Network Pharmacology Analysis of the Mechanisms of Compound Herba Sarcandrae (Fufang Zhongjiefeng) Aerosol in Chronic Pharyngitis Treatment

Exploring the Action Mechanism and Validation of the Key Pathways of Dendrobium officinale Throat-clearing Formula for the Treatment of Chronic Pharyngitis Based on Network Pharmacology

AIM

This study investigated the molecular action mechanism of a compound herb, also known as the Dendrobium officinale throat-clearing formula (QYF), by using network pharmacology and animal experimental validation methods to treat chronic pharyngitis (CP).

METHODS

The active ingredients and disease targets of QYF were determined by searching the Batman-TCM and GeneCards databases. Subsequently, the drug-active ingredient-target and protein-protein interaction networks were constructed, and the core targets were obtained through network topology. The Metascape database was screened, and the core targets were enriched with Gene Ontology and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes.

RESULTS

In total, 1403 and 241 potential targets for drugs and diseases, respectively, and 81 intersecting targets were yielded. The core targets included TNF, IL-6, and IL-1β, and the core pathways included PI3K-Akt. The QYF treatment group exhibited effectively improved general signs, enhanced anti-inflammatory ability in vitro, reduced serum and tissue expressions of TNF- α, IL-6, and IL-1β inflammatory factors, and decreased blood LPS levels and Myd88, TLR4, PI3K, Akt, and NF-κB p65 protein expression in the tissues.

CONCLUSION

QYF could inhibit LPS production, which regulated the expression of the TLR4/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway to suppress the expression of the related inflammatory factors (i.e., TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β), thereby alleviating the CP process.

Role of Network Pharmacology in Prediction of Mechanism of Neuroprotective Compounds

Network pharmacology is an emerging pioneering approach in the drug discovery process, which is used to predict the therapeutic mechanism of compounds using various bioinformatic tools and databases. Emerging studies have indicated the use of network pharmacological approaches in various research fields, particularly in the identification of possible mechanisms of herbal compounds/ayurvedic formulations in the management of various diseases. These techniques could also play an important role in the prediction of the possible mechanisms of neuroprotective compounds. The first part of the chapter includes an introduction on neuroprotective compounds based on literature. Further, network pharmacological approaches are briefly discussed. The use of network pharmacology in the prediction of the neuroprotective mechanism of compounds is discussed in detail with suitable examples. Finally, the chapter concludes with the current challenges and future prospectives.

Development and challenges of antimicrobial peptide delivery strategies in bacterial therapy: A review

The escalating global prevalence of antimicrobial resistance poses a critical threat, prompting concerns about its impact on public health. This predicament is exacerbated by the acute shortage of novel antimicrobial agents, a scarcity attributed to the rapid surge in bacterial resistance. This review delves into the realm of antimicrobial peptides, a diverse class of compounds ubiquitously present in plants and animals across various natural organisms. Renowned for their intrinsic antibacterial activity, these peptides provide a promising avenue to tackle the intricate challenge of bacterial resistance. However, the clinical utility of peptide-based drugs is hindered by limited bioavailability and susceptibility to rapid degradation, constraining efforts to enhance the efficacy of bacterial infection treatments. The emergence of nanocarriers marks a transformative approach poised to revolutionize peptide delivery strategies. This review elucidates a promising framework involving nanocarriers within the realm of antimicrobial peptides. This paradigm enables meticulous and controlled peptide release at infection sites by detecting dynamic shifts in microenvironmental factors, including pH, ROS, GSH, and reactive enzymes. Furthermore, a glimpse into the future reveals the potential of targeted delivery mechanisms, harnessing inflammatory responses and intricate signaling pathways, including adenosine triphosphate, macrophage receptors, and pathogenic nucleic acid entities. This approach holds promise in fortifying immunity, thereby amplifying the potency of peptide-based treatments. In summary, this review spotlights peptide nanosystems as prospective solutions for combating bacterial infections. By bridging antimicrobial peptides with advanced nanomedicine, a new therapeutic era emerges, poised to confront the formidable challenge of antimicrobial resistance head-on.

