scholarly journals Exploration of the Modulatory Property Mechanism of ELeng Capsule in the Treatment of Endometriosis Using Transcriptomics Combined With Systems Network Pharmacology

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Zheng ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Jiayi Wu ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Yangxue Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Network Pharmacology ◽  
Receptor Interaction ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Function Modules

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease and causes severe chronic pelvic pain and infertility. Growing evidence showed that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays an active role in the treatment of endometriosis. ELeng Capsule (ELC) is a Chinese medicine formula used for the treatment of endometriosis for several years. However, the mechanisms of ELC have not been fully characterized. In this study, network pharmacology and mRNA transcriptome analysis were used to study various therapeutic targets in ELC. As a result, 40 compounds are identified, and 75 targets overlapped with endometriosis-related proteins. The mechanism of ELC for the treatment of endometriosis is based on the function modules of inducing apoptosis, inhibiting angiogenesis, and regulating immunity mainly through signaling molecules and interaction (neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction), immune system–associated pathways (toll-like receptor signaling pathway), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling, and MAPK signaling pathway based on network pharmacology. In addition, based on RNA-sequence analysis, we found that the mechanism of ELC was predominantly associated with the regulation of the function modules of actin and cytoskeleton, epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), focal adhesion, and immunity-associated pathways. In conclusion, ELC exerted beneficial effects on endometriosis, and the potential mechanism could be realized through functional modules, such as inducing apoptosis and regulating angiogenesis, cytoskeleton, and EMT. This work not only provides insights into the therapeutic mechanism of TCM for treating endometriosis but also offers an efficient way for drug discovery and development from herbal medicine.

scholarly journals Exploring the Modulatory Mechanism of Eleng Capsule in the Treatment of Endometriosis Based on Integrated Strategy of Transcriptomics Combined With Network Pharmacology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Zheng ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Jiangyong Gu ◽  
Jiayi Wu ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Rna Sequencing ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Therapeutic Targets ◽  
Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Mass Spectrometry Analysis ◽  
Network Pharmacology ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Tof Ms

Abstract BackgroundEndometriosis causes severe chronic pelvic pain and infertility. Chinese medicine plays an active role in the treatment of endometriosis. ELeng Capsule(ELC) is a Chinese medicine formula used for the treatment of endometriosis for several years. The previous studies have shown that ELC inhibits endometriosis. However, the mechanisms of action of ELC have not been characterized. In this study, network pharmacology and mRNA transcriptome analysis were used to study various therapeutic targets in ELC.Methods Ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis(UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was used to identify the compounds in ELC.And network pharmacology was used to analyze the network of targets and identified compounds of ELC. Apoptosis was assessed using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate (dUTP) nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay.The protein expression of VEGFA,VEGFB,VEGFC and α-SMA in the ectopic endometrium were identified by immunohistochemistry(IHC).The level of VEGFA,VEGFB and IL1-β in serum were used by ELISA. Further, RNA-sequencing was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in ELC. Biological functions and pathways were determined through the Gene Ontology(GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway(KEGG) analyses. In addition, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) analysis was used to further analyze the genetic network and modular genetics. ResultsWe had identified 26 new bioactive compounds in ELeng Capsule by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS analysis. The KEGG pathways of ELC associtaed targets related to neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, the toll-like receptor signaling pathway, and the vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway by network pharmacology analysis.Further, ELC could induce cell apoptosis, inhibit angiogenesis through reduce the expression of VEGFA and VEGFC, and inhibit the fibrosis through reduce the expression of α-SMA in ectopic lesions(P＜0.05). In addition, the development of endometriosis in the rat model may be related to mechanisms of inflammation,epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT) by RNA-sequencing. And the targets in the treatment of ELC were predominantly associated with actin and cytoskeleton,EMT,focal adhesion,and inflammatory immunity based on the DEGs analysis. In additon, the GSEA analysis showed that the treatment of ELC was associated with the Notch signaling pathway, Hippo signaling pathway, etc.ConclusionELeng Capsules exerted beneficial effects against endometriosis, potentially by induce apoptosis,modulating the angiogenesis,cytoskeleton, epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT), and cell junction-associated pathways,etc. These findings could provide evidence for an innovative treatment strategy and novel therapeutic targets for endometriosis.

