Proteomics study the protective effects of Panax notoginsenosides on liver in mice with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Liver is the main organ of glucose and lipid metabolism,and persistent hyperglycemia is a common cause of liver injury.Panax notoginsenosides(PNS)is the main active ingredient in Panax notoginseng,which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.In this study,quantitative proteomics combined with experimental verification was used to explore the protective effect of PNS on liver injury in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)mice and its potential mechanism.All experiments were approved by the Ethical Committee Experimental Animal Center of North Sichuan Medical College(NSMC2022023).Hematoxylin-eosin(H&E)staining and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe the effect of PNS on the histopathological changes of liver in T2DM mice.TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-end labeling(TUNEL)staining was used to analyze the effect of PNS on hepatocyte apoptosis in T2DM mice.Reactive oxygen species(ROS)and malonaldehyde(MDA)kits were used to detect the effect of PNS on oxidative damage of liver in T2DM mice.Subsequently,proteomics profiling of mice in T2DM and T2DM+PNS groups were investigated based on quantitative proteomics.Differentially expressed proteins were screened out according to fold change and significance level in T2DM and T2DM+PNS groups,respectively.Pathway enrichment analysis of these differential proteins was done using GeneAnalytics database.Gene ontology analysis was conducted by Metascape database.Protein-protein interaction networks were constructed based on STRING database.Western blot was used to detect protein expression.These results showed that PNS could improve liver abnormalities,inhibit hepatocyte apoptosis,and improve the morphology of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum in T2DM mice.Proteome data demonstrated that 489 genes expression changed significantly in liver of T2DM mice compared with normal,and 42 ones were significantly reversed after PNS treatment and returned to normal levels.Pathway analysis showed that sterol hormone biosynthesis,adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase(AMPK)signaling pathway,oxidative stress,insulin signaling,phosphatidylinositol pathway,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)mediated inflammation,insulin resistance,and mTOR signaling pathway exhibited notable changes based on pathway enrichment ratio and significance level.It is worth noting that PNS could improve the abnormal changes of AMPK,TNF-α,apoptosis and insulin pathways.Western blot manifested that PNS inhibit the expression of Bax,Grp78 and Chop,reduce ratio of cleaved casp6/casp6,increase the levels of pAMPKα,HO-1 and Nu-Nrf2 in the liver of T2DM mice.These results suggested that PNS may play protective roles in the liver of T2DM mice by inhibiting apoptosis via activating AMPK/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway,alleviating oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress.