying Xiong, Guoping Li, Kai Zhong, Lingling Bai, Xiaolan Li, Ran Qin, Ying Xiong, Xiang He · 发表于：Phytomedicine · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.phymed.2024.156265 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Asthma and respiratory diseases、Herbal Medicine Research Studies、Genomics, phytochemicals, and oxidative stress

Asthma, a prevalent chronic respiratory disease, is characterized by airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness, significantly impacting global health. Current treatments, including corticosteroids, face limitations due to variable patient responses and side effects. This study explores the therapeutic potential of Cistanche, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, in an asthmatic mouse model induced by house dust mites (HDM). We employed a multidisciplinary approach, including transcriptomics, mass spectrometry, Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), and experimental validation in animal and cellular models. Our findings demonstrate that Cistanche significantly attenuates airway hyperresponsiveness, cellular infiltration, and mucus hypersecretion in asthmatic mice. Transcriptomic analysis identified 643 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with Cistanche treatment disrupting pathways associated with IL-4, IL-5, and eosinophils. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) revealed Cistanche's involvement in glucocorticoid processes, suggesting its potential as an alternative or complementary therapy to conventional glucocorticoids. Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LCHRMS) analysis identified Pinoresinol 4-O-Beta-D-Glucopyranoside (PG) as a key active component of Cistanche, with targets predominantly associated with the PI3K-AKT pathway. WGCNA analysis of an asthma dataset identified the "skyblue" module as highly associated with asthma, with i...