Objective To explore the mechanism by which Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) improves the consumption of adipose tissue in cancer cachexia (CC) using lipidomics and transcriptomics. Methods A random number table was used to divide 50 male mice into control group, model group, APS low-, medium-and high-dose (200, 400, 800 mg/kg) groups, with 10 mice in each group. CC model was constructed using abdominal sc CT-26 colorectal cancer cells. The treatment group was given 0.2 mL APS solution by ig daily, while the control group and model group were given an equal volume of physiological saline by ig for four consecutive weeks. The diameter of epididymal adipocytes was evaluated using hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining; ELISA method was used to detect the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) in epididymal adipose tissue and level of free fatty acids (FFA) in plasma. After effectiveness and significance verification, transcriptome and lipidomics sequencing were performed on control group, model group and APS high-dose group to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed lipids (DELs), and enrichment analysis was performed; Western blotting was used to verify the expressions of relevant proteins. Results High-dose APS significantly alleviated inflammatory infiltration in epididymal adipose tissue and reversed adipocyte atrophy (P < 0.01), significantly reduced the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, cAMP in adipose tissue and level of FFA in plasma (P < 0.01, 0.001), indicating that high-dose APS inhibits inflammation and lipolysis reactions in adipocytes. The lipidomics results showed that high-dose APS intervention reduced the expression levels of 66 DELs, including ceramides and their modifications, triacylglycerols, etc. Metabolic pathway enrichment analysis showed that these DELs mainly involved glycerophospholipid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism pathways. The transcriptomic results showed that the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (Akt) pathway was repeatedly enriched in DEGs, indicating that this pathway may be the core pathway for APS to function. In addition, the expressions of 18 DEGs was significantly down-regulated by APS, and the gene interaction network diagram showed that these genes had complex interactions with Akt. Western blotting results confirmed that APS intervention reversed the expression levels of Tribbles homologous protein 3 (TRIB3), phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), phosphodiesterase 3B (PDE3B), phosphorylated protein kinase A (p-PKA), phosphorylated hormone sensitive lipase (p-HSL) and adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) (P < 0.05, 0.01, 0.001). Conclusion APS may alleviate inflammation in adipose tissue, reduce the synthesis of sphingolipids such as ceramides, regulate TRIB3-Akt axis, restore insulin resistance to lipolysis, promote lipid signaling, and improve the consumption of CC adipose tissue.

Astragalus polysaccharides  /  cancer cachexia  /  fat consumption  /  inflammation  /  glycerophospholipid metabolism  /  sphingolipid metabolism  /  TRIB3-Akt axis