Study on the mechanism of Fructus Forsythiae and Folium Nelumbinis on acute pharyngitis based on network pharmacology

Objective:To explore the mechanism of Lianqiao-Heye(Fructus Forsythiae and Folium Nelumbinis,FF-FN)drug pair in treating acute pharyngitis(AP)by network pharmacology.Methods:The chemical components and potential therapeutic targets of FF-FN drug pair were obtained from TCMSP firstly,and databases GeneCards,DrugBank,OMIM and PharmGKB were utilized to get the genes related to AP and the intersection of the results was obtained.Then Cytoscape software was used to construct drug-component-target network diagram to screen out the key compounds.Protein interaction network(PPI)was established using String database,and the core targets were screened by CytoNCA topology analysis.R language software was used for GO biological function analysis and KEGG pathway analysis.Finally,the docking verification of key compounds and core target molecules was carried out by AutoDock software.Results:A total of 38 active compounds and 917 potential therapeutic targets were obtained from FF-FN drug pair,while a total of 1534 targets were screened out for AP,among which,the number of intersection targets was 117.7 core targets were screened out from PPI core network,with JUN,TP53,CXCL8 and RELA included.A total of 2487 biological processes were involved in GO enrichment analysis,and 157 related pathways were screened out by KEGG.Based on results of molecular docking verification,the key compounds such as quercetin,luteolin and wogonin in FF-FN drug pair were proved capable of binding to the core targets and a good affinity was shown.Conclusion:FF-FN pair can intervene AP through multiple targets and multiple pathways,including PI3KAkts signaling pathway,AGE-RAGE signaling pathway and IL-17 signaling pathway.The combination of quercetin,luteolin,wogonin,kaempferol andβ-sitosterol with JUN,RELA,MAPK1,TNF and MYC can possibly be one of the mechanisms regarding to the therapeutic effect.

Effect and Signaling Pathways of Nelumbinis Folium in the Treatment of Hyperlipidemia Assessed by Network Pharmacology

Objective:In this study,the effects and signaling pathways of Nelumbinis folium in the treatment of hyperlipidemia were analyzed based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.Materials and Methods:The main components and targets of Nelumbinis folium were searched through traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform(TCMSP),and the active components were selected according to their oral availability and drug-like properties.The main targets of hyperlipidemia were identified using the Dis Ge NET database.Venny 2.1.0 was used to take the intersection of both targets,which were submitted to the STRING database to construct the protein-protein interaction network model.The Database for Annotation,Visualization and Integrated Discovery 6.7 was used to conduct gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genome pathway enrichment analyses of the targets.Cytoscape 3.7.1 was used to construct the component-target-pathway network.Auto Dock Vina molecular docking software was used to study the binding effect and mechanism of the core components and targets of N.folium.Results:Fifteen active components of N.folium and 195 potential targets were selected through TCMSP,whereas 4216 targets for hyperlipidemia were selected from Dis Ge NET.Further,138 potential cross-targets of hyperlipidemia were identified.A network of component-target-pathway was constructed.Quercetin,kaempferol,and isorhamnetin were the core components,which played an important role in anti-hyperlipidemia,mainly through the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance(IR)signaling pathways.Molecular docking results showed that quercetin had the lowest docking energies with peroxisome proliferator activated receptorα,peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγ,INSR-6.20,-10.00,and-8.40(kcal/mol,respectively).The binding mode was mainly hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces.Conclusions:The active components of N.folium may regulate lipid metabolism by participating in the signaling pathways of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and IR.