Objective Long‐term and high exposure to UV radiation can lead to the development of skin photoaging diseases. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for more natural and safe drugs to prevent or treat skin photoaging diseases. Methods The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform database were used to collect the active compounds and corresponding targets of Cnidii Fructus, Arnebiae Radix, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Poria, and Borneolum. The GeneCards database and the NCBI Gene database were used to collect the targets of skin photoaging diseases. The STRING database was used to construct a protein–protein interaction network formed by the intersecting targets of drugs and diseases. The Metascape database was applied for Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis of the targets. Molecular docking between active compounds and targets was verified by Autodock. After that, the skin photoaging model of mice was established and treated with MP gel. The skin characterization on the back of mice was observed, and the ameliorative effect of MP gel on skin photoaging was evaluated by histological and epidermal thickness assays. The MDA content and SOD activity were measured. Caspase‐3 expression in mouse skin tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry, quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction assay, and Western blot. Results The results of network pharmacology experiments showed that the natural drugs have multi‐component, multi‐target therapeutic disease characteristics. The results of animal studies showed that MP gel improved the health of photoaged skin, promoted skin structural integrity, had antioxidant properties and significantly inhibited caspase‐3 expression. Conclusion The experimental validation of the results of the preliminary network pharmacology analysis was carried out in animal experiments, which confirmed part of the mechanism of action of MP gel in the prevention and treatment of skin photoaging.
BACKGROUND: Omicron VOC (BF.7) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 that is currently spreading globally as a dominant strain. BF.7 is more infectious than existing Omicron variants, and to date there are no specific therapeutic agents for this variant. METHODS: The active compounds were collected by TCMSP, ETCM database and literature mining method, and the targets of the compounds were searched by Swiss Target Prediction and SUPERPRED database, while the targets of Omiron virus were collected by DisGeNET and GEO database, and then the intersecting targets were compared and analyzed. In this study, Swiss-Model was applied to construct the Spike RBD structure of Omicron variant BF.7 by replacing mutant amino acids into the Native Spike (S) structure, and the structural changes of Native S were compared. The four active compounds screened were docked with Omicron S protein and Omicron S-hACE2 complexes. To evaluate the structural stability of the complexes in a physiological environment, we also performed molecular dynamics simulations of the docked complexes and compared them to the control drug, chloroquine. The affinity of ligands and protein complexes was determined by free energy analysis using the MM-PBSA algorithm, and the structural changes of S proteins in combination with ligands were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 12 mongolic medicines were screened and 310 active ingredient predictions were made, with a total of 55 genes overlapping with Omicron variants and 14 targets with the largest differences being conserved. Once these 14 targets were mapped to the active ingredients of 12 mongolic herbs, four more precise active ingredients were filtered out. Of these four phytochemicals, Berberine was the most potent inhibitor of Omicron S protein. In addition, molecular docking simulations revealed that Berberine can bind stably to Omicron S protein and the Omicron S-hACE2 complex. Using molecular dynamics simulations, Berberine was shown to be able to form a stable complex with Omicron S in a physiological environment with better results than the control drug chloroquine. Free energy analysis by the MM-PBSA algorithm and evaluation of S protein structural changes following ligand binding also demonstrated a higher affinity of Berberine for Omicron S compared to the other small molecule compounds. CONCLUSION: Berberine was found to have the most substantial inhibitory potential against Omicron VOC (BF.7) S protein and could be further investigated and developed as a potential inhibitor of Omicron.
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