Investigation of the Active Ingredients and Mechanism of Polygonum cuspidatum in Asthma Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Verification

Network pharmacology: a bright guiding light on the way to explore the personalized precise medication of traditional Chinese medicine

Network pharmacology can ascertain the therapeutic mechanism of drugs for treating diseases at the level of biological targets and pathways. The effective mechanism study of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) characterized by multi-component, multi-targeted, and integrative efficacy, perfectly corresponds to the application of network pharmacology. Currently, network pharmacology has been widely utilized to clarify the mechanism of the physiological activity of TCM. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the application of network pharmacology in TCM to reveal its potential of verifying the phenotype and underlying causes of diseases, realizing the personalized and accurate application of TCM. We searched the literature using "TCM network pharmacology" and "network pharmacology" as keywords from Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, as well as Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure in the last decade. The origins, development, and application of network pharmacology are closely correlated with the study of TCM which has been applied in China for thousands of years. Network pharmacology and TCM have the same core idea and promote each other. A well-defined research strategy for network pharmacology has been utilized in several aspects of TCM research, including the elucidation of the biological basis of diseases and syndromes, the prediction of TCM targets, the screening of TCM active compounds, and the decipherment of mechanisms of TCM in treating diseases. However, several factors limit its application, such as the selection of databases and algorithms, the unstable quality of the research results, and the lack of standardization. This review aims to provide references and ideas for the research of TCM and to encourage the personalized and precise use of Chinese medicine.

Exploring the mechanism of Cassiae semen in regulating lipid metabolism through network pharmacology and experimental validation

BACKGROUND

Multiple studies have assessed the role of Cassiae semen (CS) in regulating lipid metabolism. However, the mechanism of action of CS on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has seen rare scrutiny.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to explore the regulatory mechanism of CS on lipid metabolism in NAFLD.

METHODS

Components of CS ethanol extract (CSEE) were analyzed and identified using UPLC-Q-Orbirap HRMS. The candidate compounds of CS and its relative targets were extracted from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology, Swiss-Target-Prediction, and TargetNet web server. The Therapeutic Target Database, Genecards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, and DisGeNET were searched for NAFLD targets. Binding affinity between potential core components and key targets was established employing molecular docking simulations. After that, free fatty acid (FFA)-induced HepG2 cells were used to further validate part of the network pharmacology results.

RESULTS

Six genes, including Caspase 3 (CASP3), phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase, catalytic subunit α (PIK3CA), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and amyloid β (A4) precursor protein (APP) were identified as key targets. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was found to associate closely with CS's effect on NAFLD. Per molecular docking findings, toralactone and quinizarin formed the most stable combinations with hub genes. About 0.1 (vs. FFA, P<0.01) and 0.2 (vs. FFA, P<0.05) mg/ml CSEE decreased lipid accumulation in vitro by reversing the up-regulation of CASP3, EGFR, and APP and the down-regulation of PIK3CA.

CONCLUSION

CSEE can significantly reduce intracellular lipid accumulation by modulating the MAPK signaling pathway to decrease CASP3 and EGFR expression.

Revealing the Underlying Mechanism of Acacia Nilotica against Asthma from a Systematic Perspective: A Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Study

Acacia Nilotica (AN) has long been used as a folk cure for asthma, but little is known about how AN could possibly modulate this disease. Thus, an in-silico molecular mechanism for AN's anti-asthmatic action was elucidated utilizing network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques. DPED, PubChem, Binding DB, DisGeNET, DAVID, and STRING were a few databases used to collect network data. MOE 2015.10 software was used for molecular docking. Out of 51 searched compounds of AN, eighteen compounds interacted with human target genes, a total of 189 compounds-related genes, and 2096 asthma-related genes were found in public databases, with 80 overlapping genes between them. AKT1, EGFR, VEGFA, and HSP90AB were the hub genes, whereas quercetin and apigenin were the most active components. p13AKT and MAPK signaling pathways were found to be the primary target of AN. Outcomes of network pharmacology and molecular docking predicted that AN might exert its anti-asthmatic effect probably by altering the p13AKT and MAPK signaling pathway.

