scholarly journals A Network Pharmacology Approach to Uncover the Multiple Mechanisms of Hedyotis diffusa Willd. on Colorectal Cancer

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinkui Liu ◽  
Jiarui Wu ◽  
Dan Zhang ◽  
Kaihuan Wang ◽  
Xiaojiao Duan ◽  
...  

Background. As one of the most frequently diagnosed cancer diseases globally, colorectal cancer (CRC) remains an important cause of cancer-related death. Although the traditional Chinese herb Hedyotis diffusa Willd. (HDW) has been proven to be effective for treating CRC in clinical practice, its definite mechanisms have not been completely deciphered. Objective. The aim of our research is to systematically explore the multiple mechanisms of HDW on CRC. Methods. This study adopted the network pharmacology approach, which was mainly composed of active component gathering, target prediction, CRC gene collection, network analysis, and gene enrichment analysis. Results. The network analysis showed that 10 targets might be the therapeutic targets of HDW on CRC, namely, HRAS, PIK3CA, KRAS, TP53, APC, BRAF, GSK3B, CDK2, AKT1, and RAF1. The gene enrichment analysis implied that HDW probably benefits patients with CRC by modulating pathways related to cancers, infectious diseases, endocrine system, immune system, nervous system, signal transduction, cellular community, and cell motility. Conclusions. This study partially verified and predicted the pharmacological and molecular mechanism of HDW against CRC from a holistic perspective, which will also lay a foundation for the further experimental research and clinical rational application of HDW.

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 2067-2074
Author(s):  
Yun-Bin Jiang ◽  
Mei Zhong ◽  
Ting Huang ◽  
Zhong-Hua Dai ◽  
Xing-Bao Tao ◽  
...  

Purpose: To determine the molecular mechanism involved in the anti-migraine effect of Asari Radix et Rhizoma (ARR) using network pharmacology. Methods: The compounds present in ARR were identified through information retrieval from literature and public databases, and were screened based on absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity. Target genes related to the selected compounds and migraine were identified or predicted from public databases. Hub genes in ARR against migraine were identified through analysis of interactions in overlapping genes between compounds and migraine target genes, based on STRING database. Gene enrichment analysis of overlapping genes was performed using Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. Results: A total of 138 compounds were selected as potential bioactive compounds in ARR. Target genes related to the selected compounds (611 genes) and migraine (278 genes) were obtained, including 71 overlapping genes. The hub genes in the anti-migraine effect of ARR were BDNF, IL6, COMT, APP and TNF. Gene enrichment analysis showed the top 10 biological processes or pathways involved in the mechanism of anti-migraine action of ARR. The tissue source of the overlapping genes was not limited to the brain. The results from gene enrichment analysis revealed that the effect of ARR on migraine was holistic, which is characteristic of traditional Chinese medicines. Conclusion: Network pharmacology has been used to decipher the molecular mechanism involved in the action of ARR against migraine. The results provide a scientific basis for the clinical effect of ARR on migraine.


2017 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji-Won Lee ◽  
Jung-Yul Cha ◽  
Ki-Ho Park ◽  
Yoon-Goo Kang ◽  
Su-Jung Kim

ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the effect of flapless osteoperforation on the tissue response of the atrophic alveolar ridge affected by orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). Materials and Methods: An atrophic alveolar ridge model was established in the mandibular quadrants of eight beagle dogs. As a split-mouth design, the quadrants were randomly divided into group C (OTM only) and group OP (OTM with flapless osteoperforation). The rate of OTM for 10 weeks was compared between groups, and micro-CT-based histomorphometric analysis and RNA-sequencing-based gene-enrichment analysis were performed targeting the atrophic ridge. Results: Group OP displayed more rapid tooth movement with lower bone mineral density and higher trabecular fraction in the atrophic ridge than did group C, showing no intergroup difference of total ridge volume. As contributing biological functional pathways in group OP, the genes related to osteoclast differentiation and TNF signaling pathway were up-regulated and those associated with Wnt signaling pathway and AMPK signaling pathway were down-regulated. Conclusions: Flapless osteoperforation facilitated the rate of OTM toward the atrophic ridge, maintaining low bone density, whereas it did not increase the volume of the atrophic ridge.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanni Lai ◽  
Qiong Zhang ◽  
Haishan Long ◽  
Tiantian Han ◽  
Geng Li ◽  
...  

