Aucubin mitigates the elevation of microglial aerobic glycolysis and inflammation in diabetic neuropathic pain via aldose reductase

Figure 5 The potential target proteins of aucubin on the diabetic neuropathic pain. A: Venn diagram showing the potential target genes for aucubin in treating diabetic neuropathic pain; B: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis of the potential target genes; C-E: Molecular docking between the target 3 proteins (MMP2, MMP9, and AKR1B1) and aucubin (Auc) conducted using Auto Dock Tool 1.5.7; F: mRNA levels of MMP9, MMP2, and AKR1B1 in mice after streptozotocin (STZ) and Auc treatment. (n = 6); G: Representative bands of Western blot for MMP2 and AKR1B1 in mice after STZ and Auc treatment; H: Quantitative analysis of the relative expression of MMP2 and AKR1B1 (n = 3). Data are expressed as mean ± SEM. ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01 CON + vehicle (Veh) vs STZ + Veh; ^cP < 0.05, ^dP < 0.01 STZ +Veh vs STZ + Auc. CON: Control; STZ: Streptozotocin; Auc: Aucubin; Veh: Vehicle.