Luteolin Isolated from Polygonum cuspidatum Is a Potential Compound against Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Introduction

To reveal the mechanisms by which luteolin, the major bioactive component of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Polygonum cuspidatum, inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) CNE2 cells.

Methods

Based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), bioactive compounds of P. cuspidatum, potential target genes and NPC disease targets of TCMSP were screened, relationship networks were constructed using these potential targets of NPC, and Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were performed. The predicted compounds, targets and pathways were corroborated using in vitro experiments, such as MTT, Cytation™ 5 real-time cell monitoring, cell cycle detection, Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining, Hoechst 33342 staining, and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) detection.

Results

The results showed that 10 bioactive compounds (OB ≥30% and DL ≥0.18), 157 potential target genes from P. cuspidatum, and 56 common targets related to NPC were found. These included important bioactive compounds such as luteolin, quercetin, and beta-sitosterol. Key common targets included EGFR, MYC, AKT1, CASP3, CCND1, ERBB2, and common targets were enriched for the PI3K-AKT, JAK/STAT, MAPK, and C-type lectin receptor signaling pathways. The binding energy of luteolin for six common targets was less than -5.0 kcal·mol^-1. After luteolin (20 μM, and 40 μM) treatment to CNE2 cells for 36 h, cell survival rates decreased, accompanied by cell morphology changes, inhibition of the cell cycle at G2/M phase, and an induction of apoptosis. The expression of the cell proliferation related protein PCNA, the antiapoptosis protein XIAP, and the PI3K-AKT pathway diagram related proteins p-ERK1/2, ERK1/2, AKT, and PI3K, all decreased.

Conclusion

Luteolin derived from P. cuspidatum inhibited the proliferation of NPC CNE2 cells and promoted cell apoptosis through the PI3K-AKT signal pathway.

Research hotspot and frontier analysis of traditional Chinese medicine in asthma using bibliometric methods from 1991 to 2021

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been successfully used to treat asthmatic conditions for centuries. Nevertheless, the current hotspots and research frontiers on TCM for asthma have not been systematically investigated on the basis of bibliometric analysis. In this study, a scientometric analysis (1991-2021) was carried out on 3081 journal articles obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection database to explore the basic characteristics, research hotspots, and frontiers of TCM in asthma research. The results revealed the following: (1) Research on TCM in asthma has received widespread attention since the beginning of the 21st century; perhaps 2009 was an important turning point. TCM in asthma research shows a trend of interdisciplinary development. (2) Well-known universities/institutions in China, the United States, and South Korea have conducted the main body of current TCM research in asthma. JingCheng Dong (Fudan University, China) and XiuMin Li (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, USA) are the top 2 leading authors in this field. However, there is still a lack of international cooperation in the field of TCM in asthma research, and the influence of researchers in China and South Korea still needs improvement. (3) The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology ranks first in the research field on the influence of TCM in asthma. (4) Hotspots and frontiers of TCM in asthma are provided according to the timeline analyses of the research. In the former, complementary medicine, alternative treatment, allergic rhinitis, airway remodeling, Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension diet, and eosinophilic esophagitis are in the exploratory stage. In the latter, pharmacology, essential oil, gut microbiota, and oxidative stress were investigated from 2006 until late 2021 as period B, which contradicts period A (1991-2005). Moreover, limitations of this bibliometric analysis and the study of TCM research in asthma still exist, which are sufficiently important to warrant further investigations. Finally, we propose the significant importance of the real quintessence and characteristics of TCM in clinical and future research.

