Therapeutic Effects of Huazhuojiedu Decoction on Precancerous Lesions of Gastric Cancer by Regulating Mitophagy

This research aims to explore the therapeutic effect and potential mechanisms of Huazhuojiedu decoction (HZJD) for alleviating precancerous lesions of gastric cancer (PLGC) both in vivo and in vitro. HZJD is a traditional Chinese herbal formula consisting of 11 herbs. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into four subgroups: control group, model group, positive drug group, and HZJD group. Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, high iron diamine-alcian blue (HID-AB) staining, alcian blue-periodic acid Schiff (AB-PAS) staining, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, RT-qPCR, and Western blot assays were performed after 10 weeks of HZJD treatment. In vitro, the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays were used to detect cell proliferation. RT-qPCR and Western blot assays were performed to evaluate mitophagy levels. The results indicated that HZJD could retard the pathological progression in PLGC rats and reduce PLGC cell proliferation. Treatment with HZJD significantly increased the mRNA and protein expression levels of Sirt3, Foxo3a, Parkin, and LC3 II/I, while decreasing the mRNA and protein expression levels of p62 and Tomm20. HZJD was found to have the ability to reverse the decline in mitophagy activity both in vivo and in vitro. In conclusion, the study assessed the impact of HZJD and provided evidence regarding its potential molecular mechanism.