Abstract
Background Hypertensive vascular remodeling (HVR) is the pathophysiological basis of hypertension, which is also an important cause of vascular disease and target organ damage. Treatment with Fructus Tribuli (FT), a traditional Chinese medicine, has a positive effect on HVR. However, the pharmacological mechanisms of FT are still unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the potential mechanisms involved in the effects of FT on HVR based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. Materials and Methods We selected the active compounds and targets of FT according to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and the Swiss Target Prediction database, and the targets of HVR were collected from the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), GeneCards, and DrugBank databases. The protein-protein interaction network (PPI) was established using the STRING database. Moreover, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses and network analysis were performed to further explore the potential mechanisms. Finally, molecular docking methods were used to evaluate the affinity between the active compounds and the main target. Results Seventeen active compounds of FT and 164 potential targets for the treatment of HVR were identified. Component-target and PPI networks were constructed, and 12 main active components and 33 main targets were identified by analyzing the topological parameters. Additionally, GO analysis indicated that the potential targets were enriched in 483 biological processes, 52 cellular components, and 110 molecular functions. KEGG analysis revealed that the potential targets were correlated with 122 pathways, such as the HIF-1 signaling pathway, ErbB signaling pathway, and VEGF signaling pathway. Finally, molecular docking showed that the 12 main active components had a good affinity for the top five main targets. Conclusion This study demonstrated the multiple compounds, targets, and pathway characteristics of FT in the treatment of HVR. The network pharmacology method provided a novel research approach to analyze potential mechanisms.
Highlights
Hypertension has become one of the most threatening public health problems worldwide [1]
Network pharmacology is a new field that integrates systems biology, omics, and computational biology to reveal the mechanism of drug action from an overall perspective and possesses integrity, synergistic effects, and dynamic characteristics [20]. is research thinking is consistent with the characteristics of the simultaneous effects of the multiple components of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) [21]. erefore, this study aimed to reveal the possible molecular mechanisms involved in the effects of Fructus Tribuli (FT) on Hypertensive vascular remodeling (HVR) based on a network pharmacology approach
Collection of Active Compounds of FT. e chemical information about FT was obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP, https://tcmspw.com/tcmsp. php), which is considered a special platform for Chinese herbal medicine based on systems pharmacology that provides the relationships between drugs, targets, and diseases, as well as comprehensive data on absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties for each compound [22]
Summary
Hypertension has become one of the most threatening public health problems worldwide [1]. Hypertensive vascular remodeling (HVR) is an adaptive change in the arterial structure and function. It is a selfprotective response to trauma and internal and external pressure changes to meet the physiological needs under different pathological conditions [2] It mainly includes thickening of the vessel wall, a change in the wall-to-cavity ratio, and looseness of the small artery structures, resulting in abnormal vascular function. Basic and clinical studies on hypertension showed that vascular remodeling was accompanied by hypertension, was the pathophysiological basis [3], and formed a vicious circular causal mechanism with hypertension, which was an important cause of vascular disease and target organ damage [4]. Erefore, this study aimed to reveal the potential mechanisms involved in the effects of FT on HVR based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. Conclusion. is study demonstrated the multiple compounds, targets, and pathway characteristics of FT in the treatment of HVR. e network pharmacology method provided a novel research approach to analyze potential mechanisms
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