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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Med.
Sec. Rheumatology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1475239
This article is part of the Research Topic Effect of Herbal Medicines and Their Metabolites on Treating and Managing Osteolytic Diseases View all articles

Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of "Tianyu" Medicine Pair in Rheumatoid Arthritis: An Integrated Study Combining LC-MS/MS, Bioinformatics, Network Pharmacology, and Experimental Validation

Provisionally accepted
Lu Tang Lu Tang 1Dingyuan Guo Dingyuan Guo 2*Dongye Jia Dongye Jia 1*Songlan Piao Songlan Piao 3*Chunqiu Fang Chunqiu Fang 1Yueya Zhu Yueya Zhu 1*Yinghang Wang Yinghang Wang 4*Zhi Pan Zhi Pan 1*
  • 1 Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
  • 2 Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 3 School of Clinical Medicine, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, Hebei Province, China
  • 4 The Affiliated Hospital of Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changchun, Jilin Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a widespread chronic autoimmune disease that primarily causes joint inflammation and damage. In advanced stages, RA can result in joint deformities and loss of function, severely impacting patients' quality of life. The 'Tianyu' pair (TYP) is a traditional Chinese medicine formulation developed from clinical experience and has shown some effectiveness in treating RA. However, its role in the complex biological mechanisms underlying RA remains unclear and warrants further investigation.We obtained gene sequencing data of synovial tissues from both RA patients and healthy individuals using two gene microarrays, GSE77298 and GSE55235, from the GEO database. Through an integrated approach involving bioinformatics, machine learning, and network pharmacology, we identified the core molecular targets of the "Tianyu" medicine pair (TYP) for RA treatment. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was then employed to analyze the chemical components of TYP. To validate our findings, we conducted animal experiments with Wistar rats, comparing histopathological and key gene expression changes before and after TYP treatment.Results: Results: Our data analysis suggests that the onset of RA may be associated with inflammation-related immune cells involved in both adaptive and innate immune responses. Potential key targets for TYP treatment in RA include AKR1B10, MMP13, FABP4, NCF1, SPP1, COL1A1, and RASGRP1. Among the components of TYP, Kaempferol, Quercetin, and Salidroside were identified as key, with MMP13 and NCF1 showing the strongest binding affinity to these compounds. Animal experiments confirmed the findings from bioinformatics and network pharmacology, validating the key targets and therapeutic effects of TYP in treating RA. Conclusion: Our study reveals that TYP has potential clinical value in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. This research enhances our understanding of RA's pathogenesis and provides insight into potential therapeutic mechanisms.

    Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis1, "Tianyu" Medicine Pair2, Chinese medicine3, bioinformatics analysis4, machine learning5

    Received: 03 Aug 2024; Accepted: 23 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Tang, Guo, Jia, Piao, Fang, Zhu, Wang and Pan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Dingyuan Guo, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100001, Beijing Municipality, China
    Dongye Jia, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
    Songlan Piao, School of Clinical Medicine, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130117, Hebei Province, China
    Yueya Zhu, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
    Yinghang Wang, The Affiliated Hospital of Changchun University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130021, Jilin Province, China
    Zhi Pan, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China

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