Elucidation of the Mechanisms and Molecular Targets of Yiqi Shexue Formula for Treatment of Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia Based on Network Pharmacology

Abstract

Yiqi Shexue formula (YQSX) is traditionally used to treat primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in clinical practice of traditional Chinese medicine. However, its mechanisms of action and molecular targets for treatment of ITP are not clear. The active compounds of YQSX were collected and their targets were identified. ITP-related targets were obtained by analyzing the differential expressed genes between ITP patients and healthy individuals. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) data were then obtained and PPI networks of YQSX putative targets and ITP-related targets were visualized and merged to identify the candidate targets for YQSX against ITP. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis were carried out. The gene-pathway network was constructed to screen the key target genes. In total, 177 active compounds and 251 targets of YQSX were identified. Two hundred and thirty differential expressed genes with an P value < 0.005 and |log2(fold change)| > 1 were identified between ITP patient and control groups. One hundred and eighty-three target genes associated with ITP were finally identified. The functional annotations of target genes were found to be related to transcription, cytosol, protein binding, and so on. Twenty-four pathways including cell cycle, estrogen signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway were significantly enriched. MDM2 was the core gene and other several genes including TP53, MAPK1, CDKN1A, MYC, and DDX5 were the key gens in the gene-pathway network of YQSX for treatment of ITP. The results indicated that YQSX’s effects against ITP may relate to regulation of immunological function through the specific biological processes and the related pathways. This study demonstrates the application of network pharmacology in evaluating mechanisms of action and molecular targets of complex herbal formulations.

Identification of the Active Constituents and Significant Pathways of Cangfu Daotan Decoction for the Treatment of PCOS Based on Network Pharmacology

“…Traditional research methods on TCM mainly rely on pharmacochemical and pharmacological experiments, which have many problems, such as low data flux, low precision, long cycles, and high costs. e construction and development of a network pharmacology analysis platform, TCM database, and target prediction technology has brought new ideas and strategies for the study on the basis and mechanism of the pharmacodynamic substances of TCM to clarify characteristics such as the good curative effects, high safety profile, and multicomponents and multitargets of TCM [53]. ese developments also lead to a new direction for the modernization and internationalization of TCM [54].…”

Exploring protective effect of Glycine tabacina aqueous extract against nephrotic syndrome by network pharmacology and experimental verification

“…Network pharmacology is a systematic approach which emphasizes the integration of systems biology, bioinformatics, and pharmacology [10]. This method interprets the underlying complex relationships among diseases, components and biological systems [50,51].…”

“…Thanks to the low side effects, rich resource and remarkable efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), TCM, as one of the major modalities in complementary and alternative medicine, has a long history for treating a variety of nephropathies [6,8,9]. Network pharmacology is a systematic approach, which is used to understand the complexities among compounds, targets, diseases and biosystems [10]. The idea of this method conforms to the holistic and systemic views of TCM theory [11].…”

Explore the mechanism of Shengma-Gegen drug pair on hepatitis B virus based on network pharmacology

“…We found 85 ingredients of Shengma and 14 ingredients of Gegen from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP, http://lsp.nwu.edu.cn/tcmsp.php) [11]. Some researchers then screened the compounds based on oral bioavailability (OB) ≥30% and drug similarity (DL) ≥0.18 [12], but many TCM ingredients were bio-transformed to real active ones in vivo after oral administration [13], furthermore, puerarin as the main ingredient with many bioactivities would be excluded for its OB = 24.03, and so, all the ingredients were used for later analysis. There is one common ingredient both in Shengma and Gegen, so a total of 98 ingredients were found.…”