Efficacy of Tounongsan decoction on pyogenic liver abscess: network pharmacology and clinical trial validation

OBJECTIVE

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms governing the effect of Tounongsan decoction (, TNS) on the pyogenic liver abscess.

METHODS

Based on oral bioavailability and drug-likeness, the main active components of TNS were screened using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology platform. The GeneCard and UniProt databases were used to establish a database of pyogenic liver abscess targets. The interactive network map of drug-ingredients-target-disease was constructed using Cytoscape software (Version 3.7.2). A protein-protein interaction network was constructed using the STRING database, and the related protein interaction relationships were analyzed. biological process of gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed for the core targets. Finally, a clinical trial was performed to verify the reliability of the network pharmacology.

RESULTS

Forty active components of TNS decoction were obtained, and 61 potential targets and 11 proteins were identified. Pathways involved in the treatment of pyogenic liver abscess include the phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases-protein kinase B (PI3K-AKT), advanced glycation end products-receptor for advanced glycation end products (AGE-RAGE), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathways. The results of network pharmacology analysis combined with clinical trials validated that TNS decoction could alleviate the inflammatory response of pyogenic liver abscesses by decreasing interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels.

CONCLUSIONS

TNS decoction has the characteristics of being multi-system, multi-component, and multi-target. Active ingredients in TNS, such as quercetin, kaempferol, fisetin, and β-sitosterol, have strong potential to be candidate drugs for treating pyogenic liver abscesses. The possible mechanism of TSN decoction includes regulating immune and inflammatory responses and reducing IL-6 production to control inflammatory development.

Mechanism underlying efficacy of Shugan Sanjie decoction on plasma cell mastitis, based on network pharmacology and experimental verification

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the mechanism underpinning the effeicay of Shugan Sanjie decoction (, SGSJD) on plasma cell mastitis (PCM) based on network pharmacology, and to verify it through .

METHODS

Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform and Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine were used to screen effective compounds and drug targets; Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man and GeneCards were used to search for PCM targets. The potential targets of SGSJD in treating PCM were obtained after the drug targets and disease targets were crossed. Cytoscape software was used to establish and analyze the network of Chinese medicines-active compounds-targets-disease; STRING database platform was used to analyze Protein Protein Interaction network; Bioconductor software package was used to perform Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment for potential targets. Western blot analysis was used to verify the janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway .

RESULTS

(a) 47 potential pharmacological components of SGSJD treatment of PCM were screened including quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol and others; 20 common targets were obtained, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), epidermal growth factor receptor, estrogen receptor 1, nitric oxide synthase 3 and others; a number of signal pathways were available, of which advanced glycation end product/ receptor for advanced glycation end products signaling pathway in diabetic complications, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 signaling pathway and janus tyrosine kinase-signal transducer and transcription activator (JAK-STAT) signaling pathway were the main signal pathways related to PCM. (b) Compared with the Blank group, the expressions of p-JAK2/JAK2, p-STAT3/STAT3 and IL-6 protein in the Model group were significantly increased ( < 0.01); Compared with the Model group, the expression of p-JAK2/JAK2, p-STAT3/STAT3, and IL-6 protein in the treatment group were significantly reduced in a dose-dependent manner ( < 0.05). Compared with the Model group, the dexamethasone significantly reduced the expression of p-JAK2/JAK2, p-STAT3/STAT3, and IL-6 ( < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The SGSJD may regulate the JAK-STAT signaling pathway to achieve the effect of treating PCM by reducing the expression of p-JAK2/JAK2, p-STAT3/STAT3 and IL-6 in a dose-dependent manner.