Wei-Mi-Shu, a Stomach-Harmonizing Herbal Prescription, Alleviates Chronic Gastritis with Liver‑Stomach Disharmony by Modulating IL-6/STAT3 Signaling.

Objective: Chronic gastritis, with the liver-stomach disharmony (CG-LSD) type being particularly common, is a prevalent digestive disorder. The Chinese herbal prescription "Wei-Mi-Shu (WMSP)" demonstrated positive therapeutic outcomes in clinical practice for CG-LSD. This study aimed to verify the therapeutic effect of WMSP on CG-LSD and reveal its molecular mechanism based on IL-6/STAT3 pathway. Methods: Network pharmacology analysis was employed to predict the target genes of WMSP for CG. Following this, a CG-LSD rat model was treated with WMSP, and the changes in body weight, syndrome score, and motor ability were analyzed. The gastric mucosal damage was examined by HE, AB-PAS, and scanning electron microscopy. Serum levels of inflammatory factors and mucosal injury factors were measured via ELISA. Apoptosis was evaluated by TUNEL staining, and the protein expression related to apoptosis and the IL-6/STAT3 pathway was determined by WB. Additionally, a Results: Network pharmacology identified 674 common targets between WMSP and CG, including key genes such as TP53, AKT1, TNF, IL-6, and STAT3. In CG-LSD rat models, WMSP significantly improved general health (body weight, symptoms, motor ability), suppressed serum inflammatory factors, and ameliorated gastric mucosal damage ( Conclusion: WMSP alleviated inflammation, apoptosis, and mucosal injury in CG-LSD by targeting the IL-6/STAT3 axis.