Qianghuo Shengshi decoction (QHSSD) is a classical Chinese medicine formula, which is used in clinical practice for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in China. However, the pharmacological mechanism of QHSSD on RA has remained unclear by now. We collected and screened active compounds and its potential targets by the pharmacology platform of Chinese herbal medicines. In addition, the therapeutic targets of RA were obtained and selected from databases. Network construction analyzed that 128 active compounds may act on 87 candidate targets and identified a total of 18 hub targets. GO annotation and KEGG enrichment investigated that the action mechanism underlying the treatment of RA by QHSSD might be involved in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, anti-inflammation, and antioxidation. Finally, molecular docking verification showed that TP53, VEGFA, TNF, EGFR, and NOS3 may be related to the RA treatment and molecular dynamics simulation showed the stability of protein-ligand interactions. In this work, QHSSD might exert therapeutic effect through a multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway in RA from a holistic aspect, which provides basis for its mechanism of action and subsequent experiments.
Bushao Tiaozhi Capsule (BSTZC) is a novel drug in China that is used in clinical practice and has significant therapeutic effects on hyperlipidemia (HLP). In our previous study, BSTZC has a good regulatory effect on lipid metabolism of HLP rats. However, its bioactive compounds, potential targets, and underlying mechanism remain largely unclear. We extracted the active ingredients and targets in BSTZC from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and literature mining. Subsequently, core ingredients, potential targets, and signaling pathways were determined through bioinformatics analysis, including constructed Drug-Ingredient-Gene symbols-Disease (D-I-G-D), protein–protein interaction (PPI), the Gene Ontology (GO), and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Finally, the reliability of the core targets was evaluated using in vivo studies. A total of 36 bioactive ingredients and 209 gene targets were identified in BSTZC. The network analysis revealed that quercetin, kaempferol, wogonin, isorhamnetin, baicalein and luteolin may be the core ingredients. The 26 core targets of BSTZC, including IL-6, TNF, VEGFA, and CASP3, were considered potential therapeutic targets. Furthermore, GO and KEGG analyses indicated that the treatment of HLP by BSTZC might be related to lipopolysaccharide, oxidative stress, inflammatory response and cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. The pathway analysis showed enrichment for different pathways like MAPK signaling pathway, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic, IL-17 signaling pathway and TNF signaling pathway. In this study, network pharmacology analysis, and experiment verification were combined, and revealed that BSTZC may regulate key inflammatory markers and apoptosis for ameliorating HLP.
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