scholarly journals Exploring the Mechanisms of Arsenic Trioxide (Pishuang) in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Based on Network Pharmacology

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Xinmiao Wang ◽  
Luchang Cao ◽  
Jingyuan Wu ◽  
Guanghui Zhu ◽  
Xiaoyu Zhu ◽  
...  

Objective. Arsenic trioxide (Pishuang, Pishi, arsenolite, As2O3, and CAS 1327-53-3), a naturally occurring and toxic mineral as a drug for more than 2000 years in China, has been found to have a valuable function in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in recent years. However, its exact mechanism remains to be elucidated. Therefore, this study was intended to explore the potential anti-HCC mechanism of arsenic trioxide through network pharmacology. Methods. The potential targets of arsenic trioxide were collected from PubChem and TargetNet. HCC targets were obtained from the GeneCards database. Then, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of arsenic trioxide and HCC common targets was established using STRING. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed by the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Finally, an arsenic trioxide-target-pathway-HCC network was built by Cytoscape 3.2.1, and network topological analysis was carried out to screen the key candidate targets. Results. A total of 346 corresponding targets of arsenic trioxide and 521 HCC-related targets were collected. After target mapping, a total of 52 common targets were obtained. GO analysis showed that the biological process was mainly involved in the negative regulation of cellular senescence, response to tumor necrosis factor, and cellular response to hypoxia. Molecular functions included NF-kappa B binding, enzyme binding, p53 binding, and transcription factor binding. Cellular components mainly were replication fork, ESC/E(Z) complex, RNA polymerase II transcription factor complex, and organelle membrane. KEGG pathways were mainly enriched in the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, ErbB signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway. In the arsenic trioxide-target-pathway-HCC network, targets such as AKT1, RAF1, RELA, TP53, and PTEN had a higher degree. Conclusions. Our study showed that key targets of arsenic trioxide were mainly involved in multiple biological processes and pathways. It provided a theoretical basis for the screening of drug targets.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wei ◽  
Sichen Ren ◽  
Ruilin Wang ◽  
Manyi Jing ◽  
Honghong Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Zuojin Pill (ZJP), a classic prescription, has the potential to prevent ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the active component and mechanism of ZJP is still arcane. Objective: This study aims to use a network pharmacology approach to find the bioactive compounds and potential action mechanisms of ZJP in the treatment of UC.Methods: Firstly, the components and putative targets of ZJP were collected based on the herbal medicine target database, and a network containing the interaction between the putative targets of ZJP and the potential therapeutic targets of UC was established. Then topological parameters were calculated to identify the key targets in the network and the key targets were imported into David database to perform path enrichment analysis.Results: 7 potential therapeutic components of ZJP and 26 key targets were obtained. These targets were related to signal transduction, response to drug, cellular response to lipopolysaccharide, MAPK cascade, inflammatory response, immune response, transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter, apoptotic process, regulation of sequence-specific DNA binding transcription factor activity and lipopolysaccharide-mediated signaling pathway. Moreover, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway were predicted to participate in the treatment of UC, which directly regulated by 7 active components of ZJP. Quercetin and isorhamnetin have great development value in the treatment of UC. Moupinamide and palmidin A are of great value for exploration because of their safety and innovation.Conclusion: ZJP mainly were directly involved in UC through inflammation and immune regulation by PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway.


Author(s):  
Ming Ming Liu ◽  
Nan Ning Lv ◽  
Rui Geng ◽  
Zhen Hua ◽  
Yong Ma ◽  
...  

Background: Diabetic nephropathy-related osteoporosis (DNOP) is the most common comorbid bone metabolic disorder associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). The Liuwei Dihuang Pill (LWD) is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine widely used to treat diabetic complications, including diabetic nephropathy (DN). This study aimed to identify the biomarkers of the mechanisms of DNOP in LWD with systems biology approaches. Methods: Herein, we performed an integrated analysis of the GSE51674 and GSE63446 datasets from the GEO database via weighted gene co-expression network and network pharmacology (WGCNA) analysis. In addition, a network pharmacology approach, including bioactive compounds, was used with oral bioavailability (OB) and drug-likeness (DL) evaluation. Next, target prediction, functional enrichment analysis, network analysis, and virtual docking were used to investigate the mechanisms of LWD in DNOP. Results : WGCNA successfully identified 63 DNOP-related miRNAs. Among them, miR-574 was significantly upregulated in DN and OP samples. A total of 117 targets of 22 components associated with LWD in DNOP were obtained. The cellular response to nitrogen compounds, the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, and the MAPK signaling pathway were related to the main targets. Network analysis showed that kaempferol and quercetin were the most significant components. MAPK1 was identified as a potential target of miR-574 and the hub genes in the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. The docking models demonstrated that kaempferol and quercetin had a strong binding affinity for Asp 167 of MAPK1. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that miR-574 may play important roles in DNOP, and the therapeutic effects of kaempferol and quercetin on LWD in DNOP might be mediated by miR-574 by targeting MAPK1. Our results provide new perspectives for further studies on the anti-DNOP mechanism of LWD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaling Deng ◽  
Xianwen Ye ◽  
Yufan Chen ◽  
Hongmin Ren ◽  
Lanting Xia ◽  
...  

