Heart failure is a common systemic disease with high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Doxorubicin (DOX) is a commonly used anthracycline broad-spectrum antitumor antibiotic with strong antitumor effect and definite curative effect. However, cardiotoxicity is the adverse reaction of drug dose cumulative toxicity, but the mechanism is still unclear. In this study, proteomics and metabonomics techniques were used to analyze the tissue and plasma of DOX-induced heart failure (HF) in rats and to clarify the molecular mechanism of the harmful effects of DOX on cardiac metabolism and function in rats from a new point of view. The results showed that a total of 278 proteins with significant changes were identified by quantitative proteomic analysis, of which 118 proteins were significantly upregulated and 160 proteins were significantly downregulated in myocardial tissue. In the metabonomic analysis, 21 biomarkers such as L-octanoylcarnitine, alpha-ketoglutarate, glutamine, creatine, and sphingosine were detected. Correlation analysis showed that DOX-induced HF mainly affected phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis, D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and other metabolic pathways, suggesting abnormal amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and glycerol phospholipid metabolism. It is worth noting that we have found the key upstream target of DOX-induced HF, PTP1B, which inhibits the expression of HIF-1α by inhibiting the phosphorylation of IRS, leading to disorders of fatty acid metabolism and glycolysis, which together with the decrease of Nrf2, SOD, Cytc, and AK4 proteins lead to oxidative stress. Therefore, we think that PTP1B may play an important role in the development of heart failure induced by doxorubicin and can be used as a potential target for the treatment of heart failure.

Cuproptosis, a recently discovered form of regulated cell death involving copper ion metabolism, has emerged as a promising approach for tumor therapy. This pathway not only directly eliminates tumor cells but also promotes immunogenic cell death (ICD), reshaping the tumor microenvironment (TME) and initiating robust anti-tumor immune responses. However, translating cuproptosis-based therapies into clinical applications is hindered by challenges, including complex metabolic regulation, TME heterogeneity, and the precision required for effective drug delivery. To address these limitations, nanoparticles offer transformative solutions by providing precise delivery of cuproptosis-inducing agents, controlled drug release, and enhanced therapeutic efficacy through simultaneous modulation of metabolic pathways and immune responses. This review systematically discusses recent advancements in nanoparticle-based cuproptosis delivery systems, highlighting nanoparticle design principles and their synergistic effects when integrated with other therapeutic modalities such as ICB, PTT, and CDT. Furthermore, we explore the potential of cuproptosis-based nanomedicine for personalized cancer treatment by emphasizing strategies for TME stratification and therapeutic optimization tailored to patient profiles. By integrating current insights from metabolic reprogramming, tumor immunotherapy, and nanotechnology, this review aims to facilitate the clinical translation of cuproptosis nanomedicine and significantly contribute to the advancement of precision oncology.

Gout Party is a Chinese medicine prescription composed of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparaia, Aconiti Radix Cocta, Cremastrae Pseudobulbus Pleiones Pseudobulbus, Smilacis Glabrae Rhizoma, Rehmanniae Radix, and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, which can relieve joint pain caused by gouty arthritis (GA) and rheumatoid, and has a therapeutic effect on acute gouty arthritis (AGA). However, little information is available on the molecular biological basis and therapeutic mechanism of Gout Party for the treatment of AGA. AGA model was established by injecting sodium urate, and colchicine served as a positive control drug. We established a metabolomic method based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC–Q–TOF/MS) to analyze the plasma samples of model group rats and blank group rats. Multiple statistical analyses, including principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least square discrimination analysis (PLS-DA), were used to examine metabolite profile changes in plasma samples. Finally, we identified 2–ketobutyric acid, 3–hexenedioic acid, but–2–enoic acid, and so on; 22 endogenous metabolites associated with AGA. After successful molding, we found that 2–ketobutyric acid, 3–hexenedioic acid, but–2–enoic acid, argininic acid, galactonic acid, lactic acid, equol 4′–O–glucuronide, deoxycholic acid glycine conjugate, glycocholic acid, sphinganine 1–phosphate, LPE (0:0/20:3), LPE (0:0/16:0), LPC (15:0) decreased significantly (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01), alanine, erythrulose, 3–dehydrocarnitine, m–methylhippuric acid, 3–hydroxyoctanoic acid, p–cresol sulfate, estriol 3–sulfate 16–glucuronide, 10–hydroxy–9–(phosphonooxy)octadecenoate, docosahexaenoic acid increased significantly (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). After Gout Party treatment, 14 biomarkers had a tendency to normal conditions. These above biomarkers were mainly involved in fatty acid metabolism, bile acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and energy metabolism pathways. These results suggested that Gout Party exerted therapeutic effects of treating AGA by improving energy metabolism disorder and amino acid metabolism dysfunction, and attenuating fatty acid metabolism abnormal and inflammation. The results of this experiment provided a reference for revealing the metabolic mechanism produced by Gout Party in the treatment of AGA, but the subsequent studies need to be further improved and supported by relevant cell experiments and clinical experiments.

