scholarly journals A Combined Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Approach to Investigate Candidate Active Components and Multitarget Mechanisms of Hemerocallis Flowers on Antidepressant Effect

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Tiancheng Ma ◽  
Yu Sun ◽  
Chang Jiang ◽  
Weilin Xiong ◽  
Tingxu Yan ◽  
...  

Objective. The purpose of our research is to systematically explore the multiple mechanisms of Hemerocallis fulva Flowers (HF) on depressive disorder (DD). Methods. The components of HF were searched from the literature. The targets of components were obtained from PharmMapper. After that, Cytoscape software was used to build a component-target network. The targets of DD were collected from DisGeNET, PharmGKB, TTD, and OMIM. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) among the DD targets were executed to screen the key targets. Afterward, the GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed by the KOBAS database. A compound-target-KEGG pathway network was built to analyze the key compounds and targets. Finally, the potential active substances and targets were validated by molecular docking. Results. A total of 55 active compounds in HF, 646 compound-related targets, and 527 DD-related targets were identified from public databases. After treated with PPI, 219 key targets of DD were acquired. The gene enrichment analysis suggested that HF probably benefits DD patients by modulating pathways related to the nervous system, endocrine system, amino acid metabolism, and signal transduction. The network analysis showed the critical components and targets of HF on DD. Results of molecular docking increased the reliability of this study. Conclusions. It predicted and verified the pharmacological and molecular mechanism of HF against DD from a holistic perspective, which will also lay a foundation for further experimental research and rational clinical application of DD.

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1934578X2110460
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Li Lu ◽  
YiWen Liu ◽  
AiXia Yang ◽  
Yanfang Yang

Objective: Shenling Baizhu San (SBS) was selected as the regimen for the treatment of COVID-19 in Guangdong Province. It is mainly used for the convalescent treatment of COVID-19 patients with deficiency of both lung and spleen. In this study, we aimed to explore the mechanism of SBS in the treatment of COVID-19 through network pharmacology combined with molecular docking. Methods: The targets of active components of SBS were collected through Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) and ETCM databases. Using the Genecards, TTD, OMIM and other databases, the targets of COVID-19 were determined. The next step was to use a string database to build a protein–protein interactions (PPI) network between proteins, and use David database to perform gene ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis on core targets. Then we used Cytoscape software to construct the active ingredients-core target-signaling pathway network, and finally the active ingredients of SBS were molecularly docked with the core targets to predict the mechanism of SBS in the treatment of COVID-19. Results: A total of 177 active compounds, 43 core targets and 58 signaling pathways were selected. Molecular docking results showed that the binding energies of the top six active components and the targets were all less than −5 kcal/MOL. Conclusion: The potential mechanism of action of SBS in the treatment of COVID-19 may be associated with the regulation of genes co-expressed with IL6, DPP4, PTGS2, PTGS1 and TNF.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 1934578X2110592
Author(s):  
Yi Wen Liu ◽  
Ai Xia Yang ◽  
Li Lu ◽  
Tie Hua Huang

Objective: To explore the potential mechanism of Sini jia Renshen Decoction (SJRD) in the treatment of COVID-19 based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. Methods: The active compounds and potential therapeutic targets of SJRD were collected through the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database (TCMSP). Then a string database was used to build a protein–protein interactions (PPI) network between proteins, and use the David database to perform gene ontology (GO) function enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis on core targets. Then we used Cytoscape software to construct an active ingredients-core target-signaling pathway network, and finally the active ingredients of SJRD were molecularly docked with the core targets to predict the mechanism of SJRD in the treatment of COVID-19. Results: A total of 136 active compounds, 51 core targets and 93 signaling pathways were selected. Molecular docking results revealed that quercetin, 3,22-dihydroxy-11-oxo-delta(12)-oleanene-27-alpha-methoxycarbonyl-29-oic acid, 18α-hydroxyglycyrrhetic acid, gomisin B and ignavine had considerable binding ability with ADRB2, PRKACA, DPP4, PIK3CG and IL6. Conclusions: This study preliminarily explored the mechanism of multiple components,multiple targets,and multiple pathways of SJRD in the treatment of COVID-19 by network pharmacology.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojian Wang ◽  
Rui Wang ◽  
Ting Xu ◽  
Hongting Jin ◽  
Peijian Tong ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The lesion of marrow is a crucial factor in orthopedic diseases, which is recognized by orthopedics-traumatology expert from "Zhe-School of Chinese Medicine". The Chinese herbs of regulating marrow has been widely used to treat osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) in China, while the interaction mechanisms were still elucidated. Thus, we conducted this study to explore the underlying mechanism of the five highest-frequency Chinese herbs of regulating marrow(HF-CHRM) in the treatment of ONFH with the aid of network pharmacology(NP) and molecular docking(MD). Methods The active components and potential targets of HF-CHRM were obtained through several online databases, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP), UniProt database. The gene targets related to ONFH were collected with the help of the OMIM and GeneCards disease-related databases. The "drug- component-target-disease" network and protein-protein interaction(PPI) network of the drug and disease intersecting targets were constructed by using Cytoscape software and the STRING database. R software was used for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. The MD of critical components and targets was carried out using Autodock Vina and Pymol to validate the binding affinity. Results A total of 54 active components, 1074 drug targets and 195 gene targets were obtained. There were 1219 ONFH related targets. 39 drug and disease intersection targets(representative genes: IL6, TP53, VEGFA, ESR1, IL1B) were obtained and considered potential therapeutic targets. 1619 items were obtained by the GO enrichment analysis, including 1517 biological processes, 10 cellular components and 92 molecular functions, which is mainly related to angiogenesis, bone and lipid metabolism and inflammatory reaction. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed 119 pathways, including AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and IL-17 signaling pathway. MD results showed that quercetin, wogonin, and kaempferol active components had good affinity with IL6, TP53, and VEGFA core proteins. Conclusion The HF-CHRM can treat ONFH by multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway comprehensive action.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Haoxian Wang ◽  
Jihong Zhang ◽  
Qinqin Zhu ◽  
Xianyun Fu ◽  
Chenjie Li

