Page 113 - 《水产学报》2025年第10期

李森栋，等 水产学报, 2025, 49(10): 109609

tion of key molecular targets, signaling pathways, molecular docking analysis to predict the potential
and therapeutic effects, network pharmacology has target molecules of WS active compounds in brain
been shown to uncover novel biomarkers and thera- and liver respectively. Thirdly, the deduced molecu-
[20]
peutic strategies . Recent studies have demon- lars and mechanisms were validated through injec-
strated that this approach is effective in elucidating tion of Withanolide A in young fish and feeding tri-
the complex interactions of TCM compounds in als in adult fish, as well as the cell proliferation
[22]
treating a variety of conditions, including cancer . assays using SG3 cells. This study would provide
By linking compound–target interactions with tran- new insights of understanding how WS alleviates
scriptomic data, network pharmacology facilitates stress and promotes liver health in aquaculture spe-
mechanistic studies of herbal extracts in aquacul- cies. Finally, in this study, the molecular mechan-
ture species. isms whereby WS acts on stress, immunity, and
The darkbarbel catfish（Pelteobagrus vachelli） liver health were demonstrated in fish (Fig.1).

is a freshwater species with high economic value in
1 Materials and Methods
China, widely distributed in the Yangtze River,

[23]
Pearl River, and Yellow River . Stress responses
1.1 Fish maintenance
in darkbarbel catfish can cause a variety of negative
effects, the previous study showed that the density Approximately 1 000 healthy adult darkbarbel
stress could affect darkbarbel catfish larvae’s sur- catfish [Pelteobagrus vachelli; female:male = 4∶1;
vival rate, and growth performance, this is attrib- body weight: females (100 ± 5) g, males (150 ± 10)
uted to the protruding spines of the darkbarbel cat- g] were obtained from a commercial farm in
fish, which make them more vulnerable to injury Meishan, Sichuan Province. Following transfer, fish
[6]
and death when being exposed to stress . There- underwent a 2-week acclimation period in ponds at
fore, we focused on studying the effects and mech- the Yibin Yangtze Fish Breeding Base (Yibin City,
anisms of WS administration on stress-relief, Sichuan Province). Prior to experimentation, circu-
immunity and hepatic protection in female adult lar tanks (diameter 6 m) were sterilized, rinsed, and
darkbarbel catfish through comparative transcrip- filled with aerated water maintaining dissolved oxy-
tomic analysis, network pharmacological analysis, gen >6.0 mg/L, pH 6.8–8.0, and temperature ~25
Biochemical indicators analysis, Oil Red O (ORO) °C. Female specimens were divided into 10 groups
staining, and immunostaining of PCNA analysis. and maintained in flow-through systems (water
Moreover, previous studies showed that cross- depth: ~1 m). Fish were fed twice daily (08:00 and
takings always existed between brain and other 19:00) at 1.5% body weight, with residual feed
[24]
organs during responding to stress in animals , promptly removed to preserve water quality. Addi-
especially many important regulators of brain, tionally, ~50 healthy juvenile females [weight: (30 ±
including FGF21, were sythnsized the 1) g], derived from selectively bred adults (unpub-
[25]
hepatocytes Therefore, this study was aimed at lished data), were randomly allocated to 5 groups
extensively exploring the stress-mitigating and hep- (n = 10/group): the control group (CC), no stress
atoprotective effects of WS in female adult darkbar- treatment and fed with basal diet; the experiment
bel catfish. Firstly, based on the transcriptomic ana- group 1 (CP), treated with physical stimuli (saline
lysis of brain tissues, we identified the major injection) and fed with basal diet; the experiment
molecular responses to acute physical stress and group 2 (NP), Physical stress with physical stimuli
evaluated the effects of WS dietary supplementa- (saline injection) and with the dietary of WS supple-
tion on those gene expression patterns. Secondly, mentation; the experiment group 3 (NC), no stress
we employed network pharmacological and and with the dietary of WS supplementation. All

中国水产学会主办 sponsored by China Society of Fisheries https://www.china-fishery.cn
3