The possible mechanisms of Erhuang decoction in the treatment of acute lung injury based on network pharmacology / 药学学报

ABSTRACT

Network pharmacological approaches were used to predict the components, targets and pathways of Erhuang decoction (EhD) in the treatment of acute lung injury (ALI). The SwissTargetPrediction platform, DisGeNET, Therapeutic Target Database (TTD), GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) databases were used to predict potential targets of EhD and were integrated with the predicted targets for the treatment of ALI. A protein-protein interaction network model was constructed by using String database and Cytoscape software; the DAVID platform was used for Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. A network of drug components-targets-pathways was constructed by Cytoscape software and the SwissDock platform was used to dock the molecules of EhD found in blood with the key disease targets. An ALI model was established in mice and inflammatory factor detection and Western blot protein expression experiments with lung tissue sections were carried out to verify the effect of EhD in the treatment of ALI. Animal experiment ethical requirements were approved by the Ethical Committee Experimental Animal Center of Shandong University (Grant Number 2016020). We identified 148 potential targets including signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), vascular endothelial cell growth factor A (VEGFA), RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT1), and nuclear factor-kappa B/p65 (RELA). The potential targets are largely associated with the biological processes of inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis. Additional pathways relate to cancer, VEGF signaling, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, and Toll-like receptors (TLRs) signaling, along with other signaling pathways. Pharmacodynamic experiments showed that EhD could significantly reduce the content of inflammatory factors and the degree of lung injury of ALI mice. Western blot revealed that EhD could significantly decrease the expression of NF-κB/p65 and upregulate the expression of NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha (IκBα). From the perspective of network pharmacology, the mechanisms of EhD in the treatment of ALI is consistent with the characteristics of multiple ingredients, multiple targets and multiple pathways. This research provides a reference for further study of the mechanism of this traditional Chinese medicine.