Aim. This study aimed to predict the key targets and endocrine mechanisms of Guizhi Fuling Wan (GZFLW) in treating adenomyosis (AM) through network pharmacology, molecular docking, and animal experiment verification. Methods. The related ingredients and targets of GZFLW in treating AM were screened out using TCMSP, BATMAN-TCM, SwissTargetPrediction, and PubChem Database. Then, the protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and the network of compound-hub targets were constructed. At the same time, the key targets were uploaded to the Metascape Database for KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. After that, the molecular docking technology of the main active components and hub targets was performed. Furthermore, animal experiments were used to verify the results of network pharmacology analysis. Results. A total of 55 active ingredients of GZFLW and 44 overlapping targets of GZFLW in treating AM were obtained. After screening, 25 hub targets were collected, including ESR1, EGF, and EGFR. Then, the KEGG pathway enrichment analysis results indicated that the endocrine therapeutic mechanism of GZFLW against AM is mainly associated with the estrogen signaling pathway, endocrine resistance, and an EGFR tyrosine kinase signaling pathway. Then, molecular docking showed that the significant compounds of GZFLW had a strong binding ability with ERα and EGFR. More importantly, the animal experiments confirmed that the GZFLW could downregulate the abnormal infiltration of the endometrial epithelium into the myometrium and had no interference with the normal sexual cycle. This effect may be directly related to intervening the local estrogen signaling pathway of the endometrial myometrial interface (EMI). It may also be associated with the myometrium cells’ estrogen resistance via GPER/EGFR signaling pathway. Conclusion. The endocrine mechanism of GZFLW in treating AM was explored based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and animal experiments, which provided a theoretical basis for the clinical application of GZFLW.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongchang Guo ◽  
Dapeng Zhang ◽  
Yuju Cao ◽  
Xiaoyan Feng ◽  
Caihong Shen ◽  
...  

Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevanceOsteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is still a challenge for orthopedists worldwide, which may lead to disability in patients without effective treatment. A newly developed formula of Chinese medicine, Danyu Gukang Pills (DGP), was recognized to be effective for ONFH. Nevertheless, its molecular mechanisms remain to be clarified. MethodsNetwork pharmacology was adopted to detect the mechanism of DGP on ONFH. The compounds of DGP were collected from the online databases, and active components were selected based on their OB and DL index. The potential proteins of DGP were acquired from TCMSP database, while the potential genes of ONFH were obtained from Gene Cards and Pubmed Gene databases. The function of Gene and potential pathways were researched by GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The compounds-targets and targets-pathways network were constructed in an R and Cytosacpe software. The mechanism was further investigated via molecular docking. Finally, in-vitro experiments were validated in the BMSCs. ResultsA total of 2305 compounds in DGP were gained, among which, 370 were selected as active components for which conforming to criteria. Combined the network analysis, molecular docking and in-vitro experiments, the results firstly demonstrated that the treatment effect of DGP on ONFH may be closely related to HIF-1α, VEGFA and HIF-1 signaling pathway. ConclusionThe current study firstly researched the molecular mechanism of DGP on ONFH based on network pharmacology. The results indicated that DGP may exert the effect on ONFH targeting on HIF-1α and VEGFA via HIF-1 signaling pathway.


