Abstract
Erjing prescription (EJP) was an ancient formula that was recorded in the General Medical Collection of Royal Benevolence of the Song Dynasty. It has been frequently used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the long history of China. The formula consists of Lycium barbarum L. and Polygonatum sibiricum F. Delaroche with a ratio of 1 : 1. This study aimed to identify the potential effects and mechanisms of EJP treatment T2DM. The target proteins and possible pathways of EJP in T2DM treatment were investigated by the approach of network pharmacology and real-time PCR (RT-PCR). 99 diabetes-related proteins were regulated by 56 bioactive constituents in EJP in 26 signal pathways by Cytoscape determination. According to GO analysis, 606 genes entries have been enriched. The PPI network suggested that AKT1, EGF, EGFR, MAPK1, and GSK3β proteins were core genes. Among the 26 signal pathways, the PI3K-AKT signal pathway was tested by the RT-PCR. The expression level of PI3K p85, AKT1, GSK3β, and Myc mRNA of this pathway was regulated by EJP. The study based on network pharmacology and RT-PCR analysis revealed that the blood sugar level was regulated by EJP via regulating the PI3K-AKT signal pathway. Plenty of new treatment methods for T2DM using EJP were provided by network pharmacology analysis.
Highlights
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM, Chinese name: Xiaoke) is a common chronic metabolic disease with a high prevalence
Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Analyses. e DAVID 6.8 database was utilized to elucidate the cell component (CC), biological process (BP), and molecular function (MF) annotations of the selected 99 proteins. ere were 606 genes entries (FDR, Figure 2 shows the top 8 according to FDR
99 targets and 58 signal pathways were screened via network pharmacology
Summary
Type 2 diabetes (T2DM, Chinese name: Xiaoke) is a common chronic metabolic disease with a high prevalence. In 2019, over 463 million people suffered from diabetes. It is estimated that there will be 578 and 700 million diabetic patients in 2030 and 2045, respectively [1, 2], which would bring up a huge economic burden on society. Low immunity is a common feature for almost all forms of diabetes [8]. Erefore, the researcher devotes to exploring effective drugs to prevent and treat T2DM. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been increasingly popular for the T2DM treatment [9]. Liuwei Dihuang pills and Huanglian decoction have been widely researched for treating T2DM [10,11,12]. Alizarin, isolated from TCM (Rubia cordifolia), reduced blood sugar levels and alleviated insulin resistance through the PI3K/Akt pathway [13]
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