Computational Pharmacology Study of Tougu Xiaotong Granule(透骨消痛颗粒) in Preventing and Treating Knee Osteoarthritis

Objective： To study the pharmacological properties of Tougu Xiaotong Granule （透骨消痛颗粒, TGXTG） in preventing and treating knee osteoarthritis （KOA） at the molecular level. Methods： The computational methods, including principal component analysis, molecular docking, target-ligand space distribution, and the predictions of absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity （ADMET）, were introduced to characterize the molecules in TGXTG. Results： The structural properties of molecules in TGXTG were more diverse than those of the drug/drug-like molecules, and TGXTG could interact with significant target enzymes related to KOA. In addition, the cluster of effective components was preliminarily identified by the target-ligand space distributions. As to the results of ADMET properties, some of them were unsatisfactory, and were merely regarded as references here. Conclusion： Based on this computational pharmacology study, TGXTG is a broad- spectrum recipe inhibiting many important target enzymes, which could effectively postpone the degeneration of cartilage by coordinately inhibiting the biological effects of cytokines, matrix metallopeptidase 3, and oxygen free radicals.

Potential Synergistic and Multitarget Effect of Herbal Pair Chuanxiong Rhizome-Paeonia Albifora Pall on Osteoarthritis Disease:A Computational Pharmacology Approach

Objective：To study the polypharmacological mechanism of herbal pair Chuanxiong Rhizome-Paeonia Albifora Pall（HP CXR-PAP） on the treatment for osteoarthritis（OA）.Methods：Chemical space was used to discuss the similarities and differences between the molecule sets of HP CXR-PAP and drugs.Docking protocol was used to study the interaction between HP CXR-PAP and OA target enzymes.The similarities and differences of HP CXR-PAP and drugs in target spaces were elucidated by network features.Results：The plots between the molecule sets of HP CXR-PAP and drugs in chemical space had the majority in the same region, and compounds from HP CXR-PAP covered a much larger additional region of space than drug molecules, which denoted the diverse structural properties in the molecule set of HP CXR-PAP.The molecules in HP CXR-PAP had the properties of promiscuous drugs and combination drug,and both HP CXR-PAP ligand-target interaction network and drug ligand-target interaction network were similar in the interaction profiles and network features,which revealed the effects of multicomponent and multitarget.Conclusion：The clue of potential synergism was obtained in curing OA disease by Chinese medicine,which revealed the advantages of Chinese medicine for targeting osteoarthritis disease.