Network Pharmacology-Based Elucidation of the Hypoglycemic Mechanism of GF5000 Polysaccharides via GCK modulation in Diabetic Rats.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Our lab has previously reported that (maitake mushroom) GF5000 has antidiabetic potential owing to its ability to improve insulin resistance. This study aimed to gain insight into the system-level hypoglycemic mechanisms of GF5000 using transcriptomics, proteomics, and network pharmacology. This study provides new insights into the hypoglycemic mechanisms of GF5000, identifying key molecular targets involved in mitigating insulin resistance in T2DM.

METHODS

Liver protein and gene expression in normal control (NC), diabetic control (DC), and GF5000-treated (GF5000) rats were analyzed via iTRAQ and RNA-seq. The relationships between differentially expressed genes (DEGs), differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) disease targets were studied using Metascape and the Cytoscape GeneMANIA plug-in.

RESULTS

One hundred and fifty-two DEGs and sixty-two DEPs were identified; twenty DEGs/DEPs exhibited the same trend in mRNA and protein expression levels when comparing the GF5000 vs. DC groups. The Metascape analysis revealed that the T2DM disease targets included four DEGs-, , , and -and two DEPs-glucokinase and acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2. A Cytoscape-GeneMANIA analysis of thirteen DEGs/DEPs related to T2DM showed that /Apolipoprotein A-I, /glucokinase regulatory protein, and /glucokinase had the highest connectivity and centrality in the topological network. The qPCR results confirmed that GF5000 increased the mRNA expression of in -knockdown HepG2 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

These results provide theoretical evidence for the use of GF5000 as a potential active nutritional ingredient for the prevention and treatment of T2DM. Our findings suggest that GF5000 targets multiple pathways implicated in T2DM, offering a multi-faceted approach to disease management and prevention.