Metabolites
Shenqi Granules Ameliorate Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury by Regulating Glucocerebrosidase and Uridine Metabolism in Microglia
By Liu HX, Li YC, Liu CX and 5 others.
Abstract
Objective
Shenqi Granules is a traditional Chinese medicine formula derived from the classic prescription Shenqi Formula (SQF), composed of Astragali Radix (Huangqi) and Codonopsis Radix (Dangshen). SQF shows neuroprotection in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
Methods
The rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was established using the suture method to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of SQF. Blood-absorbed components were identified via UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, and potential targets and pathways were predicted through network pharmacology. Non-targeted metabolomics of serum and feces was performed using UHPLC-Orbitrap MS, and core metabolic pathways were selected based on regulation magnitude (RM). Gut microbiota structure was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing, with associations between microbiota and metabolites assessed via the Mantel test and redundancy analysis (RDA). Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was applied to screen core Hub genes for ischemic stroke (IS). Based on single-cell RNA data, a uridine transport/metabolism-associated transcriptional signature score (Uridine_Score) was constructed, and cell type-specific coupling between glucocerebrosidase (GBA) and this transcriptional signature was analyzed. Microglial temporal trajectory analysis was conducted using Monocle3. Molecular docking between core components and GBA was verified by AutoDock, and GBA mRNA expression was confirmed by RT-qPCR.