A network pharmacology approach to explore the mechanisms of Erxian decoction in polycystic ovary syndrome

Lihong Liu,Shiyu Su,Hao Ai,Zheng Zhou,Bo Du,Aihui Xiu,Haiying Zhang,Xiaofei Guo,Chang Liu

doi:10.1186/s13020-018-0201-1

Lihong Liu, Shiyu Su + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13020-018-0201-1

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Journal: Chinese Medicine	Publication Date: Aug 29, 2018
Citations: 25	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Liaoning Medical University

Abstract

BackgroundPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) significantly affects women’s health and well-being. To explore the pharmacological basis of the Erxian decoction (EXD) action in PCOS therapy, a network interaction analysis was conducted at the molecular level.MethodsThe active elements of EXD were identified according to the oral bioavailability and drug-likeness filters from three databases: traditional Chinese medicine system pharmacology analysis platform, TCM@taiwan and TCMID, and their potential targets were also identified. Genes associated with PCOS and established protein–protein interaction networks were mined from the NCBI database. Finally, significant pathways and functions of these networks were identified using Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses to determine the mechanism of action of EXD.ResultsSeventy active compounds were obtained from 981 ingredients present in the EXD decoction, corresponding to 247 targets. In addition, 262 genes were found to be closely related with PCOS, of which 50 overlapped with EXD and were thus considered therapeutically relevant. Pathway enrichment analysis identified PI3k-Akt, insulin resistance, Toll-like receptor, MAPK and AGE-RAGE from a total of 15 significant pathways in PCOS and its treatment.ConclusionsEXD can effectively improve the symptoms of PCOS and our systemic pharmacological analysis lays the experimental foundation for further clinical applications of EXD.

Highlights

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) significantly affects women’s health and well-being
One study showed that Erxian decoction (EXD) upregulated estrogen receptor, enhanced ovarian function, reduced serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels, increased E2 and progesterone levels, decreased malonic dialdehyde (MDA) in ovarian tissues, increased total anti-oxidative capacity (T-AOC), reduced follicular atresia by increasing follicle count, and reduced cell stromal hyperplasia [11]
There were 123 common compounds between the TCMSP and TCMID databases, while Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)@taiwan and TCMID had 142 common compounds amongst them, and 70 compounds were shared across the three databases (Fig. 2)

Summary

Introduction

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) significantly affects women’s health and well-being. To explore the pharmacological basis of the Erxian decoction (EXD) action in PCOS therapy, a network interaction analysis was conducted at the molecular level. The traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP) was developed as a digital repository of traditional medicines. It can predict pharmacological targets and specific maladies of every dynamic compound, and is a major analytical tool in network pharmacology that helps determine the complex interactions between drugs and targets [14]. We first screened the TCMSP database for active compounds of EXD and identified its targets, followed by mining for disease-related genes, and network analysis of those genes (Fig. 1)

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