Title:Transcriptome Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine ‘Kechuanning
Plaster’ in the Treatment of Asthma
Volume: 26
Issue: 4
Author(s): Yanbo Fan, Wei Wang, Zhiwei He, Jingjing Li*, Nian Ding, Lijun Lu, Jun Zhang and Miaomiao Xie
Affiliation:
- College of Basic Medicine, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, Hubei 430065, P.R. China
Keywords:
Asthma, kechuanning plaster, immunohistochemistry, transcriptome analysis traditional Chinese medicine, Immunoglobulin E.
Abstract:
Background: Asthma is a severe chronic inflammatory airway disease. Kechuanning
plaster has excellent efficacy in the treatment of asthma.
Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the molecular mechanisms of Kechuanning plaster
in the treatment of asthma.
Methods: An asthma model was constructed using Sprague Dawley rats. Differentially expressed
genes (DEGs) were screened in three rat groups: the control (normal rats), model (asthma rats), and
treatment (asthma rats treated with Kechuanning) groups. After enrichment analysis of the DEGs,
the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of the DEGs were analyzed, and transcription factors and
microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate DEGs were predicted. Finally, western blotting (WB) and
immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis was performed to validate protein expression.
Results: A total of 745 DEGs were identified and enriched in 93 Gene Ontology terms and 25
Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. A PPI network, consisting of 224 protein
nodes and 368 edges, was constructed. The nuclear factor of activated T cells 2 (NFATc2) was
predicted to have binding sites in 61 DEGs. The miRNA-target interaction network included 24
DEGs and 9 miRNAs. WB and IHC analysis demonstrated that the fatty acid-binding protein 5
(FABP5) and the chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 3 (CXCL3) had higher expression in the model
group and lower expression in the control and treatment groups.
Conclusion: We concluded that FABP5, CXCL3, suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3),
E1A binding protein P300 (EP300), NFATc2, microRNA 495 (miR-495), and miR-30 may play
important roles in treating asthma.