Reversal of muscle atrophy by Zhimu and Huangbai herb pair via activation of IGF-1/Akt and autophagy signal in cancer cachexia.
OBJECTIVE
Muscle atrophy is the prominent clinical feature of cancer-induced cachexia. Zhimu and Huangbai herb pair (ZBHP) has been used since ancient China times and have been phytochemically investigated for constituents that might cause anti-cancer, diabetes, and their complication. In this study, the effects and mechanisms of ZBHP on reversal of muscle atrophy were explored.


METHODS
C57BL/6 mice implanted with colon-26 adenocarcinoma were chosen to develop cancer cachexia for evaluating the effects of ZBHP on reversal of muscle atrophy. The body weight, survival time, inflammatory cytokines, and pathological changes of muscle were monitored. In addition, IGF-1/Akt and autophagy pathway members were analyzed to interpret the mechanism of drug response.


RESULTS
The function and morphology of skeletal muscle in cachexia model were significantly disturbed, and the survival time was shortened. Consistently, inflammatory cytokines and muscle atrophy-related atrogin-1, MuRF1, and FOXO3 were significantly increased, and IGF-1/Akt and autophagy signal pathways were depressed. Treatment with ZBHP significantly alleviated tumor-free body weight reduction and cachexia-induced changes in cytokines and prolonged survival. ZBHP treatment not only inhibited the muscle atrophy-related genes but also activated the IGF-1/Akt and autophagy signal pathways to facilitate the protein synthesis.


CONCLUSIONS
The results revealed that ZBHP treatment could inhibit the muscle atrophy induced by cancer cachexia and prolong the survival time, and ZBHP may be of value as a pharmacological alternative in treatment of cancer cachexia.
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China.|Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.|Tianjin JF-Pharmaland Technology Development Co., Ltd, Tianjin, China.
Pengwei
P
Zhuang
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China.|Gansu University of Chinese Medicine, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Jinbao
J
Zhang
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China.|Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Yan
Y
Wang
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China.|Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Mixia
M
Zhang
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China.|Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
Lili
L
Song
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China.
Zhiqiang
Z
Lu
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China.
Lu
L
Zhang
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China.
Fengqi
F
Zhang
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China.
Jing
J
Wang
Chinese Materia Medica College, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, #312 Anshanxi Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300193, China. zyjsunye@163.com.|Tianjin State Key Laboratory of Modern Chinese Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China. zyjsunye@163.com.
Yanjun
Y
Zhang
Tianjin JF-Pharmaland Technology Development Co., Ltd, Tianjin, China.
Hongjun
H
Wei
Tianjin JF-Pharmaland Technology Development Co., Ltd, Tianjin, China.
Hongyan
H
Li
D000818:Animals; D001343:Autophagy; D002100:Cachexia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D051058:Oncogene Protein v-akt / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D009124:Muscle Proteins; C528424:huangbai; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D051058:Oncogene Protein v-akt
Autophagy; Cancer cachexia; IGF-1/Akt; Skeletal muscle atrophy; Zhimu and Huangbai herb pair