Molecular Basis of the Curative Effects of Turkish Gall Extracts on Periodontitis

Abstract

We explored the mechanism whereby Turkish gall extracts prevent and effectively cure periodontitis. Main bioactive components were obtained from previous reports and targets were screened using TCMSP, PubChem, SwissTargetPrediction, and Drugbank databases. Chronic periodontitis targets were retrieved from OMIM, GeneCards, and DisGeNET databases. Intersectional targets of Turkish galls and periodontitis were obtained using Venn analysis. String databases were used to construct a protein–protein interaction network of common targets. R language was used for GO and KEGG enrichment analyses of common targets. Molecular docking analysis confirmed Turkish gall extract effectiveness for periodontitis treatment, which was verified in vitro and inhibited MAPK1, MAPK3 and SRC expression. We predicted 759 possible target genes. Among 2059 identified periodontitis genes, 205 overlapped with those in methanolic Turkish gall extract. Key targets included JUN, tumor protein 53, MAPK1, MAPK3, STAT3, RELA, and SRC. GO analysis showed that common targets were mainly involved in processes such as oxidative stress. KEGG analysis indicated that common targets were enriched in 163 pathways. Molecular docking analysis showed that 1,2,3,6‐tetra‐O‐galloyl‐β‐D‐glucose, 1,3,6‐tri‐O‐galloyl‐β‐D‐glucose and 1,2,3,4,6‐penta‐O‐galloyl‐β‐D‐glucose were strongly associated with MAPK1, MAPK3, and SRC. Turkish gall extract reduced inflammation and targets expression in vitro, providing a reference for drug development for periodontitis.