Exploring the key pathways of tetrandrine in the treatment of early silicosis based on bioinformatics and in vitro experiments

Objective:Exploring the key pathways affecting the development of early silicosis based on bioinformatics and in vitro experiments.Method:Collecting differentially expressed genes in silicosis patients through literature mining;Collecting differentially expressed genes in silicon dioxide infusion mice by using a high-throughput gene expression database(GEO);Obtaining disease targets related to silicosis by means of online human Mendelian genetic database(OMIM),GeneCards and comparative toxicgenomics database(CTD);differentially expressed genes and disease targets were subjected to gene ontology(GO)enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome(KEGG)enrichment analysis via R-package and Metascape platforms,respectively.The Schrödinger and Pymol software were used for molecular docking and modification.Silicon dioxide-stimulated macrophages and epithelial cells were modeled and analyzed by PCR and western blot(WB).Result:2065 differentially expressed genes in silicosis patients,2291 differentially expressed genes in rat infused with silicon dioxide,and 803 targets for silicosis-related diseases were screened out.GO enrichment analysis mainly involves G protein-coupled receptor binding,the regulation of inflammatory response,and participation in immune response.The enrichment analysis of KEGG pathway mainly included ECM-receptor interaction,TNF signaling pathway,and IL-17 signaling pathway.IL-17 signaling pathway was screened out from different genes and disease targets,indicating that IL-17 signaling pathway might be the key pathway for the development of silicosis.Molecular docking results showed that the silicosis drug tetrandrine had good binding effect with the RAF/MEK/ERK pathway in the IL-17 signaling pathway.Cellular experiments showed that tetrandrine reduced the expression of inflammatory factors such as IL-6 and TGF-βin macrophages by regulating the RAF/MEK/ERKpathway,and inhibited the epithelialmesenchymal transition and expression of inflammatory factors in epithelial cells.Conclusion:Tetrandrine regulates the inflammatory response and epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)through the RAF/MEK/ERK pathway and thus affects the early progression of silicosis.