Objective: The technology, network pharmacology and molecular docking technology of the ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) were used to explore the potential molecular mechanism of Platycodon grandiflorum (PG) in the treatment of lung cancer (LC).Methods: UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technology was used to analyze the ingredients of PG and the potential LC targets were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database, and the Analysis Platform (TCMSP), GeneCards and other databases. The interaction network of the drug-disease targets was constructed with the additional use of STRING 11.0. The pathway enrichment analysis was carried out using Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) in Metascape, and then the “Drug-Ingredients-Targets-Pathways-Disease” (D-I-T-P-D) network was constructed using Cytoscape v3.7.1. Finally, the Discovery Studio 2016 (DS) software was used to evaluate the molecular docking.Results: Forty-seven compounds in PG, including triterpenoid saponins, steroidal saponins and flavonoids, were identified and nine main bioactive components including platycodin D were screened. According to the method of data mining, 545 potential drug targets and 2,664 disease-related targets were collected. The results of topological analysis revealed 20 core targets including caspase 3 (CASP3) and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) suggesting that the potential signaling pathway potentially involved in the treatment of LC included MAPK signaling pathway and P13K-AKT signaling pathway. The results of molecular docking proved that the bound of the ingredients with potential key targets was excellent.Conclusion: The results in this study provided a novel insight in the exploration of the mechanism of action of PG against LC.


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 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Yi-ding Yu ◽  
Yi-ping Xiu ◽  
Yang-fan Li ◽  
Yi-tao Xue

Fuxin mixture (FXHJ) is a prescription for the treatment of heart failure. It has been shown to be effective in clinical trials, but its active ingredients and mechanism of action are not completely clear, which limits its clinical application and international promotion. In this study, we used network pharmacology to find, conclude, and summarize the mechanism of FXHJ in the treatment of heart failure. From FXHJ, we found 39 active ingredients and 47 action targets. Next, we constructed the action network and was conducted enrichment analysis. The results showed that FXHJ mainly treated heart failure by regulating the MAPK signaling pathway, PI3KAkt signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, toll-like receptor signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, and the apoptotic signaling molecule BCL2. Through the research method of network pharmacology, this study summarized the preliminary experiments of the research group and revealed the probable mechanism of FXHJ in the treatment of heart failure to a certain extent, which provided some ideas for the development of new drugs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Xinmiao Wang ◽  
Guanghui Zhu ◽  
Haoyu Yang ◽  
Ruike Gao ◽  
Zhe Wu ◽  
...  

Background. Tumor microenvironment (TME) takes a vital effect on the occurrence and development of cancer. Radix Rhei Et Rhizome (RRER, Da-Huang in pinyin), a classical Chinese herb, has been widely used in gastric cancer (GC) for many years in China. However, inadequate systematic studies have focused on the anti-GC effect of RRER in TME. This study intended to uncover the mechanism of it by network pharmacology. Methods. We collected compounds and targets of RRER from traditional Chinese medicine system pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP) and SwissTargetPrediction. GC targets were obtained from GeneCards. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and RRER-GC-target network were built by STRING and Cytoscape 3.2.1. Furthermore, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were performed using Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID). Results. We obtained 92 compounds of RRER. A total of 10 key compounds and 20 key targets were selected by “RRER-GC-target network” topological analysis. GO analysis showed that the biological process mainly involved in response to the tumor necrosis factor, positive regulation of fibroblast proliferation, and DNA damage response, signal transduction by p53 class mediator resulting in cell cycle arrest. Molecular functions included cyclin-dependent protein serine/threonine kinase activity, RNA polymerase II transcription factor activity, ligand-activated sequence-specific DNA binding, and transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity. Cellular components mainly were centrosome, cell surface, and membrane. KEGG pathway enrichment results mainly involved in the p53 signaling pathway, estrogen signaling pathway, and regulation of lipolysis in adipocytes. Conclusion. This study explored the anti-GC mechanism of RRER from the perspective of TME based on network pharmacology, which contributed to the development and application of RRER.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingxuan Yang ◽  
Liangtao Zhao ◽  
Xuchang Hu ◽  
Haijun Feng ◽  
Xuewen Kang

