scholarly journals Identified the Synergistic Mechanism of Drynariae Rhizoma for Treating Fracture Based on Network Pharmacology

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haixiong Lin ◽  
Xiaotong Wang ◽  
Ligang Wang ◽  
Hang Dong ◽  
Peizhen Huang ◽  
...  

Background. Drynariae Rhizoma (DR) has been widely used in the prevention and treatment of various fractures. However, the specific mechanisms of DR’s active ingredients have not been elucidated. The purpose of this study was to explore the synergistic mechanisms of DR for treating fracture. Methods. A network pharmacology approach integrating ingredient screening, target exploration, active ingredients-gene target network construction, protein-protein interaction network construction, molecular docking, gene-protein classification, gene ontology (GO) functional analysis, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, and signaling pathway integration was used. Results. This approach identified 17 active ingredients of DR, interacting with 144 common gene targets and 143 protein targets of DR and fracture. NCOA1, GSK3B, TTPA, and MAPK1 were identified as important gene targets. Five most important protein targets were also identified, including MAPK1, SRC, HRAS, RXRA, and NCOA1. Molecular docking found that DR has a good binding potential with common protein targets. GO functional analysis indicated that common genes involve multiple processes, parts and functions in biological process, cellular component, and molecular function, including positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter, signal transduction, cytosol, extracellular exosome, cytoplasm, and protein binding. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated that common gene targets play a role in repairing fractures in multiple signaling pathways, including MAPK, PI3K/AKT, Ras, and VEGF signaling pathways. MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways were involved in osteoblast formation, Ras signaling pathway was involved in enhancing mesenchymal stromal cell migration, and VEGF signaling pathway was involved in angiogenesis. Conclusion. The study revealed the correlation between DR and fracture and the potential synergistic mechanism of different targets of DR in the treatment of fractures, which provides a reference for the development of new drugs.

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 411-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xian-Jun Wu ◽  
Xin-Bin Zhou ◽  
Chen Chen ◽  
Wei Mao

Aim and Objective: Cardiovascular disease is a serious threat to human health because of its high mortality and morbidity rates. At present, there is no effective treatment. In Southeast Asia, traditional Chinese medicine is widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Quercetin is a flavonoid extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves. Basic experiments and clinical studies have shown that quercetin has a significant effect on the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, its precise mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, it is necessary to exploit the network pharmacological potential effects of quercetin on cardiovascular disease. Materials and Methods: In the present study, a novel network pharmacology strategy based on pharmacokinetic filtering, target fishing, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, compound-target-pathway network structured was performed to explore the anti- cardiovascular disease mechanism of quercetin. Results:: The outcomes showed that quercetin possesses favorable pharmacokinetic profiles, which have interactions with 47 cardiovascular disease-related targets and 12 KEGG signaling pathways to provide potential synergistic therapeutic effects. Following the construction of Compound-Target-Pathway (C-T-P) network, and the network topological feature calculation, we obtained top 10 core genes in this network which were AKT1, IL1B, TNF, IL6, JUN, CCL2, FOS, VEGFA, CXCL8, and ICAM1. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. These indicated that quercetin produced the therapeutic effects against cardiovascular disease by systemically and holistically regulating many signaling pathways, including Fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, TNF signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 239-256
Author(s):  
Qian Wang ◽  
Lijing Du ◽  
Jiana Hong ◽  
Zhenlin Chen ◽  
Huijian Liu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Shanmei Capsule is a famous preparation in China. However, the related mechanism of Shanmei Capsule against hyperlipidemia has yet to be revealed. OBJECTIVE: To elucidate underlying mechanism of Shanmei Capsule against hyperlipidemia through network pharmacology approach and molecular docking. METHODS: Active ingredients, targets of Shanmei Capsule as well as targets for hyperlipidemia were screened based on database. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment were performed via Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) 6.8 database. Ingredient-target-disease-pathway network was visualized utilizing Cytoscape software and molecular docking was performed by Autodock Vina. RESULTS: Seventeen active ingredients in Shanmei Capsule were screened out with a closely connection with 34 hyperlipidemia-related targets. GO analysis revealed 40 biological processes, 5 cellular components and 29 molecular functions. A total of 15 signal pathways were enriched by KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The docking results indicated that the binding activities of key ingredients for PPAR-α are equivalent to that of the positive drug lifibrate. CONCLUSIONS: The possible molecular mechanism mainly involved PPAR signaling pathway, Bile secretion and TNF signaling pathway via acting on MAPK8, PPARγ, MMP9, PPARα, FABP4 and NOS2 targets.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong-Bin Chen ◽  
Ying-Dong Yang ◽  
Kai Sun ◽  
Shan Liu ◽  
Wei Guo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is a global chronic and metabolic bone disease, which poses huge challenges to individuals and society. Ziyin Tongluo Formula (ZYTLF) has been proved effective in the treatment of PMOP. However, the material basis and mechanism of ZYLTF against PMOP have not been thoroughly elucidated.Methods: Online databases were used to identify the active ingredients of ZYTLF and corresponding putative targets. Genes associated with PMOP were mined, and then mapped with the putative targets to obtain overlapping genes. Multiple networks were constructed and analyzed, from which the key genes were selected. The key genes were imported to the DAVID database to performs GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Finally, AutoDock Tools and other software were used for molecular docking of core compounds and key proteins. Results: Ninety-two active compounds of ZYTLF corresponded to 243 targets, with 129 target genes interacting with PMOP, and 50 key genes were selected. Network analysis showed the top 5 active ingredients including quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, scutellarein, and formononetin., and the top 50 key genes such as VEGFA, MAPK8, AKT1, TNF, ESR1. Enrichment analysis uncovered two significant types of KEGG pathways in PMOP, hormone-related signaling pathways (estrogen , prolactin, and thyroid hormone signaling pathway) and inflammation-related pathways (TNF, PI3K-Akt, and MAPK signaling pathway). Moreover, molecular docking analysis verified that the main active compounds were tightly bound to the core proteins, further confirming the anti-PMOP effects. Conclusions: Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, this study initially revealed the mechanisms of ZYTLF on PMOP, which involves multiple targets and multiple pathways.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-wei Sun ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
Zi-feng Guo ◽  
Kai-cheng Du ◽  
Da-li Meng