Author(s):  
Qiguo Wu ◽  
Yeqing Hu

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common endocrine metabolic disorder diseases. The application of herbal medicine to control glucose levels and improve insulin action might be a useful approach in the treatment of diabetes. Mulberry leaves (ML) has been reported to exert important activities of anti-diabetic. Objective: In this work, we aimed to explore the multi-targets and multi-pathways regulatory molecular mechanism of Mulberry leaves (ML, Morus alba Linne) acting on diabetes. Methods: Identification of active compounds of Mulberry leaves using Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database. Bioactive components were screened by FAF-Drugs4 website (Free ADME-Tox Filtering Tool). The targets of bioactive components were predicted from SwissTargetPrediction website, and the diabetes related targets were screened from GeneCards database. The common targets of ML and diabetes are used for Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analysis. The visualization networks were constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.1 software. The construction of biological networks were performed to analyze the mechanisms as follows: (1) Compound-Target network; (2) Common target-Compound network; (3) Common targets protein interaction network; (4) Compound-Diabetes protein-protein interactions (PPI) network; (5) Target-Pathway network; (6) Compound-Target-Pathway network. At last, the prediction results of network pharmacology were verified by molecular docking method. Results: 17 active components were obtained by TCMSP database and FAF-Drugs4 website. 51 potential targets (11 common targets and 40 associated indirect targets) were obtained and used to build the PPI network by String database. Furthermore, the potential targets were used to GO and pathway enrichment analysis. 8 key active compounds (quercetin, Iristectorigenin A, 4-Prenylresveratrol, Moracin H, Moracin C, Isoramanone, Moracin E and Moracin D) and 8 key targets (AKT1, IGF1R, EIF2AK3, PPARG, AGTR1, PPARA, PTPN1 and PIK3R1) were obtained to play major roles in Mulberry leaf acting on diabetes. And the signal pathways involved in the mechanisms mainly include AMPK signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, mTOR signaling pathway, insulin signaling pathway and insulin resistance. The molecular docking results show that the 8 key active compounds have good affinity with the key target of AKT1, and the 5 key targets (IGF1R, EIF2AK3, PPARG, PPARA and PTPN1) have better affinity than AKT1 with the key compound of quercetin. Conclusion: Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking of this work provided an important systematic and visualized basis for further understanding the synergy mechanism of ML acting on diabetes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Qiang Gao ◽  
Danfeng Tian ◽  
Zhenyun Han ◽  
Jingfeng Lin ◽  
Ze Chang ◽  
...  

Background and Objective. With the exact clinical efficacy, Buyang Huanwu decoction (BHD) is a classical prescription for the treatment of ischemic stroke (IS). Here, we aimed to investigate the pharmacological mechanisms of BHD in treating IS using systems biology approaches. Methods. The bioactive components and potential targets of BHD were screened by TCMSP, BATMAN-TCM, ETCM, and SymMap databases. Besides, compounds that failed to find the targets from the above databases were predicted through STITCH, SwissTargetPrediction, and SEA. Moreover, six databases were searched to mine targets of IS. The intersection targets were obtained and analyzed by GO and KEGG enrichment. Furthermore, BHD-IS PPI network, compound-target network, and herb-target-pathway network were constructed by Cytoscape 3.6.0. Finally, AutoDock was used for molecular docking verification. Results. A total of 235 putative targets were obtained from 59 active compounds in BHD. Among them, 62 targets were related to IS. PPI network showed that the top ten key targets were IL6, TNF, VEGFA, AKT1, etc. The enrichment analysis demonstrated candidate BHD targets were more frequently involved in TNF, PI3K-Akt, and NF-kappa B signaling pathway. Network topology analysis showed that Radix Astragali was the main herb in BHD, and the key components were quercetin, beta-sitosterol, kaempferol, stigmasterol, etc. The results of molecular docking showed the active components in BHD had a good binding ability with the key targets. Conclusions. Our study demonstrated that BHD exerted the effect of treating IS by regulating multitargets and multichannels with multicomponents through the method of network pharmacology and molecular docking.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang li ◽  
Luo Jun

