A Network Pharmacology Study on the Effects of Ma Xing Shi Gan Decoction on Influenza

Objective Pharmacological methods were used to screen targets and signaling pathways of Ma Xing Shi Gan Decoction(MXSGD)during influenza treatments,and mechanisms underlying antiinfluenza effects were elucidated.Methods The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP)and relevant literature were searched under predefined conditions to identify the main compounds and their targets.Interactions between the target proteins were predicted using the STRING database.Gene Ontology(GO)functional enrichment analyses and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway analyses were performed on the core targets involved in the influenza protein-protein interaction(PPI)network,using WebGestalt and the reactome database.iGEMDOCK was used for molecular docking of receptors and ligands to produce docking scores,and the results were visualized using Autodock and PyMOL.Results In total,126 major compounds and their respective targets were screened.355 influenza target proteins and 1221 influenza protein interactions were predicted using the STRING database.Influenza-related signaling pathways were strongly enriched in pharmacodynamic targets of MXSGD such as cytokine signaling in immune system and signaling by interleukin.The main biological process was response to the stimulates.Molecular docking results showed that RELALicochalcone A docking elicited by MXSGD,was superior to that of other target proteins and active compounds,suggesting that the docking site is also the main effector site of MXSGD during influenza treatments.Conclusions The results showed that MXSGD exerts antiinfluenza effects by interfering with virus adsorption,inhibiting virus proliferation,influencing immune functions and protecting host cells,which may prevent inflammation-induced tissue damage.

Systematic Pharmacological Strategies to Explore the Regulatory Mechanism of Ma Xing Shi Gan Decoction on COVID-19

Objective To use systematic pharmacological strategies to explore the regulatory mechanisms of Ma Xing Shi Gan Decoction(MXSGD)against the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).Methods Data on the compounds and targets of MXSGD were collected from the Traditional Chinese Medicene Systems Parmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP)and TCM Databases@Taiwan.Data on ACE2-related targets and the protein-protein interaction(PPI)were collected from the String database.The Cytoscape 3.7.2 was used to construct and analyze the networks.The DAVID platform was used for Gene Ontology(GO)and pathway enrichment analyses.Results Data on 272 MXSGD targets and 21 SARS-CoV-2 potential targets were collected.Four networks were constructed and analyzed based on the data:(1)compound-target network of MXSGD;(2)MXSGD-SARS-CoV-2-PPI network;(3)cluster of MXSGD-SARS-CoV-2-PPI network;(4)Herb-Pathway-Target network.The core targets included AKT1,MAPK3,IL-6,TP53,VEGFA,TNF,CASP3,EGFR,EGF and MAPK1.The antiviral biological processes were inflammatory responses(inflammatory cells,inflammatory cytokines and their signaling pathways),immune responses(T cells,monocytes,B cells and other immune cells),immune factors(IFN-γ,TNF-αand so on),virus defense,humoral immunity and mucosal innate immune response.The antivirus-related signaling pathways included TNF,NOD-like receptor,FoxO,PI3K-AKT and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways.Conclusions MXSGD can control disease progression by regulating multiple compounds and targets;it can reduce inflammation and balance immunity by regulating several proteins that interact with ACE2 and signaling pathways closely related to disease development.