Rabdosichuanin C inhibits productions of pro-inflammatory mediators regulated by NF-κB signaling in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells

Chronic pharyngitis (CP) is an inflammatory disease of the pharyngeal mucosa and its lymphatic tissues that is difficult to treat clinically. However, research on the exact therapeutic agents and molecular mechanisms of CP is still unclear. In this study, we investigated Rabdosichuanin C (RC) to attenuate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory damage in RAW264.7 cells by a combination of targeted virtual screening and in vitro activity assay and further clarified its molecular mechanism of action centering on the IκB/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. Molecular docking and pharmacophore simulation methods were used to screen compounds with IκB inhibitory effects. Expression of genes and proteins related to the IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway by RC in LPS-induced inflammatory injury model of RAW264.7 cells was detected by PCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blot. The docking of RC with IκB protein showed good binding energy, and pharmacophore simulations further confirmed the active effect of RC in inhibiting IκB protein. RC intervention in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells significantly reduced the expression levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukins-6, iNOS, and CD-86 at the messenger RNA and protein levels, downregulated IκB, p65 protein phosphorylation levels, and significantly inhibited IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway activation. Virtual screening provided us with an effective method to rapidly identify compounds RC that target inhibit the action of IκB, and the activity results showed that RC inhibits NF-κB signaling pathway activation. It is suggested that RC may play a role in the treatment of CP by inhibiting the IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Network pharmacology, a promising approach to reveal the pharmacology mechanism of Chinese medicine formula

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Network pharmacology is a new discipline based on systems biology theory, biological system network analysis, and multi-target drug molecule design specific signal node selection. The mechanism of action of TCM formula has the characteristics of multiple targets and levels. The mechanism is similar to the integrity, systematization and comprehensiveness of network pharmacology, so network pharmacology is suitable for the study of the pharmacological mechanism of Chinese medicine compounds.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The paper summarizes the present application status and existing problems of network pharmacology in the field of Chinese medicine formula, and formulates the research ideas, up-to-date key technology and application method and strategy of network pharmacology. Its purpose is to provide guidance and reference for using network pharmacology to reveal the modern scientific connotation of Chinese medicine.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Literatures in this review were searched in PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar using the keywords "traditional Chinese medicine", "Chinese herb medicine" and "network pharmacology". The literature cited in this review dates from 2002 to 2022.

RESULTS

Using network pharmacology methods to predict the basis and mechanism of pharmacodynamic substances of traditional Chinese medicines has become a trend.

CONCLUSION

Network pharmacology is a promising approach to reveal the pharmacology mechanism of Chinese medicine formula.

Elucidation of the mechanism of action of Runyan Mixture in the treatment of pharyngitis using a network pharmacological approach

This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of action of Runyan Mixture in treating pharyngitis using a network pharmacological approach. The active components of the Runyan Mixture were obtained from the traditional chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and evaluated using Lipinski's rules. The SwissTargetPrediction database was used to predict the action targets of the Runyan Mixture, and a protein-protein interaction network was constructed using the STRING database. Moreover, the anti-inflammatory effect of Runyan Mixture was validated in vitro using the lipopolysaccharide induced inflammation in macrophages. The Runyan Mixture was the liquid preparation from 8 traditional Chinese medicine. A total of 89 types of active components, 53 core targets, and 98 signaling pathways (P < .001) were identified for the Runyan Mixture. The main action targets were EGFR, MAPK1, AKT1, PIK3CA, NFKB1, SRC, TNF, MAPK8, MET, and PTGS2. Among the identified signaling pathways, 20 were associated with microbial infection and 24 were related to the immune-inflammatory response. Experimental results in vitro showed that Runyan Mixture could significantly inhibit the expression of interleukin-1, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (P < .05) in macrophages by lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Based on the results of the protein-protein interaction network analysis and the anti-inflammatory effect in vitro, the efficiency of the Runyan Mixture in pharyngitis treatment could be attributed to the inhibition of the inflammatory response.

Systematic analysis of critical genes and pathways identified a signature of neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) damages sensory systems, producing chronic neuropathic pain that is resistant to medical treatment. The specific mechanisms underlying SCI-induced neuropathic pain (SCI-NP) remain unclear, and protein biomarkers have not yet been integrated into diagnostic screening. To better understand the host molecular pathways involved in SCI-NP, we used the bioinformatics method, the PubMed database, and bioinformatics methods to identify target genes and their associated pathways. We reviewed 2504 articles on the regulation of SCI-NP and used the text mining of PubMed database abstracts to determine associations among 12 pathways and networks. Based on this method, we identified two central genes in SCI-NP: interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to build the SCI-NP models. The threshold for paw withdrawal was significantly reduced in the SCI group and TLR4 was activated in microglia after SCI. ELISA analysis of TNF-α and IL-6 levels was significantly higher in the SCI group than in the sham group. Western blot showed that expressions of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB inflammatory pathway protein increased dramatically in the SCI group. Using the TLR4 inhibitor TAK-242, the pain threshold and expressions of inflammatory factors and proteins of the proteins of the inflammatory signal pathway were reversed, TLR4 in microglia was suppressed, suggesting that SCI-NP was related to neuroinflammation mediated by the TLR4 signaling pathway. In conclusion, we found TNF-α and IL-6 were the neuroinflammation-related genes involved in SCI-NP that can be alleviated by inhibiting the inflammatory pathway upstream of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB inflammatory pathway.