scholarly journals Network Pharmacology of Yougui Pill Combined with Buzhong Yiqi Decoction for the Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yangyun Wang ◽  
Wandong Yu ◽  
Chaoliang Shi ◽  
Wei Jiao ◽  
Junhong Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dysfunction ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Glycyrrhetinic Acid ◽  
Network Pharmacology ◽  
Receptor Interaction ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Target Proteins ◽  
Yougui Pill

Purpose. We aimed to find the possible key targets of Yougui pill and Buzhong Yiqi decoction for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Materials and Methods. The composition of Yougui pill combined with Buzhong Yiqi decoction was obtained, and its effective components of medicine were screened using ADME; the component target proteins were predicted and screened based on the TCMSP and BATMAN databases. Target proteins were cross-validated using the CTD database. We performed gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses for target proteins using the Cytoscape plugin ClueGO + CluePedia and the R package clusterProfiler, respectively. Subsequently, protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses were conducted using the STRING database. Finally, a pharmacological network was constructed. Results. The pharmacological network contained 89 nodes and 176 relation pairs. Among these nodes, there were 12 for herbal medicines (orange peel, licorice, Eucommia, Aconite, Astragalus, Chinese wolfberry, yam, dodder seed, ginseng, Cornus officinalis, Rehmannia, and Angelica), 9 for chemical components (18-beta-glycyrrhetinic acid, carvacrol, glycyrrhetinic acid, higenamine, nobilin, quercetin, stigmasterol, synephrine, and thymol), 62 for target proteins (e.g., NR3C1, ESR1, PTGS2, CAT, TNF, INS, and TP53), and 6 for pathways (MAPK signaling pathway, proteoglycans in cancer, dopaminergic synapse, thyroid hormone signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction). Conclusion. NR3C1, ESR1, PTGS2, CAT, TNF, INS, and TP53 may be important targets for the key active elements in the decoction combining Yougui pill and Buzhong Yiqi. Furthermore, these target proteins are relevant to the treatment of sexual dysfunction, probably via pathways associated with cancer and signal transduction.

scholarly journals Uncovering the Mechanisms and Molecular Targets of Weibing Formula 1 against Gastritis: Coupling Network Pharmacology with GEO Database

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Ke Chen ◽  
Luojian Zhang ◽  
Zhen Qu ◽  
Feng Wan ◽  
Jia Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Quantitative Pcr ◽  
Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Gene Expression Omnibus ◽  
Network Pharmacology ◽  
Receptor Interaction ◽  
Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Real Time Quantitative Pcr

Weibing Formula 1, a classic traditional formula, has been widely used clinically to treat gastritis in recent years. However, the potential pharmacological mechanism of Weibing Formula 1 is still unclear to date. A network pharmacology-based strategy was performed to uncover the underlying mechanisms of Weibing Formula 1 against gastritis. Furthermore, we structured the drug-active ingredients-genes–disease network and PPI network of shared targets, and function enrichment analysis of these targets was carried out. Ultimately, Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets and real-time quantitative PCR were used to verify the related genes. We found 251 potential targets corresponding to 135 bioactive components of Weibing Formula 1. Then, 327 gastritis-related targets were known gastritis-related targets. Among which, 60 common targets were shared between potential targets of Weibing Formula 1 and known gastritis-related targets. The results of pathway enrichment analysis displayed that 60 common targets mostly participated in various pathways related to Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, and apoptosis. Based on the GSE60427 dataset, 15 common genes were shared between differentially expressed genes and 60 candidate targets. The verification results of the GSE5081 dataset showed that except for DUOX2 and VCAM1, the other 13 genes were significantly upregulated in gastritis, which was consistent with the results in the GSE60427 dataset. More importantly, real-time quantitative PCR results showed that the expressions of PTGS2, MMP9, CXCL2, and CXCL8 were significantly upregulated and NOS2, EGFR, and IL-10 were downregulated in gastritis patients, while the expressions of PTGS2, MMP9, CXCL2, and CXCL8 were significantly downregulated and NOS2, EGFR, and IL-10 were upregulated after the treatment of Weibing Formula 1. PTGS2, NOS2, EGFR, MMP9, CXCL2, CXCL8, and IL-10 may be the important direct targets of Weibing Formula 1 in gastritis treatment. Our study revealed the mechanism of Weibing Formula 1 in gastritis from an overall and systematic perspective, providing a theoretical basis for further knowing and application of this formula in the future.