Ohwia caudata (OC)—a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)—has been reported to have large numbers of flavonoids, alkaloids, and triterpenoids. The previous studies on OC for treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD) only focused on single targets and its mechanisms, while no report had shown about the synergistic mechanism of the constituents from OC related to their potential treatment on dementia in any database. This study aimed to predict the bioactive targets constituents and find potential compounds from OC with better oral bioavailability and blood–brain barrier permeability against AD, by using a system network level-based in silico approach. The results revealed that two new flavonoids, and another 26 compounds isolated from OC in our lab, were highly connected to AD-related signaling pathways and biological processes, which were confirmed by compound–target network, Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, respectively. Predicted by the virtual screening and various network pharmacology methods, we found the multiple mechanisms of OC, which are effective for alleviating AD symptoms through multiple targets in a synergetic way.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Haoxian Wang ◽  
Jihong Zhang ◽  
Qinqin Zhu ◽  
Xianyun Fu ◽  
Chenjie Li

Aim. This study aimed to predict the key targets and endocrine mechanisms of Guizhi Fuling Wan (GZFLW) in treating adenomyosis (AM) through network pharmacology, molecular docking, and animal experiment verification. Methods. The related ingredients and targets of GZFLW in treating AM were screened out using TCMSP, BATMAN-TCM, SwissTargetPrediction, and PubChem Database. Then, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and the network of compound-hub targets were constructed. At the same time, the key targets were uploaded to the Metascape Database for KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. After that, the molecular docking technology of the main active components and hub targets was performed. Furthermore, animal experiments were used to verify the results of network pharmacology analysis. Results. A total of 55 active ingredients of GZFLW and 44 overlapping targets of GZFLW in treating AM were obtained. After screening, 25 hub targets were collected, including ESR1, EGF, and EGFR. Then, the KEGG pathway enrichment analysis results indicated that the endocrine therapeutic mechanism of GZFLW against AM is mainly associated with the estrogen signaling pathway, endocrine resistance, and an EGFR tyrosine kinase signaling pathway. Then, molecular docking showed that the significant compounds of GZFLW had a strong binding ability with ERα and EGFR. More importantly, the animal experiments confirmed that the GZFLW could downregulate the abnormal infiltration of the endometrial epithelium into the myometrium and had no interference with the normal sexual cycle. This effect may be directly related to intervening the local estrogen signaling pathway of the endometrial myometrial interface (EMI). It may also be associated with the myometrium cells’ estrogen resistance via GPER/EGFR signaling pathway. Conclusion. The endocrine mechanism of GZFLW in treating AM was explored based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and animal experiments, which provided a theoretical basis for the clinical application of GZFLW.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerui Wu ◽  
Lu Jiang ◽  
Lanlin Huang ◽  
Yaxing He ◽  
Xia Yan ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: We aimed to predict the possible active components,key targets and pathways of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction(HLJDD) for anti-atherosclerosis. Methods: The TCMSP database was searched to obtain the active components and targets of HLJDD, the GeneCards and OMIM databases were searched to obtain related targets of atherosclerosis, and we obtain the intersection targets of them, which are the potential targets of HLJDD for anti-atherosclerosis.Application of Cytoscape 3.6.0 software to build a herbal-active ingredient-potential target regulation network.We perform protein-protein interaction(PPI) network analysis of potential