Identification of the Molecular Mechanisms of Peimine in the Treatment of Cough Using Computational Target Fishing.

Lihua Zhang,Shaojun Chen,Mingchao Cui

doi:10.3390/molecules25051105

Abstract

Peimine (also known as verticine) is the major bioactive and characterized compound of Fritillariae Thunbergii Bulbus, a traditional Chinese medicine that is most frequently used to relieve a cough. Nevertheless, its molecular targets and mechanisms of action for cough are still not clear. In the present study, potential targets of peimine for cough were identified using computational target fishing combined with manual database mining. In addition, protein-protein interaction (PPI), gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed using, GeneMANIA and Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) databases respectively. Finally, an interaction network of drug-targets-pathways was constructed using Cytoscape. The results identified 23 potential targets of peimine associated with cough, and suggested that MAPK1, AKT1 and PPKCB may be important targets of pemine for the treatment of cough. The functional annotations of protein targets were related to the regulation of immunological and neurological function through specific biological processes and related pathways. A visual representation of the multiple targets and pathways that form a network underlying the systematic actions of peimine was generated. In summary, peimine is predicted to exert its systemic pharmacological effects on cough by targeting a network composed of multiple proteins and pathways.

Highlights

Cough is a vital defense mechanism, especially for maintaining airway patency and to the elimination of potentially harmful stimuli from the airway and lung [1,2,3]
Potential Targets of Peimine Identified by SwissTargetPrediction
We identified potential targets account for the two subtypes ofFile, thisS1)

Summary

Introduction

Cough is a vital defense mechanism, especially for maintaining airway patency and to the elimination of potentially harmful stimuli from the airway and lung [1,2,3]. It can be acute, severe and life-threatening or, generally in most cases, troublesome and persistent, negative impact on daily activities and reducing life quality [1]. Problematic cough becomes to be one of the most common complaints for seeking medical attention [1,3,4]. Acute cough is mostly caused by the common cold [4]. Cough treatments lead to huge financial costs and health-care resources consumption [4]

Methods

Results

Conclusion