Abstract
Network pharmacology (NP) is a useful, emerging means of understanding the complex pharmacological mechanisms of traditional herbal medicines. Sochehwan (SCH) is a candidate herbal prescription for drug repurposing as it has been suggested to have beneficial effects on metabolic syndrome. In this study, NP was adopted to complement the shortcomings of literature-based drug repurposing strategies in traditional herbal medicine. We conducted in vitro studies to confirm the effects of SCH on potential pharmacological targets identified by NP analysis. Herbal compounds and molecular targets of SCH were explored and screened from a traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP) and an oriental medicine advanced searching integrated system (OASIS). Forty-seven key targets selected from a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were analyzed with gene ontology (GO) term enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis to identify relevant categories. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways were presented as significant signaling pathways with lowest p-values by NP analysis, which were downregulated by SCH treatment. The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was identified as a core key target by NP analysis, and its phosphorylation ratio was confirmed to be significantly suppressed by SCH. In conclusion, the NP-based approach used for target prediction and experimental data obtained from Raw 264.7 cells strongly suggested that SCH can attenuate inflammatory status by modulating the phosphorylation status of STAT3.
Highlights
Network pharmacology (NP) is a powerful tool that is based on the concepts of system biology and bioinformatics, as supported by extensive pharmacological databases [1]
TCMSP did not provide any results for Trogopterorum Faeces (TF), TCM-ID and oriental medicine advanced searching integrated system (OASIS) provided seven ingredients and references to an article with in vivo pharmacokinetic data as evidence of oral bioavailability and target information [31,32,33,34,35]
No common compound was found in TF and Cyperi Rhizoma (CR) or in TF and Pharbitis Semen (PS)
Summary
Network pharmacology (NP) is a powerful tool that is based on the concepts of system biology and bioinformatics, as supported by extensive pharmacological databases [1]. NP has the potential to contribute to novel drug discovery, the repurposing of existing drugs [2], and the identification of synergistic ingredient pairs [3]. The NP analysis addresses the safety and efficacy issues of existing medications with an understanding of possible toxicity and side-effects [2]. Given access to the many bioactive compounds of herbs screened using adsorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion (ADME), and pharmacokinetic profiles and their associated targets drawn from data archives [5], comprehensive networks can be established that demonstrate how these compounds work in integrated ways [6]. It has been demonstrated that network pharmacology-based target prediction is a feasible strategy with various methods
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