Background: Ganghuo Kanggan decoction (GHKGD) is a clinical experience prescription used for the treatment of viral pneumonia in the Lingnan area of China, and its clinical effect is remarkable. However, the mechanism of GHKGD in influenza is still unclear.Objective: To predict the active components and signaling pathway of GHKGD and to explore its therapeutic mechanism in influenza and to verified it in vivo using network pharmacology.Methods: The potential active components and therapeutic targets of GHKGD in the treatment of influenza were hypothesized through a series of network pharmacological strategies, including compound screening, target prediction and pathway enrichment analysis. Based on the target network and enrichment results, a mouse model of influenza A virus (IAV) infection was established to evaluate the therapeutic effect of GHKGD on influenza and to verify the possible molecular mechanism predicted by network pharmacology.Results: A total of 116 candidate active compounds and 17 potential targets were identified. The results of the potential target enrichment analysis suggested GHKGD may involve the RLR signaling pathway to reduce inflammation in the lungs. In vivo experiments showed that GHKGD had a protective effect on pneumonia caused by IAV-infected mice. Compared with the untreated group, the weight loss in the GHKGD group in the BALB/c mice decreased, and the inflammatory pathological changes in lung tissue were reduced (p < 0.05). The expression of NP protein and the virus titers in lung were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The protein expression of RIG-I, NF-kB, and STAT1 and the level of MAVS and IRF3/7 mRNA were remarkably inhibited in GHKGD group (p < 0.05). After the treatment with GHKGD, the level of Th1 cytokines (IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-2) was increased, while the expression of Th2 (IL-5, IL4) cytokines was reduced (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Through a network pharmacology strategy and in vivo experiments, the multi-target and multi-component pharmacological characteristics of GHKGD in the treatment of influenza were revealed, and regulation of the RLR signaling pathway during the anti-influenza process was confirmed. This study provides a theoretical basis for the research and development of new drugs from GHKGD.


2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. e43-e43 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. De Preter ◽  
R. Barriot ◽  
F. Speleman ◽  
J. Vandesompele ◽  
Y. Moreau

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Han ◽  
Hao-yu Yang ◽  
Yu-jiao Zheng ◽  
Xiu-xiu Wei ◽  
Wen-chao Dan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The Gouqi-wentang formula (GQWTF) is a herbal formula used by Academician Xiao-lin Tong for the clinical treatment of T2DM. GQWTF is beneficial to qi, nourishes Yin, clears heat, and promotes fluid production, but the effective components and their mechanism of action remain unclear. Methods The main components of GQWTF were detected by LC–MS, and the multi-target mechanisms of GQWTF in T2DM were elucidated using network pharmacology analysis, including target prediction, protein–protein interaction network construction and analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) terms, Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway annotation, and other network construction. Finally, the efficacy of the GQWTF was verified using biological experiments. Results First, the “herb-channel tropism” network suggested that GQWTF focuses more on treating diseases by recuperating the liver, which is considered as an important insulin-sensitive organ. Subsequently, a total of 16 active ingredients in GQWTF were detected and screened, and their biological targets were predicted. Then, “compound-target” network was constructed, where enrichment analysis of GQWTF targets reflected its potential pharmacological activities. After T2DM-related target identification, 39 cross targets of GQWTF and T2DM were obtained, and 30 key targets highly responsible for the beneficial effect of GQWTF on T2DM were identified by PPI analysis. GO analysis of these key targets showed that many biological processes of GQWTF in treating T2DM are key in the occurrence and development of T2DM, including components related to inflammatory/immune response, insulin, and metabolism. KEGG analysis revealed the regulation of multiple signalling pathways, such as insulin resistance, PPAR signalling pathway, FoxO signalling pathway, Fc epsilon RI signalling pathway, and pathways that influence diabetes primarily by regulating metabolism as well as other T2DM directly related pathways. Furthermore, a “formula-compound-pathway-symptom” network was constructed to represent a global view of GQWTF in the treatment of T2DM. Conclusions This study explored the mechanism of action of GQWTF in T2DM by multi-component and multi-target multi pathways, which could provide a theoretical basis for the development and clinical application of GQWTF.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Yi Kuan Du ◽  
Yue Xiao ◽  
Shao Min Zhong ◽  
Yi Xing Huang ◽  
Qian Wen Chen ◽  
...  

