Huanglian Ganjiang decoction alleviates ulcerative colitis by restoring gut barrier via APOC1-JNK/P38 MAPK signal pathway based on proteomic analysis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a kind of chronic intestinal inflammation accompanied with abdominal pain, diarrhea and hematochezia. Huanglian Ganjiang decoction (HGD) derived from “Beiji Qianjin Yao Fang” was used for UC patients clinically. However, the specific mechanism of HGD in treating UC remain unclear. Our study devoted to demonstrating the therapeutic effect of HGD for colitis and clarifying the underlying mechanism. UPLC-MS was carried out to identify the ingredients of HGD. UC mice were induced by giving 3% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) solution for one week and treated by HGD for another week. Body weight fluctuation, disease activity index (DAI), colon length and pathological change of colon tissues were observed to evaluate therapeutical effect of HGD. ELISA and qPCR were carried out to estimate the inflammatory state. Western blot, qPCR and immunofluorescence were used to access the expression of tight junction proteins. Tandem mass tag (TMT)-Based proteomics and network pharmacology was launched to screen and predict the potential targets and pathway regulated by HGD. Based on the UPLC-MS/MS analysis, 100 components were identified in HGD. After 7-day treatment, HGD significantly alleviated colitis-associated symptoms including body weight loss, shorted colon, increase of DAI score, histopathologic lesions. HGD also reduced inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-1β levels, increased the number of goblet cells and restored tight junction proteins Occludin, Claudin-1 in colon. Network pharmacology study predicted that tight junction and MAPK pathway might be affected by HGD in colitis mice. APOC1 was screened out as key target in HGD-treated mice using TMT-based proteomics study. Further Western blot results showed that HGD reduced expressions of APOC1, p-P38 and p-JNK. HGD improves general symptoms of colitis mice at medium and high doses, which may be associated with restoring tight junction and intestinal barrier integrity and function through suppression of APOC1-JNK/P38 MAPK signal pathway.