A Network Pharmacology Approach to Estimate the Active Ingredients and Potential Targets of Cuscutae semen in the Treatment of Osteoporosis

Abstract

Background: Osteoporosis is a metabolic osteopathy characterized by abnormal bone mass and microstructure that has become a public health problem worldwide. Cuscutae semen (CS) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has a positive effect on the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. However, the mechanism of CS is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the possible molecular mechanism involved in the effects of CS on osteoporosis based on a network pharmacology approach. Material/Methods: The inactive and active ingredients of CS were identified by searching the pharmacology analysis platform of the Chinese medicine system (TCMSP), and the targets of osteoporosis were screened in the relevant databases, such as GeneCards, PubMed, and the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD). The network of "medicine-ingredients-disease-targets (M-I-D-T)" was established by means of network pharmacology, and the key targets and core pathways were determined by R analysis. Molecular docking methods were used to evaluate the binding activity between the target and the active ingredients of CS. Results: Eleven active ingredients were identified in CS, and 175 potential targets of the active ingredients were also identified from the TCMSP. Moreover, we revealed 22 539 targets related to osteoporosis in the 3 well-established databases, and we determined the intersection of the disease targets and the potential targets of the active ingredients; 107 common targets were identified and used in further analysis. Additionally, biological processes and signaling pathways involved in target action, such as fluid shear stress, atherosclerosis, cancer pathways, and the TNF signaling pathway, were determined. Finally, we chose the top 5 common targets, CCND1, EGFR, IL6, MAPK8, and VEGFA, for molecular docking with the 11 active ingredients of CS. Conclusions: This study suggested that CS has multiple ingredients and multiple targets relevant to the treatment of osteoporosis. We determined that the active ingredient, sesamin, may be the most crucial ingredient of CS for the treatment of osteoporosis. Additionally, the network pharmacology method provided a novel research approach to analyze the function of complex ingredients.

Network pharmacology-based analysis of the mechanism of Saposhnikovia divaricata for the treatment of type I allergy

“…It records the structure, physical and chemical properties and pharmacokinetic data of TCM components in detail, which is the first choice for network pharmacology study of TCM (Dai et al. 2020 ; Zhang et al. 2021 ).…”

Network pharmacology-based analysis and experimental in vitro validation on the mechanism of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. in the treatment for type I allergy

“…The TCMSP database contains 499 TCMs included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and their 29,384 components, 3311 targets and 837 related diseases. Each component provides pharmacokinetic data, as well as potential targets and related disease information, so that the relationship network of drug-target-disease can be obtained, which provides a new platform for the in-depth study of the pharmacological mechanism of TCM [ 22 ]. In order to obtain more accurate compounds for more in-depth research, we selected compounds with OB ≥ 30% and DL ≥ 0.18 as potential active ingredients, and obtained 29 main active ingredients and 157 targets of PLP, among which Pae is one of the main effective ingredients, which has high OB and DL values.…”

Network pharmacology explores the mechanisms of Eucommia ulmoides cortex against postmenopausal osteoporosis

“…[13] With the aid of database information and "Medicine -Targetspathways -Disease" research mode, network pharmacology provides a more integrative and systematic research strategy on the mechanisms of TCM. [14] In the present study, network pharmacology was used to comprehensively investigate the mechanisms of EU against PMOP. We screened out the potential targets of EU and PMOP via several databases.…”