scholarly journals Investigation on the Mechanism of Qubi Formula in Treating Psoriasis Based on Network Pharmacology

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Zhou ◽  
Lingyun Zhang ◽  
Disheng Tao

Objective. To elucidate the pharmacological mechanisms of Qubi Formula (QBF), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula which has been demonstrated as an effective therapy for psoriasis in China. Methods. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database, BATMAN-TCM database, and literature search were used to excavate the pharmacologically active ingredients of QBF and to predict the potential targets. Psoriasis-related targets were obtained from Therapeutic Target Database (TTD), DrugBank database (DBD), MalaCards database, and DisGeNET database. Then, we established the network concerning the interactions of potential targets of QBF with well-known psoriasis-related targets by using protein-protein interaction (PPI) data in String database. Afterwards, topological parameters (including DNMC, Degree, Closeness, and Betweenness) were calculated to excavate the core targets of Qubi Formula in treating psoriasis (main targets in the PPI network). Cytoscape was used to construct the ingredients-targets core network for Qubi Formula in treating psoriasis, and ClueGO was used to perform GO-BP and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis on these core targets. Results. The ingredient-target-disease core network of QBF in treating psoriasis was screened to contain 175 active ingredients, which corresponded to 27 core targets. Additionally, enrichment analysis suggested that targets of QBF in treating psoriasis were mainly clustered into multiple biological processes (associated with nuclear translocation of proteins, cellular response to multiple stimuli (immunoinflammatory factors, oxidative stress, and nutrient substance), lymphocyte activation, regulation of cyclase activity, cell-cell adhesion, and cell death) and related pathways (VEGF, JAK-STAT, TLRs, NF-κB, and lymphocyte differentiation-related pathways), indicating the underlying mechanisms of QBF on psoriasis. Conclusion. In this work, we have successfully illuminated that Qubi Formula could relieve a wide variety of pathological factors (such as inflammatory infiltration and abnormal angiogenesis) of psoriasis in a “multicompound, multitarget, and multipathway” manner by using network pharmacology. Moreover, our present outcomes might shed light on the further clinical application of QBF on psoriasis treatment.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Chunli Piao ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
De Jin ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Cheng Tang ◽  
...  

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most common complications of diabetes mellitus. Owing to its complicated pathogenesis, no satisfactory treatment strategies for DN are available. Milkvetch Root is a common traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and has been extensively used to treat DN in clinical practice in China for many years. However, due to the complexity of botanical ingredients, the exact pharmacological mechanism of Milkvetch Root in treating DN has not been completely elucidated. The aim of this study was to explore the active components and potential mechanism of Milkvetch Root by using a systems pharmacology approach. First, the components and targets of Milkvetch Root were analyzed by using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database. We found the common targets of Milkvetch Root and DN constructed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network using STRING and screened the key targets via topological analysis. Enrichment of Gene Ontology (GO) pathways and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways were analyzed. Subsequently, major hubs were identified and imported to the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery for pathway enrichment analysis. The binding activity and targets of the active components of Milkvetch Root were verified by using the molecular docking software SYBYL. Finally, we found 20 active components in Milkvetch Root. Moreover, the enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG pathways suggested that AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and TNF signaling pathway might be the key pathways for the treatment of DN; more importantly, 10 putative targets of Milkvetch Root (AKT1, VEGFA, IL-6, PPARG, CCL2, NOS3, SERPINE1, CRP, ICAM1, and SLC2A) were identified to be of great significance in regulating these biological processes and pathways. This study provides an important scientific basis for further elucidating the mechanism of Milkvetch Root in treating DN.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hongxing Li ◽  
Xinyue Zhang ◽  
Lili Gu ◽  
Ningzi Wu ◽  
Lingxi Zhang ◽  
...  

