Abstract
Background The long-term use of conventional therapy for psoriasis vulgaris remains a challenge due to limited or no patient response and severe side effects. Complementary and alternative treatments such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are widely used in East Asia. TCM treatment is based on individual syndrome types. Three TCM formulae, Compound Qingdai Pills (F1), Yujin Yinxie Tablets (F2), and Xiaoyin Tablets (F3), are used for blood heat, blood stasis, and blood dryness type of psoriasis vulgaris, respectively. Objectives To explore the mechanism of three TCM formulae for three syndrome types of psoriasis vulgaris. Methods The compounds of the three TCM formulae were retrieved from the Psoriasis Database of Traditional Chinese Medicine (PDTCM). Their molecular properties of absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADME/T), and drug-likeness were compared by analyzing the distribution of compounds in the chemical space. The cellular targets of the compounds were predicted by molecular docking. By constructing the compound-target network and analyzing network centrality, key targets and compounds for each formula were screened. Three syndrome types of psoriasis vulgaris related pathways and biological processes (BPs) were enriched by the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) v6.8. Results The compounds of the three formulae exhibited structural diversity, good drug-like properties, and ADME/T properties. A total of 72, 97 and 85 targets were found to have interactions with compounds of F1, F2, and F3, respectively. The three formulae were all related to 53 targets, 8 pathways, 9 biological processes, and 10 molecular functions (MFs). In addition, each formula had unique targets and regulated different pathways and BPs. Conclusion The three TCM formulae exhibited common mechanisms to some extent. The differences at molecular and systems levels may contribute to their unique applications in individualized treatment.
Highlights
Psoriasis vulgaris is the most common type of psoriasis and is characterized as sharply marginated, erythematous patches or plaques with silvery-white micaceous scales [1, 2].e prevalence of psoriasis ranges from 0.91% to 8.5% across the world [3]
Three traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) formulae were associated with the same group of targets, pathways, biological processes (BPs), and molecular functions (MFs), while each TCM formula exhibited unique profile
The chemical identifications, physicochemical properties, and 3D structures of compounds (Table S1) which existed in each herb were retrieved from the Psoriasis Database of Traditional Chinese Medicine (PDTCM) [31]. e structures of the FDA-approved drugs for psoriasis were downloaded from DrugBank [32]. e psoriasis-associated proteins (Table S2) were collected from three sources: the targets of psoriasis drugs from DrugBank, the psoriasis-related targets from the erapeutic Target Database (TTD) [33] and PDTCM, and the targets summarized from the literature which have been reported in a previous work [34]
Summary
Psoriasis vulgaris is the most common type of psoriasis and is characterized as sharply marginated, erythematous patches or plaques with silvery-white micaceous scales [1, 2].e prevalence of psoriasis ranges from 0.91% to 8.5% across the world [3]. Due to complex and unclear pathogenic factors, the treatment options for psoriasis remain unsatisfactory. The use of complementary and alternative medicine including herbal medicine for subjects with psoriasis is increasing [6, 7]. Various traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) are widely used to treat psoriasis on the basis of the unique clinical therapeutic theory and successful clinical applications [8,9,10,11,12]. E clinical effectiveness of TCMs for psoriasis has been validated by Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine controlled clinical trials [13] and meta-analysis [14]. Controlled trials demonstrate that the combination of TCM with traditional therapies for psoriasis is more efficacious [15]
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