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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1436800
This article is part of the Research Topic Efficacy and Mechanism of Herbal Medicines and Their Functional Compounds in Preventing and Treating Cardiovascular Diseases and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors - Volume II View all 11 articles
QiShenYiQi pills ameliorate retinal microvascular hyperpermeability in db/db mice through improving mitochondrial function and stabilizing cytoskeleton
Provisionally accepted
Zheng Wang
1,2
An-Qing Li
1,2
Li Yan
1,2
Chong Yang
1,2
Song Guo
1,2
Chunshui Pan
1,2*
De-Xin Li
1,2
Yi Zhang
1,2
Jing-Xin Zhang
1,2
Kai Sun
1,2
Xinmei Huo
1,2
Guibo Sun
3
Lijun Zhong
2,4
Jing-Yan Han
1,2*
Jian Liu
1,2*- 1 Academy of integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, Health Science Centre, Peking University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 2 Health Science Centre, Peking University, Beijing, China
- 3 Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
- 4 Center of Medical and Health Analysis, Health Science Centre, Peking University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
Objective: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a leading cause of blindness in adults worldwide. The present study aims to evaluate whether QiShenYiQi pills (QSYQ), a traditional Chinese medicine, can suppress diabetic retinal microvascular leakage in db/db diabetic mice. Methods: C57BL/6 and db/db mice at the age of 6 (pre-treatment groups) or 8 (post-treatment groups) weeks were orally administered with low (0.25 g/kg), medium (0.50 g/kg), and high (1.00 g/kg) dose of QSYQ until 14 weeks old, respectively. FITC-dextran leakage and fluorescein sodium leakage, retinal morphological changes, retinal microvascular obstruction were evaluated; proteomics were used to find potential targets of QSYQ; the expression of Claudin-5, Occludin, ZO-1, JAM-1, VE-cadherin, ATP5α, ATP5β, ATP5D, VEGFR2, Ndufs3, Ndufb8, Acad9, Septin6, Tubb6, Dnm1, MMP2/9 and reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected. Results: Both pre- and post-administration of QSYQ could alleviate retinal microvascular leakage in db/db mice. Post-administration with a medium dose of QSYQ could reduce retinal microvascular blockage, suppress the downregulation of endothelial cell junction proteins Occludin and Claudin-5, and suppress the elevated expression of VEGFR2, MMP2/9 and the ROS levels. Proteomics analysis and further validation proved that, QSYQ inhibited the downregulation of cytoskeleton-related proteins Septin6 and Dnm1, and mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I related proteins Ndufs3 and Acad9 in retinal tissue of db/db mice. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that administration of QSYQ could attenuate retinal microvascular hyperpermeability in db/db mice, providing evidence for the clinical use of QSYQ in preventing retinal microvascular leakage in diabetic patients.
Keywords: microvascular hyperpermeability, cell junction, Energy Metabolism, Cytoskeleton, QSYQ
Received: 22 May 2024; Accepted: 07 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Li, Yan, Yang, Guo, Pan, Li, Zhang, Zhang, Sun, Huo, Sun, Zhong, Han and Liu. 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:
Chunshui Pan, Academy of integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, Health Science Centre, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, Beijing Municipality, China
Jing-Yan Han, Academy of integration of Chinese and Western Medicine, Health Science Centre, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, Beijing Municipality, China
Jian Liu, Health Science Centre, Peking University, Beijing, China
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