Quantitative proteomics reveals the effect of Yigu decoction (YGD) on protein expression in bone tissue

Ruikun Zhang; Kun Yan; Yulun Wu; Xinmiao Yao; Guijin Li; Linpu Ge; Zhineng Chen

doi:10.1186/s12014-021-09330-0

Quantitative proteomics reveals the effect of Yigu decoction (YGD) on protein expression in bone tissue

Clin Proteomics. 2021 Oct 12;18(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s12014-021-09330-0.

Authors

Ruikun Zhang^{1

2}, Kun Yan^{1

2}, Yulun Wu³, Xinmiao Yao^{1

2}, Guijin Li², Linpu Ge², Zhineng Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ The Third Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang, Chinese Medical University, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, 310053, China.
² Department of Orthopedics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang, Chinese Medical University, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, 310005, China.
³ Rehabilitation Medicine Center of Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine Research Institute of Zhejiang Province, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, 310014, China.
⁴ Department of Orthopedics, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang, Chinese Medical University, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, 310005, China. czneng@163.com.

Abstract

Background: Osteoporosis (OP) is a systemic bone disease characterized by decreased bone mass, destruction of the bone tissue microstructure, increased bone brittleness and an increased risk of fracture. OP has a high incidence rate and long disease course and is associated with serious complications. Yigu decoction (YGD) is a compound prescription in traditional Chinese medicine that is used to treat OP. However, its mechanism in OP is not clear. This study used a tandem mass tag (TMT)quantitative proteomics method to explore the potential bone-protective mechanism of YGD in an osteoporotic rat model.

Materials and methods: A rat model of OP was established by ovariectomy. Eighteen 12-week-old specific-pathogen-free female Wistar rats weighing 220 ± 10 g were selected. The eighteen rats were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 6 in each group): the normal, model and YGD groups. The right femurs from each group were subjected to quantitative biological analysis. TMT quantitative proteomics was used to analyze the proteins extracted from the bone tissue of rats in the model and YGD groups, and the differentially expressed proteins after intervention with YGD were identified as biologically relevant proteins of interest. Functional annotation correlation analysis was also performed to explore the biological function and mechanism of YGD.

Result: Compared with the model group, the YGD group showed significant upregulation of 26 proteins (FC > 1.2, P < 0.05) and significant downregulation of 39 proteins (FC < 0.833, P < 0.05). Four important targets involved in OP and 5 important signaling pathways involved in bone metabolism were identified.

Conclusions: YGD can significantly increase the bone mineral density (BMD) of osteoporotic rats and may play a therapeutic role by regulating target proteins involved in multiple signaling pathways. Therefore, these results improve the understanding of the OP mechanism and provide an experimental basis for the clinical application of YGD in OP treatment.

Keywords: Bone metabolism; Osteoporosis; TMT proteomics; Yigu decoction.

Abstract

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