Effect of Wuzi Yanzong on Reproductive Hormones and TGF-β1/Smads Signal Pathway in Rats with Oligoasthenozoospermia

Abstract

Introduction. Wuzi Yanzong (WZYZ) formula, a famous traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, has been widely used to treat kidney essence insufficiency-induced oligoasthenozoospermia in ancient and modern clinical practice. Previous studies have demonstrated that WZYZ formula exhibits significantly therapeutic activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of WZYZ formula on the reproductive hormone levels and the TGF-β1/Smads signal pathway in the testis, to explore the underlying mechanisms of WZYZ formula to improve spermatogenic function of testis in rats with oligoasthenozoospermia. Materials and Methods. In order to control the quality of the drug, the main components of the WZYZ formula were analyzed by HPLC. A rat model of oligoasthenozoospermia was established, by daily administration of tripterygium glucosides for 4 weeks, and treated with 1.62g/kg of WZYZ formula. The testes were histopathologically examined and serum levels of gonadotropin release hormone (GnRH), estradiol (E2), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone (T), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measured by ELISA. TGf-β1, Smad2, and Smad4 mRNA and protein levels in the testis were evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC), quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), and Western blotting (WB). Result. Oral administration of WZYZ formula restored testicular structure and significantly increased the histology score in the oligoasthenozoospermic rats. In addition, WZYZ also significantly increased the serum levels of GnRH, LH, E2, and T and decreased that of FSH. Meanwhile, TGf-β1, Smad2, and Sma4 expression levels were significantly decreased. Conclusions. WZYZ alleviates oligoasthenozoospermia by restoring the reproductive hormones and targeting the TGf-β1/Smads pathway.

A network pharmacology approach to determine the underlying mechanisms of action of Yishen Tongluo formula for the treatment of oligoasthenozoospermia

“…Oligoasthenozoospermia is a multifactorial disease that is associated with a variety of proteins or pathways during its occurrence and progression, such as calcium- and integrin-binding protein-1 (CIB1) and the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway [ 28 , 29 ]. On account of their multicomponent compositions, Chinese herbal medicines may exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities with the characteristics of multiple targets and multiple pathways, which may be beneficial to the treatment of oligoasthenozoospermia [ 30 ].…”

Effect of Jiawei Fengshining on Synovial Cell Apoptosis and TGF-β1/Smad Signaling Pathway in Rats with Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…It is well accepted that TGF-β1 is mediated through both TGF-βR1 and TGF-βR2 receptors to induce phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3 [31][32][33][34]. Moreover, TGF-β1 can induce Smad7 expression, an inhibitory Smad family member, to negatively regulate TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway via a feedback regulation [35,36].…”

An Integrated Analysis of Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking, and Experiment Validation to Explore the New Candidate Active Component and Mechanism of Cuscutae Semen-Mori Fructus Coupled-Herbs in Treating Oligoasthenozoospermia

“… 56 According to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), OA is a condition that oligospermia and asthenozoospermia occur simultaneously. 57 Accordingly, we chose “oligoasthenozoospermia”, “oligospermia”, “oligozoospermia”, “asthenospermia” and “asthenozoospermia” as the keywords to search for OA-related targets. Duplicated targets of “oligospermia” and “oligozoospermia” were integrated, and the obtained targets were defined as the oligospermia-related targets.…”