scholarly journals The role of andrographolide and its derivative in COVID-19 associated proteins and immune system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yadu Nandan Dey ◽  
Pukar Khanal ◽  
B. M. Patil ◽  
Manish M. Wanjari ◽  
Bhavana Srivast ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Immune Modulation ◽  
Killer Cell ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Binding Energies ◽  
Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Spike Protein ◽  
Network Pharmacology ◽  
Receptor Interaction

Abstract Aim: In view of the strong immunomodulatory and antiviral activity of andrographolide and its derivative, the present study aimed to investigate the binding affinities of andrographolide and its derivative 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide with 3 major targets of COVID-19 i.e. 3CLpro, PLpro and spike protein followed by their gene-set enrichment analysis with special reference to immune modulation.Materials and methods: SMILES of the compounds were retrieved from DigepPred database and the proteins identified were queried in STRING to evaluate the protein-protein interaction and modulated pathways were identified concerning the KEGG database. Drug-likeness and ADMET profiles were evaluated using MolSoft and admet SAR 2.0, respectively. Molecular docking was carried using autodock 4.0.Results: Andrographolide and 14-Deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide were predicted to have a high binding affinity with papain-like protease i.e. -6.7 kcal/mol and -6.5 kcal/mol, respectively while they interact with equal binding energies with 3clpro (-6.8 kcal/mol) and spike protein (-6.9 kcal/mol). Network pharmacology analysis revealed that both compounds modulated the immune system through the regulation of chemokine signaling pathway, Rap1 signaling pathway, Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, MAPK signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, Rassignaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, and Natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Although the 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide scored higher drug-likeness character, it showed less potency to interaction with targeted proteins of COVID-19.Conclusion: The study suggests the strong interaction of the andrographolide and its derivative 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide against target proteins associated with COVID-19. Further, network pharmacology analysis elucidated the different pathways of immunomodulation. However, clinical research should be conducted to confirm the current findings.

scholarly journals Exploring the Mechanisms Underlying the Therapeutic Effect of Xixin Decoction on Alzheimer's Disease Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuo Zhang ◽  
Jiang-lin Xu ◽  
Ming-qing Wei ◽  
Ting Li ◽  
Jing Shi
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Molecular Docking ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Therapeutic Effect ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Network Pharmacology ◽  
Receptor Interaction ◽  
Ppi Network ◽  
Active Compounds

Abstract Background and objective: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been a worldwide problem, not only the treatment but also the prevention. As a commonly used Chinese Herbal Formula, Xixin Decoction (XXD) has significant therapeutic effect on AD but without clear mechanism. This study was aimed to predict the main active compounds and targets of XXD in the treatment of AD and to explore the potential mechanism by using network pharmacology and molecular docking. Methods: The compounds of XXD were searched in the TCMSP and the TCMID database, and the active compounds were screened based on the ADME model and SwissADME platform. SwissTargetPrediction platform was used to search for the primary candidate targets of XXD. The common targets related to AD obtained by two databases (GeneCards and DisGeNET) were determined as candidate proteins involved in AD. To acquire the related targets of XXD in the treatment of AD, the target proteins related to AD were intersected with the predicted targets of XXD. Then these overlapping targets were imported into the STRING database to build PPI network including hub targets; Cytoscape 3.7.2 software was used to construct the topology analysis for the herb-compound-target network diagram while one of it’s plug-in called CytoNCA was used to calculate degree value to screen the main active compounds of XXD. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were conducted to explore the core mechanism of action and biological pathways associated with the decoction via Metascape platform. We used AutoDock Vina and PyMOL 2.4.0 softwares for molecular docking of hub targets and main compounds.Results: We determined 114 active compounds which meet the conditions of ADME screening, 973 drug targets, and 973 disease targets. However, intersection analysis screened out 208 shared targets. PPI network identified 9 hub targets, including TP53, PIK3CA, MAPK1, MAPK3, STAT3, AKT1, etc. The 10 main active compounds play a major role in treatment of AD by XXD. Hub targets were found to be enriched in 10 KEGG pathways, involving the Pathways in cancer, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, Alzheimer's disease, Neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, Dopaminergic synapse, Serotonergic synapse and MAPK signaling pathway. The docking results indicated that the 8 hub targets exhibit good binding activity with the 9 main active compounds of XXD.Conclusions: We found the advantages of multi-compounds-multi-targets-multi-pathways regulation to reveal the mechanism of XXD for treating AD based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. Our study provided a theorical basis for further clinical application and experimental research of XXD for anti-AD in the future.

