Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe type of central nervous system injury. The inflammatory storm during the acute phase can further exacerbate neuronal death and axonal damage, thereby impairing motor function recovery. Buyang Huanwu Decoction is a classic traditional Chinese medicine formula, and previous studies have suggested that it possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects. However, the mechanism by which Buyang Huanwu Decoction intervenes in the acute inflammatory response following spinal cord injury still requires further elucidation.
Recently, a research paper titled "Targeting complement and coagulation cascades with Buyang Huanwu Decoction attenuates acute inflammation and enhances neuroprotection in spinal cord injury" by Professor Jun Peng and Dezun Ma's team at Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine was published online in Science China Life Sciences . The study found that Buyang Huanwu Decoction can alleviate acute inflammation following spinal cord injury and promote neuroprotection and motor function recovery by regulating the complement and coagulation cascades.
Using a Tmem119-CreERT2; Ai14 mouse model of spinal cord injury for microglial lineage tracing, the research team found that Buyang Huanwu Decoction significantly reduced the number of microglia in the core and surrounding areas of the spinal cord injury and decreased the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α. Moreover, after treatment with Buyang Huanwu Decoction, the BMS scores of the mice with spinal cord injury were significantly increased, indicating that Buyang Huanwu Decoction can improve motor function recovery after spinal cord injury by suppressing microglia-mediated acute inflammation.
Furthermore, Buyang Huanwu Decoction exhibited significant neuroprotective effects. Although it did not significantly affect the number of NeuN-positive neurons in the core injury area, it markedly increased neuronal survival in the peri-lesion area, indicating its neuroprotective potential. Proteomic analysis further revealed that the complement and coagulation cascades were significantly activated after spinal cord injury, whereas Buyang Huanwu Decoction downregulated the expression of proteins involved in these pathways. Western blot validation further confirmed that Buyang Huanwu Decoction significantly reduced the protein levels of C1qa, CFD, and PAI-1, demonstrating its regulatory effect on the complement and coagulation pathways.
This study systematically elucidates a novel mechanism by which Buyang Huanwu Decoction intervenes in spinal cord injury, providing new experimental evidence for its clinical application in neurological injury diseases. Professors Jun Peng, Aling Shen, Xihai Li, and Chunmei Chen from Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine are the co-corresponding authors of the paper. Dezun Ma, Xinyu Xie, Yijun Ma, and Hui Yan from Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine are the co-first authors of the paper.
Science China Life Sciences
Experimental study