The Hypoglycemic Effect of JinQi Jiangtang Tablets Is Partially Dependent on the Palmatine-Induced Activation of the Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1 Signaling Pathway

Siming Li; Xiaoling Li; HeMeng Wang; Xinhang Jia; Haoyang Mao; Fangxin Dong; Tingting Zhao; Yuan Gao; Chen Zhang; Ruisong Bai; Ruihao Liu; Lijun Yan; Yubin Ji; Na Zhang; Wenfei Wang

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.895724

The Hypoglycemic Effect of JinQi Jiangtang Tablets Is Partially Dependent on the Palmatine-Induced Activation of the Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1 Signaling Pathway

Front Pharmacol. 2022 Jul 22:13:895724. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.895724. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Siming Li¹, Xiaoling Li¹, HeMeng Wang^{2

3}, Xinhang Jia¹, Haoyang Mao¹, Fangxin Dong¹, Tingting Zhao⁴, Yuan Gao¹, Chen Zhang¹, Ruisong Bai³, Ruihao Liu³, Lijun Yan¹, Yubin Ji¹, Na Zhang⁵, Wenfei Wang³

Affiliations

¹ School of Pharmacy, Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin, China.
² College of Life Sciences, Tarim University, Alar, China.
³ College of Life Sciences, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China.
⁴ Aier School of Ophthalmology, Central South University, Changsha, China.
⁵ College of Food Engineering, Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin, China.

Abstract

JinQi Jiangtang tablet (JQJTT) is a Chinese patent medicine that has been shown to be beneficial for patients with diabetes both preclinically and clinically; however, the molecular mechanism underlying the effects of JQJTT remains unclear. In this study, surface plasmon resonance fishing was employed to identify JQJTT constituent molecules that can specifically bind to fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), leading to the retrieval of palmatine (PAL), a key active ingredient of JQJTT. In vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrated that PAL can significantly stimulate FGFR1 phosphorylation and upregulate glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT-1) expression, thereby facilitating glucose uptake in insulin resistance (IR) HepG2 cells as well as alleviating hyperglycemia in diabetic mice. Our results revealed that PAL functions as an FGFR1 activator and that the hypoglycemic effect of JQJTT is partially dependent on the PAL-induced activation of the FGFR1 pathway. In addition, this study contributed to the understanding the pharmacodynamic basis and mechanism of action of JQJTT and provided a novel concept for future research on PAL.

Keywords: JinQi Jiangtang tablets (JQJTT); SPR fishing; fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR1); hypoglycemic effect; palmatine (PAL).