基于网络药理学的肉桂温经通脉的作用机制研究

Network pharmacology-based study on mechanisms of warming channel and relieving stagnation effects of Cinnamomum cassia Presl

在新药研究开发和药物机制研究中,网络药理学的应用逐渐扩大。本研究以肉桂传统的温经通脉功效作为研究对象,采用反向药效团匹配、数据库挖掘等方法进行相关靶点预测和作用机制探讨。研究发现,肉桂通血脉的主要潜在活性成分包括原花青素类、二萜类及木脂素等;其作用靶点主要为纤维蛋白原和凝血因子X等;经生物信息学进一步分析发现,肉桂抗血栓活性的潜在调控通路包括血管内皮因子通路、血小板衍生因子通路等。在此基础上,进一步建立了肉桂调控的生物信息网络,并提取了其中抗血栓等与心血管活性紧密相关的子网络。通过本研究,建立了一套基于网络药理学的中药"潜在活性成分筛选-靶点预测-代谢通路分析"流程,为中药肉桂通血脉药效物质基础和作用机制的阐明提供了新的思路和方法,也为后期开展相关活性和作用机制研究指明了方向。同时,该研究思路和方法也为其他中药的相关研究提供有益的借鉴和参考。

The network pharmacology gradually expands its applications to the drug development and mechanism research. The present work aims to predict the targets and the mechanisms of ＂warming channel and relieving stagnation＂ effects of Cinnamomum cassia Presl, especially the effect of promoting blood circulation, by means of reverse pharmacophore mapping, database mining, and some other methods. The results suggest that the main efficient components of C. cassia were procyanidins, diterpenoids, lignans, and so on, and its potential targets include fibrinogen, coagulation factor X, etc. After bioinformatics analysis, the potential influenced biological pathways were disclosed to be VEGF pathway, PDGF pathway, etc. Based on the targeted proteins and pathway forecasting workflow, a cinnamon-centered biological information network was established and the subnetwork relating to cardiovascular activity, especially antithrombotic activity, was extracted. Through this study, we establish a network pharmacology analytical guideline consisting of ＂potential active components screening-target prediction-metabolic pathway analysis＂ for traditional Chinese medicine, which provides a new idea and method to clarify the mechanisms of ＂warming channel and relieving stagnation＂ effects of C. cassia, and gives the possible directions for the following related activity and mechanism researches. Meanwhile, the method also provide a reference to others in the study of traditional Chinese medicines.