Traditional Chinese medicine Pien-Tze-Huang ameliorates LPS-induced sepsis through bile acid-mediated activation of TGR5-STAT3-A20 signalling

Pien Tze Huang(PZH),a class-1 nationally protected traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),has been used to treat liver diseases such as hepatitis;however,the effect of PZH on the progression of sepsis is unknown.Here,we reported that PZH attenuated lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced sepsis in mice and reduced LPS-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages by inhibiting the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)and nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB)signalling.Mechanistically,PZH stimulated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)phosphorylation to induce the expression of A20,which could inhibit the activation of NF-κB and MAPK signalling.Knockdown of the bile acid(BA)receptor G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1(TGR5)in macrophages abolished the effects of PZH on STAT3 phosphorylation and A20 induction,as well as the LPS-induced inflammatory response,suggesting that BAs in PZH may mediate its anti-inflammatory effects by activating TGR5.Consistently,deprivation of BAs in PZH by cholestyramine resin reduced the effects of PZH on the expression of phosphorylated-STAT3 and A20,the activation of NF-κB and MAPK signalling,and the production of proinflammatory cytokines,whereas the addition of BAs to cholestyramine resin-treated PZH partially restored the inhibitory effects on the production of proinflammatory cytokines.Overall,our study identifies BAs as the effective components in PZH that activate TGR5-STAT3-A20 signalling to ameliorate LPS-induced sepsis.

Metabolomics Analysis of the Responses to Partial Hepatectomy in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

In this study, liquid chromatography/quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (LC/QTOFMS) was employed for investigating the metabolome of the sera collected from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients before and 3 to 5 months after partial hepatectomy. To investigate the changes in metabolic phenotypes after the hepatic resection, principal components analysis (PCA) and support vector machine (SVM) were performed for the data grouping and classification. Based on the obtained SVM model, mass spectrometry spectra, database searching as well as the confirmation from authentic standards, several differentiating metabolites were tentatively identified. To improve visualization, z-score plot and heat map display were performed, which exhibited the changes in concentration of the metabolites. As a result, depletion of circulating carnitine, reduced amino acid biosynthesis and increased rate of lipid peroxidation were observed. Meanwhile, up-regulation of hypoxanthine indicated that purine metabolism might serve as the salvage pathway. Collectively, the results reflected metabolic responses to surgical operation in HCC patients, suggesting perturbation of energy metabolism may occur in 3 to 5 months after the partial hepatectomy.