Background Pao zhi is a common traditional approach that usually occurs before most herbs are prescribed whereby during processing, secondary plant metabolites are transformed, thus helping to increase potency, reduce toxicity and altering their effects. Using Radix Aconiti (Chuan Wu, CW) as a model herb, suitable chemical markers are crucial for studying the processing mechanisms of these herbs. Results In this study, the comprehensive metabolomic characters of CW and Prepared CW (ZCW) by RPLC-Q-TOF/MS were investigated to guarantee clinical safety. Multivariate analyses successfully identified specific metabolite changes between CW and ZCW. In addition, 22 key biomarkers responsible for the detoxifying actions of pao zhi were discovered. The processing mechanism of CW were discussed according to the identified metabolites. This method is efficient, providing more accurate characterisations of traditional pao zhi detoxification. Conclusions The proposed strategy proves that RPLC-Q-TOF/MS-based metabolomic analysis does not only explore chemical markers but can also provide a comprehensive understanding of the transformation mechanisms underlying pao zhi.

Radix Aconiti, a classic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been widely used throughout China for disease treatment due to its various pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, cardiotonic, and analgesic effects. However, improper use of Radix Aconiti often generated severe acute toxicity. Currently, research on the toxic substances of Radix Aconiti is not rare. In our previous study, acute toxic biomarkers of Radix Aconiti have been found. However, few studies were available to find the relationships between these endogenous biomarkers and exogenous toxic substances. Therefore, in this study, toxic substances of Radix Aconiti have been found using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS technology. Then, we used biochemical indicators as a bridge to find the relationships between biomarkers and toxic substances of Radix Aconiti through Pearson correlation analysis and canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Finally, the CCA results showed that LysoPC(22:5) is related to 14-acetyl-talatisamine, mesaconitine, talatisamine and deoxyaconitine in varying degrees; l-acetylcarnitine is negatively correlated with deoxyaconitine and demethyl-14-acetylkaracoline; shikimic acid has a good correlation with karacoline, demethyl-14-acetylkaracoline and deoxyaconitine; and valine is correlated with talatisamine and deoxyaconitine. Research on these relationships provides an innovative way to interpret the toxic mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine, and plays a positive role in the overall study of TCM toxicity.

Simiao Wan (SMW), an important multiherbal formula used in traditional Chinese medicine, is extensively used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. However, the knowledge of the bioactive components of SMW remains unclear. Thus, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC‐MS) and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC‐MS) were used to analyze the chemical constituents of volatile and nonvolatile extracts of SMW, as well as its absorbed components in rat plasma after oral SMW administration. Identification of several compounds was enabled by comparison of retention times, MS spectra, and MS/MS spectral data with the standard substance and reference materials reported in the literature. In the volatile extracts, GC‐MS identified 26 compounds in vitro, three of which observed in blood by GC‐MS. In the nonvolatile extracts, LC‐MS identified 49 compounds in SMW; 18 compounds containing 7 prototype compounds, 5 metabolites, and 6 unknown compounds were absorbed by blood. The proposed GC‐MS and LC‐MS method was appropriate not only for the rapid screening and identification of multiple components of an SMW extract but also for screening its bioactive constituents in vivo. The proposed method could be a promising tool for the quality control of other Chinese herbal medicines.