This study aims to explore the possible homologous mechanism of 7 frequently‐used herbs for heat-clearing and detoxification in traditional Chinese medicine (HDTCM) for treating Alzheimer's disease (AD), one of the most common types of dementia, based on network pharmacology. Herbs that satisfied the criteria of containing chlorogenic acid, relating to AD and aligning with HDTCM, were simultaneously collected to determine whether they have anti-AD effect based on a survey of the literature. Herb-ingredient-target-disease networks were constructed by collecting information from the TCMSP and GeneCards public databases. The common targets of the herbs and AD were identified for conducting a Gene Ontology (GO) analyses and a Reactome pathway enrichment analysis. The results showed that PTGS1, IL-6, CASP3, and VEGFA were the predicted key gene targets. The IL-4 and IL-13 signaling pathway, the ESR-mediated signaling pathway, and the extranuclear estrogen signaling pathway were the significant pathways associated with the 7 herbs. This study revealed that the analogous anti-AD mechanism of the 7 herbs of HDTCM may be associated with anti-inflammation, which is a common effect of the chlorogenic acid and quercetin components.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Li Piao ◽  
Jin-Li Luo ◽  
De Jin ◽  
Cheng Tang ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Radix Salviae (Dan-shen in pinyin), a classic Chinese herb, has been extensively used to treat diabetic retinopathy in clinical practice in China for many years. However, the pharmacological mechanisms of Radix Salviae remain vague. The aim of this study was to decrypt the underlying mechanisms of Radix Salviae in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy using a systems pharmacology approach. Methods A network pharmacology-based strategy was proposed to elucidate the underlying multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway mode of action of Radix Salviae against diabetic retinopathy. First, we collected putative targets of Radix Salviae based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology database and a network of the interactions among the putative targets of Radix Salviae and known therapeutic targets of diabetic retinopathy was built. Then, two topological parameters, “degree” and “closeness certainty” were calculated to identify the major targets in the network. Furthermore, the major hubs were imported to the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery to perform a pathway enrichment analysis. Results A total of 130 nodes, including 18 putative targets of Radix Salviae, were observed to be major hubs in terms of topological importance. The results of pathway enrichment analysis indicated that putative targets of Radix Salviae mostly participated in various pathways associated with angiogenesis, protein metabolism, inflammatory response, apoptosis, and cell proliferation. The putative targets of Radix Salviae (vascular endothelial growth factor, matrix metalloproteinases, plasminogen, insulin-like growth factor-1, and cyclooxygenase-2) were recognized as active factors involved in the main biological functions of treatment, which implied that these were involved in the underlying mechanisms of Radix Salviae on diabetic retinopathy. Conclusions Radix Salviae could alleviate diabetic retinopathy via the molecular mechanisms predicted by network pharmacology. This research demonstrates that the network pharmacology approach can be an effective tool to reveal the mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine from a holistic perspective.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daqiu Chen ◽  
Yanqing Wu ◽  
Yixing Chen ◽  
Qiaoxing Chen ◽  
Xianhua Ye ◽  
...  

Background: Suxiao Xintong dropping pills (SXXTDP), a traditional Chinese medicine, is widely applied for treating myocardial infarction (MI). However, its therapy mechanisms are still unclear. Therefore, this research is designed to explore the molecular mechanisms of SXXTDP in treating MI. Methods: The active ingredients of SXXTDP and their corresponding genes of the active ingredients were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database. MI-related genes were identified via analyzing the expression profiling data (accession number: GSE97320). Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed to study the shared genes of drug and disease. Through protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and the Cytoscape plugin cytoHubba, the hub genes were screened out. The compounds and hub targets binding were simulated through molecular docking method. Results: We obtained 21 active compounds and 253 corresponding target genes from TCMSP database. 1833 MI-related genes were identified according to P<0.05 and |log2FC| ≥ 0.5. 27 overlapping genes between drug and disease were acquired. GO analysis indicated that overlapping genes were mainly enriched in MAP kinase activity and antioxidant activity. KEGG analysis indicated that overlapping genes were mainly enriched in IL-17 signaling pathway and TNF signaling pathway. We obtained 10 hub genes via cytoHubba plugin. Six of the 10 hub genes, including PTGS2, MAPK14, MMP9, MAPK1, NFKBIA, and CASP8, were acted on molecular docking verification with their corresponding compounds of SXXTDP. Conclusion: SXXTDP may exert cardioprotection effect through regulating multiple targets and multiple pathways in MI.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Hao Zhu ◽  
Yuhuan Shi ◽  
Shanshan Jiang ◽  
Xiuxiu Jiao ◽  
Hui Zhu ◽  
...  

