Exploring the Anti-Pulmonary Fibrosis Mechanism of Jingyin Granule by Network Pharmacology Strategy

Abstract

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a clinically common disease caused by many factors, which will lead to lung function decline and even respiratory failure. Jingyin granule has been confirmed to have anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects by former studies, and has been recommended for combating H1N1 influenza A virus (H1N1) infection and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China. At present, studies have shown that patients with severe COVID-19 infection developed lung fibrotic lesions. Although Jingyin granule can improve symptoms in COVID-19 patients, no study has yet reported whether it can attenuate the process of PF. Here, we explored the underlying mechanism of Jingyin granule against PF by network pharmacology combined with in vitro experimental validation. In the present study, the active ingredients as well as the corresponding action targets of Jingyin granule were firstly collected by TCMSP and literature data, and the disease target genes of PF were retrieved by disease database. Then, the common targets were subjected to Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses, and then a PPI network and an ingredient–target network were constructed. Next, UPLC-MS was used to isolate and identify selected representative components in Jingyin granule. Finally, LPS was used to induce the A549 cell fibrosis model to verify the anti-PF effect of Jingyin granule in vitro. Our results indicated that STAT3, JUN, RELA, MAPK3, TNF, MAPK1, IL-6, and AKT1 were core targets of action and bound with good affinity to selected components, and Jingyin granule may alleviate PF progression by Janus kinase 2/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK2/STAT3), the mammalian nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and the extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) signaling pathways. Overall, these results provide future therapeutic strategies into the mechanism study of Jingyin granule on PF.

Study on the Potential Mechanism of Semen Strychni against Myasthenia Gravis Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking with Experimental Verification

“…TCM possesses multicomponent, multipath, and multitarget characteristics, in contrast to conventional chemotherapeutics focusing on a single target. Network pharmacology emphasizes the multichannel regulation of signaling pathways and supplies a potential method for investigating the multitarget mechanism of TCM [18][19][20][21].…”

Clinical efficacy of Jingyin granules, a Chinese patent medicine, in treating patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019

“…JY has been demonstrated to be very effective for treating respiratory diseases. Further, previous researches have confirmed that JY has anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects ( Wu et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ; Zhu et al, 2022 ; Zhuang et al, 2020 ). JY is advised for treating COVID-19 patients by the Expert consensus on traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 infection in Shanghai (Spring edition).…”

Therapeutic Effect of Astragali Radix Extract Injection Combined with Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrotic Rats

“…Jinyin granules are TCM compounds with detoxification, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects. They might alleviate PF progression through several signal pathways, such as Janus kinase 2/signal transducers and activators of transcription and the mammalian nuclear factor- κ B signaling pathway [ 30 ]. The Qimai feiluoping decoction is another TCM compound for treating PF associated with COVID-19 by supplementing Qi, nourishing Yin, and activating blood circulation.…”