Yixin-Shu facilitated cardiac-like differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells in vitro.

Abstract

Yixin-Shu capsules (YXS) are a Chinese Materia Medica standardized product used for heart disease and their effectiveness has been demonstrated through both clinical and experimental research. However, the mechanism involved has remained unclear. The effect of YXS on the cardiac-like differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells was investigated in this study. The intestinal absorption liquid of YXS was prepared using an in vitro intestinal absorption method and 62 compounds have been identified. A compound-target-function network constructed by a network pharmacology-based approach indicated that these compounds had an effect on cell differentiation. The effects of YXS on cardiac-like differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells was verified by detecting cardiac-specific protein expression such as α-actinin, cardiac troponin-I and desmin through real time-PCR, western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. A network pharmacology analysis indicated that the facilitation of YXS on the cardiac-like differentiation may be through the TGF-β signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway. The observed improvements on cardiac differentiation may be due to the novel molecular mechanism for YXS that could also benefit developments in cardiac tissue engineering.

• Authors: Jingjing Zhang, Feifei Guo, Hongwei Wu, Junying Wei, Minghua Xian, Fangfang Fan, Shihuan Tang, Ye Zhao, Yi Zhang, Defeng Li, Hongjun Yang
• Journal: RSC advances (RSC Adv) Vol. 8 Issue 18 Pg. 10032-10039 (Mar 05 2018) ISSN: 2046-2069 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 35540854 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.