Background. Chuankezhi injection (CKZI) was an effective traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) injection in adjuvant bronchial asthma therapy. In this report, we used a network pharmacology method to reveal the mechanisms of CKZI for the treatment of asthma. Methods. The candidate compounds in CKZI were determined by searching the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure website (CNKI). The targets of candidate compounds were searched in the TCMSP, DrugBank 5.0, and SwissTargetPrediction. The disease targets were screened from the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and GeneCards. The overlapping gene symbols between candidate compounds and disease were filtered via a Venn diagram and were considered as potential targets. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and disease-related candidate compound-target-pathway (DC-T-P) network were visualized by Cytoscape 3.6.1. Gene Ontology (GO) functions and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed by metascape to determine the pathways related to asthma. Results. A total of 70 overlapping gene symbols were recognized as potential targets. Cytokines (IL6, TNF, and IL1B) and chemokines (CXCL8 and CCL2) could be recognized as hub genes. Asthma-related candidate compounds were mainly flavonoids, such as quercetin, luteolin, and kaempferol. The cytokine-mediated signaling pathway, cytokine receptor binding, and membrane craft were the most significant biological process (BP), molecular function (MF), and cellular component (CC) of GO function results, respectively. The relevant pathways of CKZI against asthma mainly include IL-17, NF-kappa B, HIF-1, calcium, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. Conclusion. Our research provided a theoretical basis for further investigating the mechanisms of CKZI in the treatment of asthma.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junli Bao ◽  
Xinyuan Gao ◽  
Yubo Han ◽  
Ke Zhang ◽  
Li Liu

Abstract Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a group of abnormalities which includes abdominal obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia. Many clinical studies showed that Huanglian Wendan Decoction(HWD) is effective in the treatment of MetS.Methods: In this study, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database, STITCH database and Swisstargetpredicition database were used to excavate the active components of HWD and to predict the potential targets. The key targets of MetS are screened through GeneCards database and DisGeNET database. Moreover, we obtained the overlapping target of HWD and MetS based on venndiagram of "R program". Next, we performed enrichment analysis for common-target network and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Afterwards, Cytoscape was used to construct the components-targets core network for HWD in treating MetS, and R program was used to perform GO-BP and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis on these core targets. Last, we further investigated our predictions of crucial targets by performing molecular docking studies with components of HWD.Results: The component-target core network of HWD against MetS was screened to contain 22 active components, which corresponded to 77 core targets. Additionally, enrichment analysis suggested that targets of HWD against MetS were mainly clustered into multiple biological processes (response to nutrient levels, gland development, response to steroid hormone, cellular response to oxidative stress, reproductive structure development etc and related pathways (AGE-RAGE, AMPK, JAK-STAT, MAPK), indicating the underlying mechanisms of HWD on MetS. The results of molecular docking showed that beta-sitost, naringenin, berberine and baicalein bound well to IL6 and AKT1.Conclusion: The network pharmacological strategy integrated molecular docking to explore the mechanism of HWD against MetS. Our present outcomes might shed light on the further clinical application of HWD on MetS treatment.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10745
Author(s):  
Qin Zhang ◽  
Zhangying Feng ◽  
Mengxi Gao ◽  
Liru Guo

Background SiNiSan (SNS) is an ancient traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used to treat liver and spleen deficiencies. We studied the unique advantages of using SNS to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with multiple components and targets to determine its potential mechanism of action. Methods The active compounds from the individual herbs in the SNS formula and their targets were mined from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database (TCMSP). HCC-associated targets were collected from the TCGA and GEO databases and samples were collected from patients with stage III hepatocellular carcinoma. A compound-disease target network was constructed, visualized, and analyzed using Cytoscape software. We built a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network using the String database. We enriched and analyzed key targets using GSEA, GO, and KEGG in order to explore their functions. Autodock software was used to simulate the process of SNS molecules acting on HCC targets. Results A total of 113 candidate compounds were taken from SNS, and 64 of the same targets were chosen from HCC and SNS. The predominant targets genes were PTGS2, ESR1, CHEK1, CCNA2, NOS2 and AR; kaempferol and quercetin from SNS were the principal ingredients in HCC treatment. The compounds may work against HCC due to a cellular response to steroid hormones and histone phosphorylation. The P53 signaling pathway was significantly enriched in the gene set GSEA enrichment analysis and differential gene KEGG enrichment analysis. Conclusions Our results showed that the SNS component has a large number of stage III HCC targets. Among the targets, the sex hormone receptors, the AR and ESR1 genes, are the core targets of SNS component and the most active proteins in the PPI network. In addition, quercetin, which has the most targets, can act on the main targets (BAX, CDK1, CCNB1, SERPINE1, CHEK2, and IGFBP3) of the P53 pathway to treat HCC.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Liu ◽  
Bolong Wang

