Abstract
Background Qi She Pill (QSP) is a traditional prescription for the treatment of neuropathic pain (NP) that is widely used in China. However, no network pharmacology studies of QSP in the treatment of NP have been conducted to date. Objective To verify the potential pharmacological effects of QSP on NP, its components were analyzed via target docking and network analysis, and network pharmacology methods were used to study the interactions of its components. Materials and Methods Information on pharmaceutically active compounds in QSP and gene information related to NP were obtained from public databases, and a compound-target network and protein-protein interaction network were constructed to study the mechanism of action of QSP in the treatment of NP. The mechanism of action of QSP in the treatment of NP was analyzed via Gene Ontology (GO) biological process annotation and Kyoto Gene and Genomics Encyclopedia (KEGG) pathway enrichment, and the drug-like component-target-pathway network was constructed. Results The compound-target network contained 60 compounds and 444 corresponding targets. The key active compounds included quercetin and beta-sitosterol. Key targets included PTGS2 and PTGS1. The protein-protein interaction network of the active ingredients of QSP in the treatment of NP featured 48 proteins, including DRD2, CHRM, β2-adrenergic receptor, HTR2A, and calcitonin gene-related peptide. In total, 53 GO entries, including 35 biological process items, 7 molecular function items, and 11 cell related items, were identified. In addition, eight relevant (KEGG) pathways were identified, including calcium, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, and cAMP signaling pathways. Conclusion Network pharmacology can help clarify the role and mechanism of QSP in the treatment of NP and provide a foundation for further research.
Highlights
Neuropathic pain (NP) is a common condition globally [1]
Collection and Treatment of Active Compounds and Targets in Qi She Pill (QSP). e chemical components of CS, BC, CR, STR, and HMM meeting the criteria of oral bioavailability (OB) >30% and drug likeness (DL) >0.18 were selected as candidate active components using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database [11], and their potential targets were retrieved [12, 13]. e chemical components of MO were determined using the BATMAN-traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) server [14], and the principle of “drugtarget similarity” was used to set the threshold “score cutoff 30” to calculate the potential targets corresponding to chemical components
Of the 50 compounds in STR, all satisfied the criteria of OB ≥ 30% and four satisfied the criteria of OB ≥ 30% and DL ≥ 0.18
Summary
Neuropathic pain (NP) is a common condition globally [1]. With a complex pathogenesis, reliable treatments are currently unavailable; NP has a substantial negative impact on quality of life, and it causes a heavy social burden. QSP is composed of six Chinese herbs, namely Caulis Sinomenii (CS, Qing Feng Teng), Calculus Bovis (BC, Niu Huang), Chuanxiong Rhizoma (CR, Chuan Xiong), Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix (STR, Fang Ji), Hedysarum Multijugum Maxim Qi She Pill (QSP) is a traditional prescription for the treatment of neuropathic pain (NP) that is widely used in China. E protein-protein interaction network of the active ingredients of QSP in the treatment of NP featured 48 proteins, including DRD2, CHRM, β2-adrenergic receptor, HTR2A, and calcitonin gene-related peptide. Network pharmacology can help clarify the role and mechanism of QSP in the treatment of NP and provide a foundation for further research
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