targets through STRING 11.0 database and obtain the key targets,and the results of PPI network of key targets were visualized by Cytoscape3.6.0 software. Gene ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of the key targets were performed using STRING11.0 database, and we finally constructed the possible pharmacological network of HLJDD for anti-atherosclerosis .Results: We finally obtained 14 key active ingredients of HLJDD, 65 key targets of anti-atherosclerosis, and 14 key active ingredients corresponded to 52 of these targets. These targets are mainly involved in biological processes such as reaction to organic substance, reaction to chemical stimulation,etc.They mainly involved in biological signaling pathways such as pathways in cancer,IL-17 signaling pathway,etc. Conclusion: HLJDD may act on 52 key targets such as PTGS2, HSP90AA1 and RELA through 14 key active ingredients, and influence the signaling pathways including fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis,PI3K-Akt signaling pathway,IL-17 signaling pathway,AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications,TNF signaling pathway,etc.Thus, it may play an anti-atherosclerosis role by inhibiting inflammatory reaction, oxidative stress and improving hemodynamics,etc.


Author(s):  
Qiguo Wu ◽  
Yeqing Hu

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common endocrine metabolic disorder diseases. The application of herbal medicine to control glucose levels and improve insulin action might be a useful approach in the treatment of diabetes. Mulberry leaves (ML) has been reported to exert important activities of anti-diabetic. Objective: In this work, we aimed to explore the multi-targets and multi-pathways regulatory molecular mechanism of Mulberry leaves (ML, Morus alba Linne) acting on diabetes. Methods: Identification of active compounds of Mulberry leaves using Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database. Bioactive components were screened by FAF-Drugs4 website (Free ADME-Tox Filtering Tool). The targets of bioactive components were predicted from SwissTargetPrediction website, and the diabetes related targets were screened from GeneCards database. The common targets of ML and diabetes are used for Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis. The visualization networks were constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.1 software. The construction of biological networks were performed to analyze the mechanisms as follows: (1) Compound-Target network; (2) Common target-Compound network; (3) Common targets protein interaction network; (4) Compound-Diabetes protein-protein interactions (PPI) network; (5) Target-Pathway network; (6) Compound-Target-Pathway network. At last, the prediction results of network pharmacology were verified by molecular docking method. Results: 17 active components were obtained by TCMSP database and FAF-Drugs4 website. 51 potential targets (11 common targets and 40 associated indirect targets) were obtained and used to build the PPI network by String database. Furthermore, the potential targets were used to GO and pathway enrichment analysis. 8 key active compounds (quercetin, Iristectorigenin A, 4-Prenylresveratrol, Moracin H, Moracin C, Isoramanone, Moracin E and Moracin D) and 8 key targets (AKT1, IGF1R, EIF2AK3, PPARG, AGTR1, PPARA, PTPN1 and PIK3R1) were obtained to play major roles in Mulberry leaf acting on diabetes. And the signal pathways involved in the mechanisms mainly include AMPK signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, mTOR signaling pathway, insulin signaling pathway and insulin resistance. The molecular docking results show that the 8 key active compounds have good affinity with the key target of AKT1, and the 5 key targets (IGF1R, EIF2AK3, PPARG, PPARA and PTPN1) have better affinity than AKT1 with the key compound of quercetin. Conclusion: Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking of this work provided an important systematic and visualized basis for further understanding the synergy mechanism of ML acting on diabetes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Xinmiao Wang ◽  
Haoyu Yang ◽  
Lili Zhang ◽  
Lin Han ◽  
Sha Di ◽  
...  