Abstract Background: Jianghuang (JH) is a popular ingredient in blood-regulating traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that could be effective for the treatment of various diseases. We demonstrate the compatibility laws and system pharmacological mechanisms of the key formula containing JH by leveraging data mining of bioinformatics databases.Material/Methods: The compatibility laws of blood-regulating formulae containing JH from the Chinese Traditional Medicine Formula Dictionary were analyzed using a generalized rule induction (GRI) algorithm implemented. The putative target gene and miRNA were retrieved via a combination of the Arrowsmith knowledge discovery tool and FunRich 3.1.3. System pharmacological mechanisms are traced by their protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis was conducted using Uniprot, the Human Protein Atlas (HPA), STRING 11.0, and KOBAS 3.0.Results: We found that the JH-CX-DG formula (Ligusticum chuanxiong-Angelica sinensis) could represent a key formula containing JH in blood-regulating TCM formulae. The JH-CX-DG formula was observed to directly target AKT, TLR4, caspase-3, PI3K, mTOR, p38 MAPK, VEGF, iNOS, Nrf2, BDNF, NF-κB, Bcl-2, and Bax 13 targets and regulate targets through 13 miRNA. The PPI network and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the JH-CX-DG formula possess potential pharmacological effects including anti-inflammatory, improving microcirculation, and anti-tumor through the regulation of multiple pathways including PI3K/Akt, MAPK, Toll-like receptor, T cell receptor, EGFR, VEGFR, Apoptosis, HIF-1 (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The JH-CX-DG formula can exert beneficial pharmacological effects through multi-target and multi-pathway interactions. It can be effectively administered for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, microcirculation disorders, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. We found a new effective drug formula through analyzing the compatibility law and systemic pharmacological mechanism of JH. Our study provides a theoretical basis and directions for subsequent research on the JH-CX-DG formula.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiayan Wu ◽  
Shengkun Hong ◽  
Xiankuan Xie ◽  
Wangmi Liu

Objective. Dipsaci Radix (DR) has been used to treat fracture and osteoporosis. Recent reports have shown that myeloid cells from bone marrow can promote the proliferation of lung cancer. However, the action and mechanism of DR has not been well defined in lung cancer. The aim of the present study was to define molecular mechanisms of DR as a potential therapeutic approach to treat lung cancer. Methods. Active compounds of DR with oral bioavailability ≥30% and drug-likeness index ≥0.18 were obtained from the traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform. The potential target genes of the active compounds and bone were identified by PharmMapper and GeneCards, respectively. The compound-target network and protein-protein interaction network were built by Cytoscape software and Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes webserver, respectively. GO analysis and pathway enrichment analysis were performed using R software. Results. Our study demonstrated that DR had 6 active compounds, including gentisin, sitosterol, Sylvestroside III, 3,5-Di-O-caffeoylquinic acid, cauloside A, and japonine. There were 254 target genes related to these active compounds as well as to bone. SRC, AKT1, and GRB2 were the top 3 hub genes. Metabolisms and signaling pathways associated with these hub genes were significantly enriched. Conclusions. This study indicated that DR could exhibit the anti-lung cancer effect by affecting multiple targets and multiple pathways. It reflects the traditional Chinese medicine characterized by multicomponents and multitargets. DR could be considered as a candidate for clinical anticancer therapy by regulating bone physiological functions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Li ◽  
Guhang Wei ◽  
Zhenkun Zhuang ◽  
Mingtai Chen ◽  
Changjian Yuan ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundCorydalis Rhizoma(CR) showed a high efficacy for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the interaction between the active ingredients of CR and the targets of CHD has not been unequivocally explained in previous researches. To study the active components and potential targets of Corydalis Rhizoma and to determine the mechanism underlying the exact effect of Corydalis Rhizoma on coronary heart disease, a method of network pharmacology was used.Materials and MethodsThe active components of CR and targets corresponding to each component were scanned out from Traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP), and target genes of CHD were searched on GeneCards database and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM) database. The active components and common targets of CR and CHD were used to build the “CR-CHD” network through Cytoscape (version 3.2.1) software as well as protein-protein interaction(PPI) network on String database. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis was executed by clusterProfiler(version 3.8) and DOSE(version 3.6) package on R platform.Results49 active ingredients and 394 relevant targets of CR and the 7173 CHD-related genes were retrieved. 40 common genes were selected for subsequent analysis. Crucial biological processes and pathways were obtained and analyzed, including DNA-binding transcription activator activity, RNA polymerase II-specific, RNA polymerase II transcription factor binding, kinase regulator activity, ubiquitin-like protein ligase binding, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, TNF signaling pathway, apoptosis, MAPK signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.ConclusionsOverall, CR could alleviate CHD through the mechanisms predicted by network pharmacology, laying the foundation for future development of new drugs from traditional Chinese medicine on CHD.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document