[Metabolomics combined with bioinformatics reveals mechanism of Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction in treating chronic kidney disease].

This article aims to analyze the therapeutic effect and probe into the mechanism of Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction in treating chronic kidney disease(CKD) based on metabolomics and bioinformatics. The patients with stage 3-4 CKD diagnosed and treated in the Changzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June 2023 to March 2024 were enrolled in this study. The patients were treated with Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction, and the therapeutic effect was evaluated. The serum samples were collected before and after treatment. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography was employed to detect metabolites in the serum, and multivariate statistical analysis was performed. Bioinformatics was employed to screen the active components and targets of the decoction and the potential targets of CKD. The protein-protein interaction(PPI) network of the common targets shared by the decoction and CKD and the drug-component-target network were constructed. The core components and targets were screened according to the correlation degree of the network. The binding between core components and targets was verified by molecular docking. The results showed that Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction improved the renal function and reduced proteinuria. Compared with the healthy population, the post-treatment population showed recovery of 54 up-regulated metabolites and 43 down-regulated metabolites. Enrichment analysis results showed that the key pathways included adenosine triphosphate binding cassette(ABC) transport, tryptophan metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism. The results of bioinformatics analysis showed that the core components of Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction in treating CKD included kaempferol, β-sitosterol, luteolin, 7-O-methylisolingol, and tanshinone Ⅱ_A. The core targets included TP53, PTGS2, JUN, AKT1, and TNF. Molecular docking results showed that the core components bound well to the target genes. The results of joint pathway analysis suggested that both differential metabolites and key targets were involved in galactose metabolism, nicotinamide metabolism, and other pathways. This study suggests that Sanhuang Hushen Fangshuai Decoction is effective for CKD, and it can regulate multiple abnormal metabolites and participates in multiple metabolic pathways involving amino acids and sugars. The active components such as kaempferol in the decoction may regulate related targets such as TP53 and PTGS2. This study provides a basis for the prevention and treatment of CKD with traditional Chinese medicine.