Paeonia suffruticosa Andr. is a well-known landscape plant worldwide and also holds significant importance in China due to its medicinal and dietary properties. Previous studies have found that Cortex Moutan (CM), the dried root bark of P. suffruticosa, showed antiplatelet and cardioprotective effects, although the underlying mechanism and active compounds remain to be revealed. In this study, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) inhibitors in CM were identified using a ligand-fishing method combined with the UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS assay. Further, their binding sites and inhibitory activities toward PDI were validated. The antiplatelet aggregation and antithrombotic activity were investigated. The results showed that two structurally similar compounds in CM were identified as the inhibitor for PDI with IC50 at 3.22 μM and 16.73 μM; among them Mudanpioside C (MC) is the most effective PDI inhibitor. Molecular docking, site-directed mutagenesis, and MST assay unequivocally demonstrated the specific binding of MC to the b'-x domain of PDI (Kd = 3.9 μM), acting as a potent PDI inhibitor by interacting with key amino acids K263, D292, and N298 within the b'-x domain. Meanwhile, MC could dose-dependently suppress collagen-induced platelet aggregation and interfere with platelet activation, adhesion, and spreading. Administration of MC can significantly inhibit thrombosis formation without disturbing hemostasis in mice. These findings present a promising perspective on the antithrombotic properties of CM and highlight the potential application of MC as lead compounds for targeting PDI in thrombosis therapy.
Keywords: Antithrombotic agents; Cortex Moutan; Mudanpioside C; Platelets; Protein disulfide isomerase.