LIU Haiyun, SONG Yuepeng, XU Ziwei, ZHAN Shimeng, LI Bingtao, JIANG Li, ZHANG Qiyun, ZENG Zhijun, WANG Xiaomin, XU Guoliang
Objective To investigate the mechanism of pancreatic lipid metabolism of Gegen Qinlian Decoction (GQD) on insulin resistance (IR) and hypoxia in obese type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats. Methods A total of 54 SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group and high fat group. The normal control group and the high-fat group were fed the normal diet for 13 weeks, and the serum IR index and HIF-2α content of rats were detected to establish the IR with hypoxia model. The model rats were randomly divided into model control group, positive drug group (rosiglitazone 5 mg·kg-1) and GQD high and low dose group (14.86, 1.65 g·kg-1). The model rats continued to be fed high-fat diet, while the normal control group was fed ordinary diet, and were given continuous gavage for 16 weeks. After administration, fasting insulin levels (FINS) were detected by radioimmunoassay, HIF-2α was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fasting blood glucose (FBG) was detected by automatic biochemical analyzer. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the pathological changes of pancreas. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was used to collect pancreatic lipid metabolism data, and principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used to analyze the lipid metabolism of rat pancreatic tissue samples, and the markers of pancreatic metabolic difference were identified. Metabolic pathway analysis of potential biomarkers was performed using the Metabo Analyst 5.0 online website.The protein expressions of iPLA2 and CerS6 in pancreatic tissue were detected by Western blotting.Results ① Compared with model control group, FPG, IR index and HIF-2α of GQD high-dose and low-dose groups were significantly decreased,and the protein expressions of iPLA2 and CerS6 were also decreased (P<0.05, P<0.01), and irregular morphology of pancreatic islets of positive group and Gegen Qinlian decoction high-dose and low-dose groups were improved. ② The results of pancreatic metabolomics showed that there were 24 potential biomarkers in the model group, of which 3 biomarkers significantly increased and 21 biomarkers significantly decreased. GQD intervention could make the above biomarkers reverse. The 24 potential biomarkers of pancreatic lipids mainly regulate 7 metabolic pathways, including glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, glycosyl phosphatidylinositol anchored biosynthesis, linoleic acid metabolism, unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis, steroid hormone biosynthesis and α-linolenic acid metabolism. Conclusion The intervention of GQD on IR with anoxia in obese type 2 diabetes may improve the lipid metabolism disorders by regulating the contents of phospholipids, unsaturated fatty acids and steroid hormones in pancreas and their metabolic pathways.