Novel potential neuroprotective targets for DengZhanXiXin injection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats recommended by quantitative proteomics and simulated docking

Stroke, which leads to death and disability in high proportions globally, is one of the most deleterious neurological diseases. Ischemic stroke (IS) is the major cause of disease attack and accounts for ~70% of all incident stroke cases in China. Up to now, only two therapies for IS were officially...

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Main Authors: Min Li, Linshuang Wang, Haiting An, Xin Li, Yaojing Chen, Dongfeng Wei, Zhanjun Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Neuroscience
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1499214/full
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author Min Li
Min Li
Linshuang Wang
Haiting An
Xin Li
Xin Li
Yaojing Chen
Yaojing Chen
Dongfeng Wei
Zhanjun Zhang
Zhanjun Zhang
author_facet Min Li
Min Li
Linshuang Wang
Haiting An
Xin Li
Xin Li
Yaojing Chen
Yaojing Chen
Dongfeng Wei
Zhanjun Zhang
Zhanjun Zhang
author_sort Min Li
collection DOAJ
description Stroke, which leads to death and disability in high proportions globally, is one of the most deleterious neurological diseases. Ischemic stroke (IS) is the major cause of disease attack and accounts for ~70% of all incident stroke cases in China. Up to now, only two therapies for IS were officially approved, which are intravenous administration of recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator (rt-PA) and endovascular mechanical thrombectomy to rapidly recanalize the occluded artery, which both recanalize the occluded artery rapidly to reduce disability, but are limited in a fixed time window. In this study, the therapeutic effect of a traditional Chinese medicine, DengZhanXiXin injection (DZXI), was evaluated on middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats at the neurobehavioral and pathophysiological levels through neurological tests, neurohistological staining, proteomic assay, and biological information analysis. We found that DZXI significantly ameliorated the neurological deficit, prevented infarct volume evolution, and protected cortical neural cells from death in ischemia penumbra on MCAO rats. Furthermore, corresponding therapeutic molecular targets were investigated through proteomic analysis of ischemic hemispheres of MCAO rats. One hundred ninety-one differentially expressed proteins involved in response to metal ions, neurofilament bundle assembly, and modulation of chemical synaptic transmission were identified between the MCAO model and DZXI groups after 7 days. DZXI influenced the expression levels of proteins in 13 specific biological functions, with cell signaling and chemical synaptic transmission-associated proteins being most affected. Subsequent molecular docking analysis predicted binding potential between key target proteins and DZXI compounds. The results suggested that DZXI ameliorates neurological deficits by potentially affecting cellular signaling and chemical synaptic transmission physiological processes.
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spelling doaj-art-d00e3dc8ee5d41e4b1ce072b0a720e9c2025-07-07T05:26:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2025-07-011910.3389/fnins.2025.14992141499214Novel potential neuroprotective targets for DengZhanXiXin injection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats recommended by quantitative proteomics and simulated dockingMin Li0Min Li1Linshuang Wang2Haiting An3Xin Li4Xin Li5Yaojing Chen6Yaojing Chen7Dongfeng Wei8Zhanjun Zhang9Zhanjun Zhang10State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaBABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaBeijing Neurosurgical Institute, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaBABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaBABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Basic Research in Clinical Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaBABRI Centre, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaStroke, which leads to death and disability in high proportions globally, is one of the most deleterious neurological diseases. Ischemic stroke (IS) is the major cause of disease attack and accounts for ~70% of all incident stroke cases in China. Up to now, only two therapies for IS were officially approved, which are intravenous administration of recombinant tissue-plasminogen activator (rt-PA) and endovascular mechanical thrombectomy to rapidly recanalize the occluded artery, which both recanalize the occluded artery rapidly to reduce disability, but are limited in a fixed time window. In this study, the therapeutic effect of a traditional Chinese medicine, DengZhanXiXin injection (DZXI), was evaluated on middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats at the neurobehavioral and pathophysiological levels through neurological tests, neurohistological staining, proteomic assay, and biological information analysis. We found that DZXI significantly ameliorated the neurological deficit, prevented infarct volume evolution, and protected cortical neural cells from death in ischemia penumbra on MCAO rats. Furthermore, corresponding therapeutic molecular targets were investigated through proteomic analysis of ischemic hemispheres of MCAO rats. One hundred ninety-one differentially expressed proteins involved in response to metal ions, neurofilament bundle assembly, and modulation of chemical synaptic transmission were identified between the MCAO model and DZXI groups after 7 days. DZXI influenced the expression levels of proteins in 13 specific biological functions, with cell signaling and chemical synaptic transmission-associated proteins being most affected. Subsequent molecular docking analysis predicted binding potential between key target proteins and DZXI compounds. The results suggested that DZXI ameliorates neurological deficits by potentially affecting cellular signaling and chemical synaptic transmission physiological processes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1499214/fullDengZhanXiXin injectionischemic strokeMCAOmolecular dockingcell signaling
spellingShingle Min Li
Min Li
Linshuang Wang
Haiting An
Xin Li
Xin Li
Yaojing Chen
Yaojing Chen
Dongfeng Wei
Zhanjun Zhang
Zhanjun Zhang
Novel potential neuroprotective targets for DengZhanXiXin injection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats recommended by quantitative proteomics and simulated docking
Frontiers in Neuroscience
DengZhanXiXin injection
ischemic stroke
MCAO
molecular docking
cell signaling
title Novel potential neuroprotective targets for DengZhanXiXin injection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats recommended by quantitative proteomics and simulated docking
title_full Novel potential neuroprotective targets for DengZhanXiXin injection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats recommended by quantitative proteomics and simulated docking
title_fullStr Novel potential neuroprotective targets for DengZhanXiXin injection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats recommended by quantitative proteomics and simulated docking
title_full_unstemmed Novel potential neuroprotective targets for DengZhanXiXin injection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats recommended by quantitative proteomics and simulated docking
title_short Novel potential neuroprotective targets for DengZhanXiXin injection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats recommended by quantitative proteomics and simulated docking
title_sort novel potential neuroprotective targets for dengzhanxixin injection in middle cerebral artery occlusion rats recommended by quantitative proteomics and simulated docking
topic DengZhanXiXin injection
ischemic stroke
MCAO
molecular docking
cell signaling
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1499214/full
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