Background: Osteosarcoma (OS) is one of the most common primary malignant bone tumors in teenagers. Emerging studies demonstrated TWEAK and Fn14 were involved in regulating cancer cell differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion. Objective: The present study identified differently expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs after anti-TWEAK treatment in OS cells using GSE41828. Methods: We identified 922 up-regulated mRNAs, 863 downregulated mRNAs, 29 up-regulated lncRNAs, and 58 down-regulated lncRNAs after anti-TWEAK treatment in OS cells. By constructing PPI networks, we identified several key proteins involved in anti-TWEAK treatment in OS cells, including MYC, IL6, CD44, ITGAM, STAT1, CCL5, FN1, PTEN, SPP1, TOP2A, and NCAM1. By constructing lncRNAs coexpression networks, we identified several key lncRNAs, including LINC00623, LINC00944, PSMB8-AS1, LOC101929787. Result: Bioinformatics analysis revealed DEGs after anti-TWEAK treatment in OS were involved in regulating type I interferon signaling pathway, immune response related pathways, telomere organization, chromatin silencing at rDNA, and DNA replication. Bioinformatics analysis revealed differently expressed lncRNAs after antiTWEAK treatment in OS were related to telomere organization, protein heterotetramerization, DNA replication, response to hypoxia, TNF signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, Focal adhesion, Apoptosis, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway. Conclusion: : This study provided useful information for understanding the mechanisms of TWEAK underlying OS progression and identifying novel therapeutic markers for OS.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1245
Author(s):  
Shu Zhang ◽  
Qi Ge ◽  
Liang Chen ◽  
Keping Chen

Diabetes mellitus (DM), as a chronic disease caused by insulin deficiency or using obstacles, is gradually becoming a principal worldwide health problem. Pueraria lobata is one of the traditional Chinese medicinal and edible plants, playing roles in improving the cardiovascular system, lowering blood sugar, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, and so on. Studies on the hypoglycemic effects of Pueraria lobata were also frequently reported. To determine the active ingredients and related targets of Pueraria lobata for DM, 256 metabolites were identified by LC/MS non targeted metabonomics, and 19 active ingredients interacting with 51 DM-related targets were screened. The results showed that puerarin, quercetin, genistein, daidzein, and other active ingredients in Pueraria lobata could participate in the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, insulin resistance, HIF-1 signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway by acting on VEGFA, INS, INSR, IL-6, TNF and AKT1, and may regulate type 2 diabetes, inflammation, atherosis and diabetes complications, such as diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy, and diabetic cardiomyopathy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (19) ◽  
pp. 10246-10253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Yang ◽  
Shun Deng ◽  
Xuegao Wei ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
Qiannan Zhao ◽  
...  

The evolution of insect resistance to pesticides poses a continuing threat to agriculture and human health. While much is known about the proximate molecular and biochemical mechanisms that confer resistance, far less is known about the regulation of the specific genes/gene families involved, particularly by trans-acting factors such as signal-regulated transcription factors. Here we resolve in fine detail the trans-regulation of CYP6CM1, a cytochrome P450 that confers resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides in the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-directed activation of the transcription factor cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB). Reporter gene assays were used to identify the putative promoter of CYP6CM1, but no consistent polymorphisms were observed in the promoter of a resistant strain of B. tabaci (imidacloprid-resistant, IMR), which overexpresses this gene, compared to a susceptible strain (imidacloprid-susceptible, IMS). Investigation of potential trans-acting factors using in vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that the bZIP transcription factor CREB directly regulates CYP6CM1 expression by binding to a cAMP-response element (CRE)-like site in the promoter of this gene. CREB is overexpressed in the IMR strain, and inhibitor, luciferase, and RNA interference assays revealed that a signaling pathway of MAPKs mediates the activation of CREB, and thus the increased expression of CYP6CM1, by phosphorylation-mediated signal transduction. Collectively, these results provide mechanistic insights into the regulation of xenobiotic responses in insects and implicate both the MAPK-signaling pathway and a transcription factor in the development of pesticide resistance.


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