Abstract Objective: To predict the key molecular mechanism of Shaoyao Liquorice Aconite Decoction in the treatment of osteoarthritis by using network pharmacology and molecular docking technology, and to provide a new target for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Methods: by means of traditional Chinese medicine database TCMSP screening peony licorice monkshood soup main active component of radix paeoniae alba, radix glycyrrhizae, and the corresponding targets, lateral root of aconite and retrieve OMIM, GeneCards, TDD, PharmGKB and Drugbank database related target for treatment of osteoarthritis, and then forecast drug targets and disease targets for intersection get peony licorice monkshood soup targets for the treatment of osteoarthritis.Then, STRING database and Cytoscape software were used to construct the "drug active component - action target" network and protein interaction network of Shaoyaogaofuzi Decoction in the treatment of osteoarthritis, and David database was used for GO function enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of shaoyaogaofuzi Decoction in the treatment of osteoarthritis.Finally, PyMOL, Chem3D, AutoDock, OpenBabel and other software were used to verify the molecular docking of the key active ingredients and key targets of Shaoyao Liquorice Aconite Decoction. Results: 162 active components were screened out.A total of 954 disease targets were collected, and a total of 72 disease targets were obtained after weight removal.Protein interaction analysis suggested that TNF, AKT1, IL6, IL1B and TP53 were the core targets of protein interaction network.Through GO enrichment analysis, 393 biological processes were obtained, and it was found that biological processes were mainly enriched in cell differentiation, migration, apoptosis, and cell stress response to organisms.A total of 116 Pathways were obtained through KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, mainly involving Pathways in cancer, TNF Signaling Pathway, Tuberculosis, Chagas disease, Hepatitis B, etc. Finally, the molecular docking of key active molecules and key targets was realized for verification.Conclusions: this study of compound Chinese medicine pharmacology, through the network of peony licorice monkshood soup ingredients with osteoarthritis, targets, pathway analysis, you can see that drugs in the treatment of osteoarthritis is not a simple single targeted therapy, but by many components, multi-channel, mutual communications between the multiple targets, on the treatment of osteoarthritis in the future to provide more advice.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
xia liu ◽  
Mingchun Huang ◽  
Chen Yang ◽  
Qin Wang ◽  
Mei Zhang

Abstract Introduction: As a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Curculigo orchioides Gaertn. (Xianmao) has been widely used to treat bone-related diseases. However, the active components of this TCM, and the specific mechanisms by which it exerts effect, have yet to be elucidated. To identify potential targets for orcinol glucoside (OG), an active constituent of C. orchioides, during the treatment of osteoporosis (OP) by adopting a network pharmacology approach. Methods: First, we mined the Similarity ensemble approach (SEA), SwissTargetPrediction, DisGeNET, and Genecards databases were mined for data related to the prediction of OG- and OP-related targets. Next, we identified the common targets for OG and OP, and then used STRING software to create a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Then, we used topological analysis to identify which of the common targets were most significant. Then, we used the common significant targets and g:profiler to perform gene ontology (GO) term and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes ( KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. Finally, we used molecular docking to predict the targets of OG that were most relevant to the treatment of OP and investigated the potential pharmacological mechanisms that might be involved. Results: In total, 130 potential targets of OG, and 4582 targets relevant to OP, were subjected to network analysis. There were 73 common targets; these identified the principal pathways linked to OP. In addition, topological analysis identified 14 key targets. Most of the predicted targets played crucial roles in the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. Molecular docking identified ten core targets (VEGFA, IL6, EGFR, MAPK1, HRAS, CCND1, FGF2, IL2, MCL1 and CDK4), thus indicating that OG may promote osteoblast proliferation and differentiation by accelerating progression of the cell cycle.Conclusions: This research provides a theoretical base for identifying the specific potential mechanisms of OG in treatment of OP.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Congchao Jia ◽  
Xianchao Pan ◽  
Binyou Wang ◽  
Pengyu Wang ◽  
Yiwei Wang ◽  
...  

Background. Cisplatin is a frequently used and effective chemotherapy drug in clinical practice, but severe side effects limit its use, among which nephrotoxicity is considered the most serious and prolonged damage to the body. Astragalus membranaceus (AM) is a well-known herbal medicine, and modern pharmacological studies have confirmed its antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antiapoptotic effects. Clinical studies have shown that AM and its active components can attenuate cisplatin-induced kidney damage, but the molecular mechanism has not been fully expounded. Materials and Methods. First, the components and targets information of AM were collected from the TCMSP, and the relevant targets of cisplatin-induced kidney damage were accessed from the GeneCards and OMIM databases. Then, the core targets were selected by the Venn diagram and network topology analysis, which was followed by GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Finally, we construct a component-target-pathway network. Furthermore, molecular docking was carried out to identify the binding activity between active components and key targets. Results. A total of 20 active components and 200 targets of AM and 646 targets related to cisplatin-induced kidney damage were obtained. 91 intersection targets were found between AM and cisplatin-induced kidney damage. Then, 16 core targets were identified, such as MAPK1, TNF-α, and p53. Furthermore, GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis suggested that MAPK, Toll-like receptor, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways may be of significance in the treatment of cisplatin-induced kidney damage by AM. Molecular docking indicated that quercetin and kaempferol had high binding affinities with many core targets. Conclusion. In summary, the active components, key targets, and signaling pathways of AM in the treatment of cisplatin-induced kidney damage were predicted in this study, which contributed to the development and application of AM.


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