Exploring the mechanism of Jianpi Qushi Huayu Formula in the treatment of chronic glomerulonephritis based on network pharmacology

Identification of Taohong Siwu Decoction in Treating Chronic Glomerulonephritis Using Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Background: Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, the pharmacological mechanism of Taohong Siwu Decoction (THSWD) in the treatment of chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) was analyzed to provide a theoretical basis for the subsequent development of new drugs and the clinical application of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Methods: Active ingredients of drugs and disease target genes were obtained from Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) database and GeneCards database. The “drug component target” network of THSWD was constructed using Cytoscape version 3.8.2 software. The protein interaction was analyzed using STRING platform, the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, and the potential protein function modules in the network were mined. Metascape platform was used to analyze “drug component target” and its biological processes and pathways. The clusterProfiler R package was called to perform kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway and gene ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis on CGN-related targets regulated by THSWD. Molecular docking verification was performed by AutoDock Vina software. Results: THSWD has 205 target genes and 45 active components, 104 of which are cross with the CGN inflammatory gene. Its main active ingredients, stigmasterol, kaempferol, and sitosterol, have positive relationships with the inflammatory targets of CGN, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), IL-6, AKT1, and MAPK14. THSWD modulates the biological pathway of CGN and mainly acts on TNF-α signal pathway, interleukin-17 signal pathway, etc., whose main functions are response to lipid sugar, heme binding, G protein-coupled amine receptor activity, etc. The results of molecular docking showed that the main active compounds could bind to the core targets and showed good affinity. Conclusion: The molecular mechanism of THSWD in the treatment of CGN from the perspective of network pharmacology are components such as beta-sitosterol, kaempferol, and quercetin and key action targets such as TNF, IL-6, AKT1 protein kinase, and MAPK14 protein kinase play a synergistic role in autoimmune, infection, and inflammatory response-related pathways.

Evidence construction of Huangkui capsule against chronic glomerulonephritis: A systematic review and network pharmacology

BACKGROUND

Chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) is a relatively common primary glomerular disease. Huangkui capsule (HKC) combined with angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) for CGN is frequently used in clinical practice, however, there is still lack of high-quality evidence-based evidence and network pharmacology to clarify the therapeutic efficacy and pharmacological mechanisms.

PURPOSE

Integrating evidence-based medicine and network pharmacology to explain the therapeutic efficacy and pharmacological mechanisms of ARB combined with HKC for CGN.

METHODS

Studies matching the topic were searched from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase database, the Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, CBM databases, the VIP medicine information system and the Wanfang database and screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data of the included studies were meta-analyzed by blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCR), 24-h urine protein (24hUP) and effective rate (ER). A meta-analysis of the data from the included studies was performed. Then, based on the network pharmacology, the chemical ingredients in HKC and their targets of action, disease targets, common targets and other relevant information were screened, and the key pathways were relevantly annotated based on bioinformatics technology to explore the potential mechanisms of HKC and ARB for CGN.

RESULTS

The results showed that SCR index (p < 0.05), 24hUP index (p < 0.001) in the group treated with HKC and ARB were significantly lower than those in the control group. BUN index in the group treated with HKC and VAL were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.001). Effective rate index in the group treated with HKC and ARB was significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in BUN treated with IRB, LOS, and TEL (p = 0.181; p = 0.811; p = 0.067). Based on network pharmacology, the results were as follows: The PPI network indicated that STAT3, AKT1, MAPK1, TP53 and JUN were key target proteins. The results of KEGG analysis suggested that the pharmacological mechanisms were mainly associated with AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications.

CONCLUSION

The combination of ARB and HKC can achieve better therapeutic effects in the treatment of CGN, meanwhile, ARB and HKC have a significant improved effectiveness in the treatment of CGN compared with ARB or HKC alone. In addition, HKC and ARB synergistically treated CGN through a multi-pathway network.

Exploring the Action Mechanism of the Active Ingredient of Quercetin in Ligustrum lucidum on the Mouse Mastitis Model Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Biology Validation

Aim

The aim of this study is to explore the mechanism of action of quercetin, the main active anti-inflammatory component of Ligustrum lucidum, in the prevention and treatment of mastitis.

Methods

Prediction of the main active ingredients and key anti-inflammatory targets of Ligustrum lucidum using a network pharmacology platform and molecular biology validation of the results. Observation of histopathological changes in the mouse mammary gland by hematoxylin-eosin staining(H&E) method, quantitative real-time PCR(qPCR), and Western blot (WB) to detect the expression levels of relevant inflammatory factors mRNA and protein.

Results

A total of 7 active ingredients and 42 key targets were obtained from the network pharmacological analysis of Ligustrum lucidum, with quercetin as the main core ingredient and tumor necrosis factor(TNF), serine threonine protein kinase1(AKT1), and interleukin6(IL6) as the core targets; H&E results showed that pathological changes were reduced to different degrees in the dose group compared to the model group. The qPCR results showed that the relative expression of TNF and IL6 mRNA in the high dose group on day 3 and the high and medium dose groups on day 7 were not significantly different compared with the blank group (P > 0.05), and the difference between the dose groups on day 5 was significant (P < 0.05). WB results showed that the difference in nuclear factor kappa-B(NF-κB) protein expression in the medium and low dose groups on day 7 was significant compared with the blank group (P < 0.05), the difference in 5 and 7 days, significant differences in AKT1 protein expression between the middle and low dose groups (P < 0.05), nonsignificant differences in the TNF protein expression between the high dose groups on day 7 (P > 0.05), and significant differences in the IL6 protein expression between the middle and low dose groups on days 3 and 7 (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Quercetin, the main active ingredient of Ligustrum lucidum, may act in the prevention and treatment of mastitis by inhibiting the expression of inflammatory factors in phosphoinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)-AKT and NF-κB signaling pathways and showa a significant dose-dependent effect. This study provides theoretical basis and clues for the control of mastitis in dairy cows.

Network pharmacology approach and molecular docking to explore the potential mechanism of Wu-Wei-Wen-Tong Chubi capsules in rheumatoid arthritis

Network pharmacology, a holistic approach based on the theory of biological network technology, integrates information from biological systems, drugs, and diseases. Here, this theory was used to predict the targets of Wu-Wei-Wen-Tong Chubi capsule (WWWT) to explore the mechanism in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The ingredients of each herbal medicine in WWWT were collected from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), and the active ingredients were screened through bioavailability (OB) ≥30% and drug-likeness (DL) ≥ 0.18. SwissTargetPrection and TCMSP were utilized to calculate and predict the targets of active ingredients. RA-related targets were obtained by searching the Genecards and OMIM databases. The common targets of RA and WWWT were used for gene ontology (GO), KEGG pathway enrichment, protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, and molecular docking. And then, four key genes were screened for subsequent verification experiments. In total, 90 active compounds and 330 potential targets of WWWT, 1310 targets of RA, and 135 intersection targets were found. Additionally, GO and pathway analysis identified 4610 significant GO terms and 147 significant KEGG pathways. Based on the PPI network, 11 key genes including IL-6, MMP-9, and TNF-α were screened out for molecular docking. Molecular docking showed that these key genes have good binding activities to active compounds of WWWT such as oroxylin a, kaempferol, and luteolin. Simultaneously, Western blot experimental validation demonstrated that the protein expressions of IL-6, MMP-9, TNF-α, and VEGFA significantly decreased after WWWT treatment. The mechanism of WWWT in treating RA involves multiple active compounds acting on multiple targets, and multiple pathways, which provides an important reference for further elucidation the mechanism and clinical applications of WWWT in the treatment of RA.