Abstract
BackgroundRehmanniae Radix Preparata (RRP) can effectively improve the symptoms of osteoporosis, but its molecular mechanism for treating osteoporosis is still unclear. The objective of this study is to investigate the anti-osteoporosis mechanisms of RRP through network pharmacology.MethodsThe overlapping targets of RRP and osteoporosis were screened out using online platforms. A visual network diagram of PPI was constructed and analyzed by Cytoscape 3.7.2 software. Molecular docking was used to evaluate the binding activity of ligands and receptors, and some key genes were verified through pharmacological experiments.ResultsAccording to topological analysis results, AKT1, MAPK1, ESR1, and SRC are critical genes for RRP to treat osteoporosis, and they have high binding activity with stigmasterol and sitosterol. The main signal pathways of RRP in the treatment of osteoporosis, including the estrogen signaling pathway, HIF-1 signal pathway, MAPK signal pathway, PI3K-Akt signal pathway. Results of animal experiments showed that RRP could significantly increase the expression levels of Akt1, MAPK1, ESR1, and SRC1 mRNA in bone tissue to increase bone density.ConclusionThis study explained the coordination between multiple components and multiple targets of RRP in the treatment of osteoporosis and provided new ideas for its clinical application and experimental research.
Highlights
Osteoporosis is a common bone metabolism disease in middle-aged and older adults
This study explained the coordination between multiple components and multiple targets of Radix Preparata (RRP) in the treatment of osteoporosis
Active ingredients and targets of RRP in the treatment of osteoporosis A total of 76 active ingredients of RRP were searched, and two active ingredients were screened based on oral bioavailability (OB) > 30% and drug-likeness (DL) > 0.18, including β-sitosterol (MOL000359) and stigmasterol (MOL000449)
Summary
Osteoporosis is a common bone metabolism disease in middle-aged and older adults. It often leads to bone deformities and fractures and seriously affects people’s health and quality of life [1, 2]. Based on systems biology and bioinformatics, network pharmacology explores the interaction between biomolecules and targets in the body to effectively predict the efficacy and mechanism of drugs [11]. This study integrated information such as active ingredients, drug targets, and disease targets through network pharmacological methods to explore the material basis and mechanism of RRP in the treatment of osteoporosis. This study explained the coordination between multiple components and multiple targets of RRP in the treatment of osteoporosis. It provided new ideas for its clinical application and experimental research. The objective of this study is to investigate the antiosteoporosis mechanisms of RRP through network pharmacology
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