Comparative pharmacokinetics of 24 major bioactive components in normal and ARDS rats after oral administration of Xuanfei Baidu granules

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Xuanfei Baidu prescription, consisting of 13 Chinese medicines, was formulated by academicians Boli Zhang and Professor Qingquan Liu based on their experience in first-line clinical treatment of COVID-19. Xuanfei Baidu granules (XFBD granules) are a proprietary Chinese medicine preparation developed based on Xuanfei Baidu prescription. It is recommended for the treatment of patients with the common wet toxin and lung stagnation syndrome of COVID-19. However, the pharmacokinetic characteristics of its major bioactive components in rats under different physiological and pathological conditions are unclear.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A rapid and sensitive analytical method, ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS), was developed and applied to 24 major bioactive components in normal and ARDS rats after oral administration of XFBD granules. We studied the metabolic process of XFBD granules in vivo to compare the differences in pharmacokinetic parameters between normal and model metabolic processes.

RESULTS

This method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic investigation of 24 major components of XFBD granules following oral administration in normal and ARDS rats. Eight components, including ephedrine and amygdalin, were more highly absorbed and had shorter T_max values than the model group; the absorption of six components, such as rhein, decreased in ARDS rats, and there was no significant difference in the absorption of ten components, such as verbenalin and naringin, between the normal and ARDS rats. The results showed that the peak times of other analytes were very short, and 80% of these target constituents were eliminated in both normal and ARDS rats within 6 h except for liquiritigenin and 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, a rapid and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS analytical method was developed and applied to 24 major bioactive components in normal and ARDS rats after the oral administration of XFBD granules. This will serve to form the basis for further studies on the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic correlation of XFBD granules.

Inhibition effect of oxyepiberberine isolated from Coptis chinensis franch. On non-small cell lung cancer based on a network pharmacology approach and experimental validation

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

As an important Chinese herb, Coptis chinensis Franch. (Huanglian, HL) has a long history of usage for clearing heat, eliminating dampness, purging fire and detoxification in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). HL, also called goldthread, was frequently used for the treatment of typhoid, tuberculosis, epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, pertussis, and other lung-related diseases. Modern research has shown that HL and its main compounds also have anti-tumor effects. However, studies have not reported whether its main compounds inhibit Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) development and progression.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to find out the potential targets and mechanisms of Oxyepiberberine (OPB) isolated from HL in the treatment of NSCLC, using network pharmacology and biological experimental.

METHODS

Silica gel chromatography column was used to isolate OPB from HL, and the structure of OPB was elucidated using different spectroscopic analysis methods, including ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), ¹³C-NMR and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI/MS). MTT assay was performed to determine cell proliferation of OPB on A549, H1975 and BEAS-2B cells. Then, the potential targets, pathways and hub genes of OPB for treating NSCLC were screened out through network pharmacology. Based on the results of network pharmacology, core targets of OPB for treating NSCLC were docking with OPB via molecular docking. Wound healing, plate clone, Hoechst staining, and western blot assay were used to verify the function of OPB in treatment of NSCLC.

RESULTS

OPB was isolated from the HL, its molecular formula was identified as C₂₀H₁₇NO₅. Through MTT, OPB significantly inhibited the proliferation of H1975 cells and A549 cells, and A549 was chosen as the test cancer cell. Through network pharmacology, 22 potential targets, 156 related-pathways, and 6 hub genes were screened out. The results of molecular docking showed that SRC, BRAF, and MMP9 were the core targets of OPB against NSCLC. Through biological experimental, it was found that OPB inhibited growth and migration of A549 cells. In addition, OPB induced apoptosis in A549 cells. Through western blot assay, the expressions of Src, ERK1/2 and other four proteins were down-regulated, which suggested that OPB inhibited the proliferation of lung cancer cells by down-regulating SRC-FAK-RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK pathway, so as to achieve the anti-NSCLC effect.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated that anti-NSCLC effect of OPB through network and experiments, which provided a theoretical basis for the clinical antitumor of OPB, and provided a foundation for further study of OPB.