Pharmacological Research - Modern Chinese Medicine (Mar 2024)
Multi-omics analysis reveals the healthy functions of Oviductus Ranae
Abstract
Background: Oviductus Ranae (OR) is a well-known animal-based traditional Chinese medicine and widely consumed as a nutraceutical to optimize health. However, a current in-depth understanding of OR regulating mechanisms is lacking in the field. Aim of the study: Metabolomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics, were used as a multi-omics approach to comprehensively investigate the health effects of OR in rats. Methods: Healthy rats were chosen and randomized into two groups treated with or without OR (rats+OR and rats-OR). Soaked and homogenized OR was fed to healthy rats (rats+OR) for 14 days before blood samples were collected for omics analyses. Rats in the rats-OR group were administered sterile saline instead of homogenized OR. LC-MS/MS-based targeted metabolomics including lipidomics profiling was used to survey water-soluble metabolites and organic-soluble lipids in OR and plasma samples. LC-MS-based proteomics investigated the proteins in the plasma samples, and transcriptomic analysis was performed on blood cells isolated from rats+OR and rats-OR groups. Statistical analyses including fold change (FC) and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) were done to assess the differences between the two treatment groups. Plus, pathways regarding differential metabolites including lipids, proteins, and genes were annotated through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database (KEGG), and further common pathways were searched to revealing the potential effects of OR. Results: The LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics detected 1300 metabolites in the water phase and 981 lipids in the organic phase of OR samples. In blood samples from rats, 1580 water-soluble metabolites and 1195 organic-soluble lipids were measured in the plasma. Among them, 199 differential compounds were found between rats+OR and rats-OR groups, with 97 out of 150 downregulated lipids in rats+OR (mainly TGs). Moreover, 125 of 782 proteins were differentially altered between the two treatment groups. Furthermore, 111 differentially expressed genes were found between the rats+OR and rats-OR groups. An integrated analysis of multi-omics data highlighted that OR affected lipid-related pathways, suggesting that OR administration may improve blood lipid levels and protect against cardiovascular and atherosclerotic diseases. Conclusion: We deciphered a series of OR-induced changes in healthy rats using a multi-omics approach, which lays the groundwork for further studies on the preventative and therapeutic mechanisms of OR for various diseases.