Network Pharmacology Approach for Medicinal Plants: Review and Assessment

Natural products have played a critical role in medicine due to their ability to bind and modulate cellular targets involved in disease. Medicinal plants hold a variety of bioactive scaffolds for the treatment of multiple disorders. The less adverse effects, affordability, and easy accessibility highlight their potential in traditional remedies. Identifying pharmacological targets from active ingredients of medicinal plants has become a hot topic for biomedical research to generate innovative therapies. By developing an unprecedented opportunity for the systematic investigation of traditional medicines, network pharmacology is evolving as a systematic paradigm and becoming a frontier research field of drug discovery and development. The advancement of network pharmacology has opened up new avenues for understanding the complex bioactive components found in various medicinal plants. This study is attributed to a comprehensive summary of network pharmacology based on current research, highlighting various active ingredients, related techniques/tools/databases, and drug discovery and development applications. Moreover, this study would serve as a protocol for discovering novel compounds to explore the full range of biological potential of traditionally used plants. We have attempted to cover this vast topic in the review form. We hope it will serve as a significant pioneer for researchers working with medicinal plants by employing network pharmacology approaches.

16SrDNA-Based Detection Technology in Patients with Chronic Pharyngitis to Analyze the Distribution Characteristics of Pharyngeal Bacteria

In order to analyze the distribution characteristics of pharyngeal bacteria in patients with chronic pharyngitis (CP) by 16SrDNA-based detection technology, a prospective study is conducted to collect pharyngeal secretion samples from patients diagnosed with CP who are admitted to the Otorhinolaryngology Department of The Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen from May 2021 to September 2021. Among them, 11 cases are chronic simple pharyngitis (CSP), 11 cases are chronic hypertrophic pharyngitis (CHP), and 8 cases are healthy subjects. All samples are detected by the 16SrDNA technique and analyzed by bioinformatics. 55724.64 ± 1772.80, 53697.73 ± 2252.19, and 55177.5 ± 1661.80 optimized sequences are obtained by 16SrDNA sequencing. The α diversity analysis of pharyngeal microflora showed that the abundance index SOBS of pharyngeal microflora is upregulated in patients with CHP compared with normal controls (NC), but the diversity index of pharyngeal bacteria in the three groups is not significantly changed, indicating that the abundance of pharyngeal bacteria in the CHP group is increased. The β diversity analysis of pharyngeal microflora showed that the three groups are similar in structure and composition, and there is no significant statistical difference. The structural difference analysis of pharyngeal flora combined with LEfSe difference analysis showed that at the phylum level, the relative abundance of Spirochaetes and Synergistetes in the CHP group is significantly higher than that in the CSP group. At the genus level, the relative abundance of opportunistic pathogens such as Selenomonas and Campylobacter increased significantly in the CSP group. The relative abundance of Escherichia, Mycoplasma, and Porphyromonas are significantly increased in the CHP group. The abundance of beneficial symbiotic bacteria decreased significantly in patients with CP. The pharyngitis of patients with CP is characterized by an increase in the abundance of pharyngitis, changes in the structure of pharyngitis, a decline in the symbiotic beneficial bacteria, and an increase in the content of opportunistic pathogens, which may be closely related to the onset and development of CP.

EGFR and ERK activation resists flavonoid quercetin-induced anticancer activities in human cervical cancer cells in vitro

In the present study, due to the complex and numerous targets of Sarcandrae Herb (also known as Zhong Jie Feng), network pharmacology was performed to analyze its therapeutic effect on 2 cervical cancer cell lines, which could assist with the development of novel therapies. The results suggested that the natural flavonoid quercetin (Que), the effective antitumor ingredient in SH, which is widely present in a variety of plants, may depend on the target, EGFR. Previous studies have shown that EGFR serves a crucial role in the occurrence and development of cervical cancer, but its downstream molecules and regulatory mechanisms remain unknown. The anti-cervical cancer cell properties of Que, which are present in ubiquitous plants, were examined in vitro to identify the association between Que and its underlying pathway using MTT assays, flow cytometry, western blot analysis and Transwell assays. It was found that Que reduced cervical cancer cell viability, promoted G₂/M phase cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis, as well as inhibited cell migration and invasion. The Tyr1068 phosphorylation site of EGFR and the corresponding ERK target were also examined and the 2 kinases were markedly activated by Que. Furthermore, the EGFR inhibitor, afatinib and the ERK inhibitor, U0126 blocked the increase of EGFR and ERK phosphorylation, and resulted in a notable enhancement of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Therefore, to the best of our knowledge, the current results provided the first evidence that EGFR and ERK activation induced by Que could resist Que-induced anticancer activities. On this basis, the present study determined the role of EGFR and the underlying signaling pathways involved in the anti-cervical cancer malignant behavior induced by Que and identified the negative regulatory association.