Identification of the significant pathways of Banxia Houpu decoction in the treatment of depression based on network pharmacology.

Zi-Ying Chen,Yong-Qi Zhong,Xin-Lin Chen,Zheng Chen,Zhi-Yuan Liu,Jing-Yan Zeng,Dan-Feng Xie,Jed N Lampe

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0239843

Abstract

Banxia Houpu decoction (BXHPD) has been used to treat depression in clinical practice for centuries. However, the pharmacological mechanisms of BXHPD still remain unclear. Network Pharmacology (NP) approach was used to explore the potential molecular mechanisms of BXHPD in treating depression. Potential active compounds of BXHPD were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform Database. STRING database was used to build a interaction network between the active compounds and target genes associated with depression. The topological features of nodes were visualized and calculated. Significant pathways and biological functions were identified using Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses. A total of 44 active compounds were obtained from BXHPD, and 121 potential target genes were considered to be therapeutically relevant. Pathway analysis indicated that MAPK signaling pathway, ErbB signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt pathway were significant pathways in depression. They were mainly involved in promoting nerve growth and nutrition and alleviating neuroinflammatory conditions. The result provided some potential ways for modern medicine in the treatment of depression.

Highlights

Depression is a widespread chronic mental illness characterized by low mood, sadness, and insomnia
We focused on the following issues: (1) Which active ingredients were involved in the regulation of depression? (2) Which active ingredients and proteins regulated the target to achieve the biological activity? (3) What pathways or biological processes did the active ingredients regulate? The main contribution of our work was to clarify the potential mechanism of Banxia Houpu decoction (BXHPD) in the treatment of depression using Network Pharmacology (NP)
After inputting the 159 protein targets into the Uniprot, we found that 11 protein targets could not found the corresponding genes

Summary

Introduction

Depression is a widespread chronic mental illness characterized by low mood, sadness, and insomnia. Depression affects physical health [1]. The world health organization predicts that depression will be the leading cause of death of burden among all health diseases by 2030 [2]. Current therapies, including selective 5-serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-noradrenergic reuptake inhibitors and tricyclic antidepressants [3], can alleviate some major symptoms of depression. These medications trigger a series of serious side effects like anxiety, gastrointestinal discomfort, drug resistance, withdrawal response and so on [4]. It is necessary to develop safe, effective new drugs and therapies with lower side effects.

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Conclusion