Nao Tan Qing ameliorates Alzheimer's disease-like pathology by regulating glycolipid metabolism and neuroinflammation: A network pharmacology analysis and biological validation

Qianqian Li; Caixia Jia; Hongxing Wu; Yajin Liao; Ke Yang; Shuoshuo Li; Jing Zhang; Jinlei Wang; Guo Li; Fangxia Guan; Elaine Leung; Zengqiang Yuan; Qian Hua; Rui-Yuan Pan

doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106489

Nao Tan Qing ameliorates Alzheimer's disease-like pathology by regulating glycolipid metabolism and neuroinflammation: A network pharmacology analysis and biological validation

Pharmacol Res. 2022 Nov:185:106489. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106489. Epub 2022 Oct 10.

Authors

Qianqian Li¹, Caixia Jia², Hongxing Wu³, Yajin Liao⁴, Ke Yang², Shuoshuo Li², Jing Zhang¹, Jinlei Wang⁵, Guo Li⁵, Fangxia Guan⁵, Elaine Leung⁶, Zengqiang Yuan⁷, Qian Hua⁸, Rui-Yuan Pan⁹

Affiliations

¹ The Brain Science Center, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing 100850, China.
² School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
³ The Brain Science Center, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing 100850, China; School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
⁴ Department of neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang 42100, Hunan, China.
⁵ School of Life Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan, China.
⁶ Cancer Center, Faculty of Health Science, University of Macau, Macau (SAR), China. MOE Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology, University of Macau, Macau (SAR), China.
⁷ The Brain Science Center, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing 100850, China. Electronic address: zqyuan@bmi.ac.cn.
⁸ School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address: huaq@bucm.edu.cn.
⁹ The Brain Science Center, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing 100850, China. Electronic address: panruiyuan168@sina.com.

PMID: 36228869
DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2022.106489

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive decline and currently there are no available treatments. Alongside the conventional Aβ and tau hypotheses, neuroinflammation and metabolism disruption have also been regarded as crucial hallmarks of AD. In this study, a novel Chinese formula Nao Tan Qing (NTQ) was developed and shown to improve AD. In vivo experiments showed that NTQ significantly mitigated cognitive impairment, Aβ burden and neuroinflammation in a transgenic AD mouse model (5×FAD). Network pharmacology results revealed that the active components of NTQ could target inflammatory and metabolic pathways. In addition, hippocampal transcriptomics suggested that NTQ regulated signaling pathways related to inflammation and lipid metabolism. Consistently, serum metabolomics further indicated that NTQ could modulate glycolipid metabolism. In summary, a combination of systems pharmacology analysis and biological validation study demonstrates that NTQ could alleviate behavioral abnormality and pathological alterations of AD by targeting glycolipid metabolism and neuroinflammation, and is accordingly a potential therapeutic agent for AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Glycolipid metabolism; Nao Tan Qing; Neuroinflammation; Systems pharmacology; Traditional Chinese medicine.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alzheimer Disease* / metabolism
Amyloid beta-Peptides / metabolism
Animals
Disease Models, Animal
Glycolipids / therapeutic use
Lipid Metabolism
Mice
Mice, Transgenic
Network Pharmacology
Neuroinflammatory Diseases

Substances

Glycolipids
Amyloid beta-Peptides