Integrating proteomics, metabolomics, and network pharmacology to investigate the mechanism of Cordyceps sinensis in the treatment of COPD rats

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes significant morbidity and mortality, ranking as the third leading cause of death globally. Cordyceps sinensis (C. sinensis), has long been used in Asia as a tonic of traditional Chinese medicine, to alleviate lung ailments, and exhibits a potential therapeutic effect on COPD. This study aimed to explore the protective effects of C. sinensis on COPD and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanism. In this study, COPD was induced in rats via cigarette smoke exposure combined with intratracheal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration, followed by C. sinensis treatment. Pathological alterations in lung tissue and inflammatory cytokines in serum and lung tissue were assessed, and an integrated analysis combining proteomics, metabolomics, serum pharmacochemistry, network pharmacology, and molecular biology was conducted. The result showed that C. sinensis treatment significantly alleviated lung tissue injury in COPD rats, with the medium dose exhibiting particularly notable efficacy. Furthermore, C. sinensis administration reduced the levels of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-8, MMP-9) in serum and lung tissue, suggesting a potential anti-inflammatory role in COPD. Integrated metabolomics and proteomics analysis revealed that the protective effect of C. sinensis against COPD critically depended on regulating glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism by targeting PLA2G4E and B4GALT4 proteins, which confirmed by WB and qRT-PCR. The analysis of serum samples identified 20 blood-entering compounds from C. sinensis. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that sphingolipid components in C. sinensis exert therapeutic effects against COPD through multi-target interactions, primarily involving AKT1, ESR1, TLR4, and MMP9. The findings further revealed that C. sinensis mainly modulated COPD through the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. Additionally, WB experiments verified that C. sinensis reversed p-AKT in the lung tissue of COPD rats. In conclusion, C. sinensis may influence the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway in COPD rats, potentially affecting glycerophospholipid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism by targeting PLA2G4E and B4GALT4 proteins, thereby alleviating the inflammatory response and mitigating lung tissue damage caused by COPD.