Rhubarb Extract Exerts Antisepsis Effects by Regulating Inflammation and Apoptosis Signaling Pathways

Abstract

The potential targets and signaling pathways of emodin in rhubarb extract in the treatment of sepsis were still unclear. In this research, we identified the intersection genes for sepsis and emodin. The predicted targets were imported into the STRING online platform to construct a protein–protein interaction network of disease targets. DAVID was used to perform enrichment analysis on potential target information. AutoDockTools software was used for molecular docking and visual analysis. By mapping sepsis targets to emodin latent therapeutic targets, 53 co-acting targets were obtained. The biological processes mainly involved include protein phosphorylation and negative regulation of the apoptosis process. The mainly involved cellular components are the cytoplasm, mitochondria, mitochondrial outer membrane, etc., and they mainly involve molecular functions such as enzyme binding, the same protein binding, and protein kinase activity. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis showed the inflammation-related signaling pathway and the apoptosis signaling pathway as the primary pathways. In conclusion, emodin in rhubarb extract may exert antisepsis functions mainly by affecting inflammation and apoptosis signaling pathways.