Abstract
Emodin has shown pharmacological effects in the treatment of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, which leads to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Thus, we speculated that emodin may possess anti-COVID-19 activity. In this study, using bioinformatics databases, we screened and harvested the candidate genes or targets of emodin and COVID-19 prior to the determination of pharmacological targets and molecular mechanisms of emodin against COVID-19. We discovered core targets for the treatment of COVID-19, including mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1), tumor protein (TP53), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), caspase-3 (CASP3), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), interleukin 1B (IL1B), mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), B-cell lymphoma-2-like protein 1 (BCL2L1), interleukin-8 (CXCL8), myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL1), and colony stimulating factor 2 (CSF2). The GO analysis of emodin against COVID-19 mainly included cytokine-mediated signaling pathway, response to lipopolysaccharide, response to molecule of bacterial origin, developmental process involved in reproduction, and reproductive structure development. The KEGG results exhibited that the molecular pathways mainly included IL-17 signaling pathway, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, TNF signaling pathway, pertussis, proteoglycans in cancer, pathways in cancer, MAPK signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, etc. Also, molecular docking results revealed the docking capability between emodin and COVID-19 and the potential pharmacological activity of emodin against COVID-19. Taken together, these findings uncovered the targets and pharmacological mechanisms of emodin for treating COVID-19 and suggested that the vital targets might be used as biomarkers against COVID-19.
Highlights
The etiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with patients experiencing fever, dry cough, and fatigue as common symptoms [1]
We discovered core targets for the treatment of COVID-19, including mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1), tumor protein (TP53), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), caspase-3 (CASP3), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), interleukin 1B (IL1B), mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14), prostaglandinendoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), B-cell lymphoma-2-like protein 1 (BCL2L1), interleukin-8 (CXCL8), myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL1), and colony stimulating factor 2 (CSF2)
To determine the genes associated with COVID-19 and the therapeutic targets of emodin, a series of bioinformatics analyses were carried out
Summary
The etiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with patients experiencing fever, dry cough, and fatigue as common symptoms [1]. The worldwide outbreak of the disease has emerged as a severe threat to public health, claiming many lives, and has come to be www.aging-us.com regarded as a global health emergency in January 2020 and a pandemic in March 2020, as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) [6]. In light of these declarations and especially given the novelty of this condition, exploring and developing effective therapeutic drugs or vaccines is crucial, yet effective therapeutics are still limited in number even one year later. To date, no exploration of the efficacy of emodin administration against COVID-19, especially its potential targets and mechanisms, has been performed
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