{
  "abstract": "Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is a leading global cause of end-stage liver disease, with safe and effective therapies still lacking. Gudan Wan (GDW), a traditional Chinese medicine for Gu Dan (damp-heat and food stagnation with middle-jiao dysfunction), shares analogous pathogenesis with MASH, yet its anti-MASH efficacy remains to be elucidated.\n\nMethods: GDW’s therapeutic efficacy and underlying mechanisms via in vivo toxicity and pharmacodynamic evaluation, network pharmacology, western blotting, UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS characterization, and molecular docking. A MASH model of mice was induced by high-fat diet and carbon tetrachloride (HFD+CCl4).\n\nResults: A 30-day toxicity test revealed no overt toxicity or organic lesions in mice at GDW doses up to 4000 mg/kg. MASH mice, GDW significantly ameliorated hepatic injury, lipid metabolic disorders, pro-inflammatory cytokine release, and fibrosis. Network pharmacology identified 237 intersecting targets, with apoptosis as the core regulatory pathway and CASP 3/8, AKT1, TP53, BCL2, and TNF as core targets. Western blotting confirmed GDW modulated key apoptotic proteins (upregulating Bcl-2, downregulating Caspase-3/8) and corrected autophagic dysfunction via LC3 and p62 modulation. A total of 179 chemical components were characterized by UHPLC-QTOF-MS, of which 19 were found to enter the liver. Molecular docking predicted favorable binding of the major active components to Caspase-3, AKT1, TP53, and TNF-α, but not to Bcl-2 or Caspase-8, suggesting indirect regulation of the latter two by GDW.\n\nConclusion: GDW exerts its anti-MASH effects by modulating autophagy and the Bcl-2/Caspase-3/Caspase-8 apoptotic axis, with its favorable safety profile supporting its therapeutic potential for further investigation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "The First Clinical College, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, China",
    "College of Pharmaceutical Science, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, China",
    "Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicine Utilization, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, Kunming, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Shaocong Han"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Qiuyi Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Zhongneng Ding"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Huan Yang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Di Du"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Qidi Zhou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jie Yu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Xingxin Yang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f1j03rdwd5jkd.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fcell.2026.1993264",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13736602/",
  "id": "f1j03rdwd5jkd",
  "issns": [
    "2296-634X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2026.1993264",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Original Research"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2721|Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223188286",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cell-and-developmental-biology/articles/10.3389/fcell.2026.1993264/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13736602",
  "pmid": "42991203",
  "published": "2026-10-22",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f1j03rdwd5jkd.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:22:01Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13736602",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2026.1993264"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2721|Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Gudan Wan attenuates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis by modulating autophagy and the Bcl-2/Caspase-3/Caspase-8 apoptotic axis",
  "title_text": "Gudan Wan attenuates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis by modulating autophagy and the Bcl-2/Caspase-3/Caspase-8 apoptotic axis",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:22:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/f1j03rdwd5jkd",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology",
  "versions": []
}