Abstract
Objective To identify the potential pharmacological targets of Jisuikang (JSK) for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) using network pharmacology. Methods The bioactive compounds of JSK herbs and their corresponding potential SCI targets were obtained from three traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) databases. SCI-related therapeutic target genes were obtained from the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database and the GeneCards Database. The common target genes between the JSK compounds and SCI-related therapeutic targets were screened using GO/KEGG functional enrichment and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analyses to identify hub genes and their categories of biological function. Gene expression distribution and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses were used to identify probable SCI-related target genes. Molecular docking was used to quantify molecular interactions between target genes and the bioactive compounds of JSK. Results A total of 183 JSK bioactive compounds and 197 target genes for the treatment of SCI were screened and assessed. The target genes were enriched primarily in drug metabolism and in inflammation-related biological processes. Ten genes with statistical significance were identified as therapeutic SCI-related target genes of JSK. Molecular docking experiments demonstrated that the proteins of these 10 genes docked with binding energies of less than −5 kcal/mol with the bioactive compounds in JSK. Conclusion This study showed that the anti-SCI effects of JSK may be mediated through numerous bioactive components, multiple gene targets, and inflammation-related pathways and provided potential novel targets for directed therapies for treating SCI. These results provide a foundation for further experimental investigations into treatment options for SCI.
Highlights
Spinal cord injury (SCI) can result in immediate and devastating impacts on motor function and other essential physiological functions [1]. e incidence of SCI in the United States is approximately 50 per million people per year, with over 17000 new cases reported every year [2]. e World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 250000 and 500000 people suffer from SCI each year [3]
Target genes of the bioactive compounds were obtained from TCMSP, and their official gene names were obtained from the UniProt Knowledgebase (UniProtKB, https://www.uniprot.org/)
We identified 19 proteins from hub genes using proteinprotein interaction (PPI) network analysis and confirmed that 10 were associated with JSK compounds in the treatment of SCI (CCND1, CXCL8, FOS, JUN, MAPK3, MMP9, MYC, PTGS2, TP53, and VEGFA). e affinity values of all docking results were calculated to be less than −5.0 kcal/mol, indicating acceptable binding affinities between the 10 key proteins and the corresponding compounds in JSK
Summary
Spinal cord injury (SCI) can result in immediate and devastating impacts on motor function and other essential physiological functions [1]. e incidence of SCI in the United States is approximately 50 per million people per year, with over 17000 new cases reported every year [2]. e World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 250000 and 500000 people suffer from SCI each year [3]. E World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that between 250000 and 500000 people suffer from SCI each year [3]. SCI patients who survive the initial injury usually suffer multisystem trauma concomitant with SCI, contributing to significant risks of associated complications [4]. It is reported that the lifetime cost of treating SCI in the US ranges between $1.1 million and $4.7 million, and the total cost of caring SCI patients in the US exceeds $7 billion per year [2]. Complementary and alternative therapies have been increasingly used for treating SCI, especially traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) [6]. TCM has been developing for over 2000 years and has a comprehensive theoretical system for disease diagnosis and prognosis [7]. TCM provides important guidelines for the treatment of numerous complicated diseases [7]
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