scholarly journals Therapeutic mechanism of Toujie Quwen granules in COVID-19 based on network pharmacology

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Huang ◽  
Wen-jiang Zheng ◽  
Yong-shi Ni ◽  
Mian-sha Li ◽  
Jian-kun Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Venn Diagram ◽  
Network Pharmacology ◽  
Active Ingredients ◽  
Integrated Network ◽  
Therapeutic Mechanism ◽  
The World

Abstract Background Chinese medicine Toujie Quwen granule (TJQW) has proven to be effective in the treatment of mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases by relieving symptoms, slowing the progression of the disease, and boosting the recovery of patients. But the bioactive compounds and potential mechanisms of TJQW for COVID-19 prevention and treatment are unclear. This study aimed to explore the potential therapeutic mechanism of TJQW in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) based on an integrated network pharmacology approach. Methods TCMSP were used to search and screen the active ingredients in TJQW. The Swiss TargetPrediction was used to predict the potential targets of active ingredients. Genes co-expressed with ACE2 were considered potential therapeutic targets on COVID-19. Venn diagram was created to show correlative targets of TJQW against COVID-19. Cytoscape was used to construct a “drug-active ingredient-potential target” network, STRING were used to construct protein-protein interaction network, and cytoHubba performed network topology analysis. Enrichment of biological functions and signaling pathways of core targets was performed by using the clusterProfiler package in R software and ClueGO with CluePedia plugins in Cytoscape. Results A total of 156 active ingredients were obtained through oral bioavailability and drug-likeness screenings. Two hundred twenty-seven potential targets of TJQW were related to COVID-19. The top ten core targets are EGFR, CASP3, STAT3, ESR1, FPR2, F2, BCL2L1, BDKRB2, MPO, and ACE. Based on that, we obtained 19 key active ingredients: umbelliprenin, quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, praeruptorin E, stigmasterol, and oroxylin A. And the enrichment analysis obtained multiple related gene ontology functions and signaling pathways. Lastly, we constructed a key network of “drug-component-target-biological process-signaling pathway”. Our findings suggested that TJQW treatment for COVID-19 was associated with elevation of immunity and suppression of inflammatory stress, including regulation of inflammatory response, viral process, neutrophil mediated immunity, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, Jak-STAT signaling pathway, Complement and coagulation cascades, and HIF-1 signaling pathway. Conclusions Our study uncovered the pharmacological mechanism underlying TJQW treatment for COVID-19. These results should benefit efforts for people around the world to gain more knowledge about Chinese medicine TJQW in the treatment of this vicious epidemic COVID-19, and help to address this pressing problem currently facing the world.

scholarly journals Exploring the mechanism of (-)-Epicatechin on premature ovarian insufficiency based on network pharmacology and experimental evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Yan ◽  
Qi Zhao ◽  
Huanpeng Gao ◽  
Xiaomei Wang ◽  
Ke Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Ontology ◽  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Mapk Signaling ◽  
Network Pharmacology ◽  
Pathway Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Related Factor ◽  
Nrf2 Signaling Pathway

Abstract Methods: Relevant potential targets for EC were obtained based on Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Database (TCMSP), a bioinformatics analysis tool for molecular mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine (BATMAN-TCM) and STITCH databases. The Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and GeneCards databases were utilized to screen the known POI-related targets, while Cytoscape software was used for network construction and visualization. Then, the Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis were carried out by the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) database. Furthermore, KGN cells were performed to validate the predicted results in oxidative stress (OS) model, and antioxidant effect was examined. Results: A total of 70 potential common targets for EC in the treatment of POI were obtained through network pharmacology. Metabolic process, response to stimulus and antioxidant activity occupied a leading position of Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis indicated that PI3K/protein kinase B (AKT), TNF, estrogen, VEGF and MAPK signaling pathways were significantly enriched. In addition, cell experiments showed that EC exhibited antioxidant effects in an H2O2-mediated OS model in ovarian granulosa cells by regulating the expression of PI3K/AKT/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway and multiple downstream antioxidant enzymes. Conclusion: EC could regulate multiple signaling pathways and several biological processes (BPs). EC had the ability to down-regulate elevated OS level through the PI3K/AKT/Nrf2 signaling pathway and represented a potential novel treatment for POI.

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