Alzheimer’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly. This study explored the curative effect and possible mechanism of Acori graminei rhizoma on Alzheimer’s disease. In this paper, 8 active components of Acori graminei rhizoma were collected by consulting literature and using the TCMSP database, and 272 targets were screened using the PubChem and Swiss Target Prediction databases. Introduce it into the software of Cytoscape 3.7.2 and establish the graph of “drug-active ingredient-ingredient target.” A total of 276 AD targets were obtained from OMIM, Gene Cards, and DisGeNET databases. Import the intersection targets of drugs and diseases into STRING database for enrichment analysis, and build PPI network in the Cytoscape 3.7.2 software, whose core targets involve APP, AMPK, NOS3, etc. GO analysis and KEGG analysis showed that there were 195 GO items and 30 AD-related pathways, including Alzheimer’s disease pathway, serotonin synapse, estrogen signaling pathway, dopaminergic synapse, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Finally, molecular docking was carried out to verify the binding ability between Acori graminei rhizoma and core genes. Our results predict that Acori graminei rhizoma can treat AD mainly by mediating Alzheimer’s signal pathway, thus reducing the production of Aβ, inhibiting the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, regulating neurotrophic factors, and regulating the activity of kinase to change the function of the receptor.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuele Bovo ◽  
Pietro Di Lena ◽  
Pier Luigi Martelli ◽  
Piero Fariselli ◽  
Rita Casadio

Gene enrichment analysis is a common technique for highlighting molecular pathways and biological processes of a phenotype. Such technique has recently evolved exploiting the information contained in biological networks. We developed NET-GE, a web server for network-based gene enrichment analyses. NET-GE defines functional associations between a list of genes/proteins and biological processes or pathways by identifying function-specific modules in a molecular interaction network. The peculiarity of NET-GE is the possibility to enrich terms not detectable by standard enrichment procedure. Here, we highlight with two specific applications the performances of NET-GE by computing which functional phenotypes can be associated with two different sets of genes related to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and to an Obsessive-compulsive disorder, respectively.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuele Bovo ◽  
Pier Luigi Martelli ◽  
Pietro Di Lena ◽  
Rita Casadio

ABSTRACTOmics techniques provide a spectrum of information that needs to be disentangled to characterize complex traits at the molecular level. The gap between genotype and phenotype must be closed by reconciling the genome information with the set of molecular pathways and biological processes describing the phenotype. In dealing with this problem, gene enrichment analysis has become the most widely adopted strategy. Here, we present NETGE-PLUS, a web-server for standard and network-based functional interpretation of gene sets of human and of model organisms, including S. scrofa, S. cerevisiae, E. coli and A. thaliana. NETGE-PLUS enables the functional enrichment of both simple and ranked lists of genes, also introducing the possibility of exploring relationships among KEGG pathways. A web interface makes data retrieval complete and user-friendly. NETGE-PLUS is publicly available at http://net-ge2.biocomp.unibo.it


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Yun Mao ◽  
Xi Peng ◽  
Peng Xue ◽  
Dianrong Lu ◽  
Linlu Li ◽  
...  

Cinobufotalin injection, extracted from the skin of Chinese giant salamander or black sable, has good clinical effect against lung cancer. However, owing to its complex composition, the pharmacological mechanism of cinobufotalin injection has not been fully clarified. This study aimed to explore the mechanism of action of cinobufotalin injection against lung cancer using network pharmacology and bioinformatics. Compounds of cinobufotalin injection were determined by literature retrieval, and potential therapeutic targets of cinobufotalin injection were screened from Swiss Target Prediction and STITCH databases. Lung-cancer-related genes were summarized from GeneCards, OMIM, and DrugBank databases. The pharmacological mechanism of cinobufotalin injection against lung cancer was determined by enrichment analysis of gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, and protein-protein interaction network was constructed. We identified 23 compounds and 506 potential therapeutic targets of cinobufotalin injection, as well as 70 genes as potential therapeutic targets of cinobufotalin injection in lung cancer by molecular docking. The antilung cancer effect of cinobufotalin injection was shown to involve cell cycle, cell proliferation, antiangiogenesis effect, and immune inflammation pathways, such as PI3K-Akt, VEGF, and the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. In network analysis, the hub targets of cinobufotalin injection against lung cancer were identified as VEGFA, EGFR, CCND1, CASP3, and AKT1. A network diagram of “drug-compounds-target-pathway” was constructed through network pharmacology to elucidate the pharmacological mechanism of the antilung cancer effect of cinobufotalin injection, which is conducive to guiding clinical medication.


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