Network mechanism of scutellarin in improving Parkinson's disease through network pharmacology analysis

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the network mechanism of scutellarin in improving Parkinson's disease. Methods: The keywords "scutellarin (SCU)" and "Parkinson's Disease (PD)" were entered into the GeneCards (https://www.genecards.org/) database to find and download the genes related to SCU and PD, and analyze the common targets of SCU and PD by Venny 2.1.0 software package, then perform biological processes (BP), cellular components (CC), molecular function (MF), KEGG signaling pathway analysis. Then, the intersecting genes were uploaded to the String platform for protein interaction network (PPI) construction, and the top 10 core target genes of SCU for PD were screened and compared in the literature to assess the possible roles. Results: 22 genes related to SCU and 8163 genes associated with PD were downloaded from GeneCards by using the keywords "scutellarin" and "Parkinson's Disease". 8163 genes were downloaded, and 21 common genes were obtained by cross-gene analysis of drugs and diseases. GO and KEGG analysis of the intersecting genes showed that the most likely BP, CC, and MF associated with drug diseases were involved in positive regulation of gene expression, cytoplasm, and protein kinase binding, and the top one KEGG signaling pathways were HIF-1 signaling pathway. The PPI network was constructed and 10 core molecules including BCL2L1, HIF1A, STAT3, CASP3, AKT1, MTOR, CCL2, MAPK14, NFE2L2, and ABCB1 were identified. The main biological processes for these core molecules are involved in TOR signaling, PD-L1 expression, and PD-1 checkpoint pathway in cancer. Conclusion: This paper expounds on the related targets of SCU and PD. Moreover, the core network was deciphered, and the key targets for clinical treatment of PD were found.