Background. Shenzhuo formula (SZF) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription which has significant therapeutic effects on diabetic kidney disease (DKD). However, its mechanism remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the underlying anti-DKD mechanism of SZF. Methods. The active ingredients and targets of SZF were obtained by searching TCMSP, TCMID, SwissTargetPrediction, HIT, and literature. The DKD target was identified from TTD, DrugBank, and DisGeNet. The potential targets were obtained and PPI network were built after mapping SZF targets and DKD targets. The key targets were screened out by network topology and the “SZF-key targets-DKD” network was constructed by Cytoscape. GO analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed by using DAVID, and the results were visualized by Omicshare Tools. Results. We obtained 182 potential targets and 30 key targets. Furthermore, a “SZF-key targets-DKD” network topological analysis showed that active ingredients like M51, M21, M5, M71, and M28 and targets like EGFR, MMP9, MAPK8, PIK3CA, and STAT3 might play important roles in the process of SZF treating in DKD. GO analysis results showed that targets were mainly involved in positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter, inflammatory response, lipopolysaccharide-mediated signaling pathway, and other biological processes. KEGG showed that DKD-related pathways like TNF signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway were at the top of the list. Conclusion. This research reveals the potential pharmacological targets of SZF in the treatment of DKD through network pharmacology and lays a foundation for further studies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunli Piao ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
De Jin ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Cheng Tang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common complications of diabetes mellitus. Milkvetch Root has been extensively used to treat DN in clinical practice in China for many years, but the active ingredients, drug targets, and its exact molecular mechanism are not known. The aim of this study was to decrypt the underlying mechanisms of Milkvetch Root in the treatment of DN by using a systems pharmacology approach. Methods: The components and targets of Milkvetch Root were analyzed using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database. Then we found the common target of Milkvetch Root and disease, constructed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network using String, and screened the key targets from these common targets through topological analysis. Analyses of enrichment of Gene Ontology (GO) pathways and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. Subsequently, the major hubs were imported to the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery to perform a pathway enrichment analysis. Results: There were 20 active compounds of Milkvetch Root and 10 diabetic nephropathy -associated targets (AKT1, VEGFA, IL6, PPARG, CCL2, NOS3, SERPINE1, CRP, ICAM1, SLC2A4) that were obtained. Then, the results of GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses suggested that the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, HIF-1 signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and TNF signaling pathway in diabetic complications might serve as the key points and principal pathways for DN treatment. Conclusions: In brief, Milkvetch Root has multiple components, multiple targets and multiple pharmacological effects in the treatment of DN, which provides clues for further research on DN.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingyun Jin ◽  
Bin Chen ◽  
Xiangyang Zhan ◽  
Zhiyi Zhou ◽  
Hui Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and objective: To predict the targets and signal pathways of Xiao-Chai-Hu-Tang (XCHT) in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) based on network pharmacology, to further analyze its anti-CRC material basis and mechanism of action.Methods: TCMSP and TCMID databases were adopted to screen the active ingredients and potential targets of XCHT. CRC-related targets were retrieved by analyzing published microarray data (accession number GSE110224) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The above common targets were used to construct the “herb-active ingredients-target” network by Cytoscape 3.8.0 software. And then, the protein-to-protein interaction(PPI)was constructed and analyzed with BisoGenet and CytoNCA plug-in in Cytoscape. Gene Ontology (GO) functional and the Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis for target genes were then performed using the R package of cluster Profiler. Further, AutoDock Vina software was used to conduct molecular docking studies on the active ingredients and key targets to verify the network pharmacological analysis results.Results: A total of 71 active ingredients of XCHT and 20 potential targets for anti-CRC were identified. The network analysis revealed that quercetin, stigmasterol, kaempferol, baicalein, acacetin may be the key compounds. And PTGS2, NR3C2, CA2, MMP1 may be the key targets. The active ingredients of XCHT interacted with most disease targets of CRC. It fully showed that XCHT exerted its therapeutic effect through the synergistic action of the multi-compound, multi-target, and multi-pathway. Gene ontology enrichment analysis showed 46 GO entries, including 20 biological processes, 6 cellular components, and 20 molecular functions. 11 KEGG signaling pathways had been identified, including IL-17 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, and NF-kappa B signaling pathway. It showed that XCHT played a role in the treatment of CRC by regulating different signal pathways. Molecular docking confirmed the correlation between five core compounds (including quercetin, stigmasterol, kaempferol, baicalein, and acacetin) and PTGS2.Conclusion: The potential active ingredients, possible targets, and key biological pathways for the efficacy of XCHT in the treatment of CRC were preliminarily described, which provided a theoretical basis for further experimental verification research.


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