Study on the Mechanism of Opuntia Dillenii Polysaccharide against Cadmium-Induced Liver Injury Based on Network Pharmacology and Oxidative Stress Pathway

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the mechanism of action of Opuntia dillenii polysaccharides (ODPs) in protecting against cadmium-induced liver injury from the perspectives of network pharmacology and oxidative stress pathway. Using network pharmacology methods, we analyzed the interactions between ODPs and target molecules, and predicted potential mechanisms of action. Additionally, we focused on the oxidative stress pathway, which plays a crucial role in cadmium-induced liver injury. The results showed that the active components of ODPs were glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, rhamnose, fucose, glucose, galactose, mannose, fructose, xylose and arabinose in order. According to the analysis of PPI network and the “compound - liver injury target-pathway” network, 69 ODPs anti-cadmium-induced liver injury targets were selected, including AKT1, CASP3, MAPK8, JAK2, MAPK14, IL2, MMP9, IGF1R, NOS2, etc. Enrichment analysis showed that the main signaling pathways involved were VEGF signaling pathway, cancer signaling pathway, PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, Rap1 signaling pathway, Ras signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, sphingolipid signaling pathway, toll-like receptor signaling pathway, tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway. Network pharmacological analysis showed that cactus polysaccharide could significantly reduce the level of Caspase-3 and MMP-9 in liver, increase the level of IL-2, and effectively inhibit the occurrence of liver cell apoptosis and inflammation caused by cadmium. Studies on the mechanism of action based on traditional oxidative stress indexes show that ODPs has good antioxidant capacity, can significantly inhibit the activity of SOD and GSH-PX caused by cadmium, reduce the content of lipid peroxidation product MDA, and restore the content of antioxidant enzymes in liver to normal level. This study can provide a scientific basis for the in-depth development and application of ODPs, and also provide a potential scientific and technological basis for the development of drugs or health food for the treatment of cadmium-induced liver injury.