Abstract

 
 
 
 Purpose: To investigate the underlying effect of the Chinese herbal pair, Semen Persicae–Carthami Flos (PC), on psoriasis using network pharmacology.
 Method: The core components and targets of the Chinese herbal pair were screened using TCMSP and BATMAN databases. Psoriasis disease targets were searched in OMIM and GeneCards databases. The common targets of the herbal pair and psoriasis were identified using a Venn diagram. The component–psoriasis-target network map was constructed using Cytoscape software. Protein interaction analysis, Gene Ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis were performed on STRING website, R Project, and DAVID 6.8 database. Molecular docking was performed using AutoDock Vina software to predict the binding of herbal pair PC to psoriasis targets.
 Results: A total of 45 components and 105 potential targets of PC, as well as 3729 psoriasis-related genes, were screened from the databases. Venn diagram shows that there were 62 common targets of PC and psoriasis. These common targets involved biological processes such as DNA transcription factor receptor binding, cytokine receptor binding, and regulation of molecular function. The targets also involved apoptosis and the advanced glycation end-products (AGE)-receptor for AGEs (RAGE), tumor necrosis factor, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B signaling pathways. In addition, the main active components of PC spontaneously bound to the targets.
 Conclusion: The Chinese herbal pair PC provides an alternative clinical therapeutic strategy for patients with psoriasis.
 
 
 
Highlights
Psoriasis is a chronic recurrent inflammatory skin disease with a global incidence of 1 %–2 %, which approaches 0.5 % in China [1]
After searching the active ingredients of Persicae–Carthami Flos (PC) in TCM Systematic Pharmacology analysis platform (TCMSP) and BATMAN-traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and screening these active ingredients according to oral bioavailability (OB) ≥ 30 % and DL ≥ 0.18, 45 potential core active ingredients and their 105 corresponding targets were obtained
A total of 3729 targets was obtained after searching psoriasis-related targets in OMIM and GENECARD databases and removing duplicate data
Summary
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), blood stasis syndrome is common in quiescent psoriasis and is one of the main symptoms of psoriasis. The major components, key targets, and signaling pathways of PC were investigated through network pharmacology in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of potential mechanisms and a reference basis for the basic and clinical research of PC on the treatment of psoriasis. BATMAN-TCM systematically displays the chemical composition of each herbal medicine, predicts its important targets, and performs bioinformatics analysis, helping researchers to comprehensively understand the pharmacological effects of herbal medicines. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis was performed by importing the common targets of psoriasis and PC in the STRING database (https://string-db.org/). The 3D structures of the core active ingredients of PC and the key targets were obtained from the PubChem database and the PDB database, respectively These 3D structures were dehydrated, hydrogenated, and converted into PDBQT format, and the batch molecular docking analysis was performed using AutoDock Vina 1.1.2 software. If the binding energy is ≤ -5.0 kJ/mol, the molecules will be well docked to the targets
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