Network Pharmacology-based Strategy to Investigate Pharmacological Mechanisms of Qingbutongluo Pill for Treatment of Brucellosis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Qingbutongluo pill (QBTLP), a Chinese herbal preparation, has been developed to treat brucellosis for many years with a good therapeutic effect. This study preliminarily explored its potential molecular mechanisms against brucellosis through network pharmacology. METHODS: The active ingredients of QBTLP were screened out mainly from the Traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP), and their potential targets were predicted through the PubChem database and Swiss Target Prediction platform. GeneCards, DisGeNET Digsee and the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) searched the targets corresponding to brucellosis. Then, the Venn diagram obtained intersection targets of QBTLP and diseases. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis was performed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database (STRING) and visualized in Cytoscape software. Module analysis of the PPI network and core target identification was performed using the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) and the Cytohubba plugins. The Metascape data platform was used to perform Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis on the intersection targets, and then the "active ingredientstargets- pathways" network was constructed using Cytoscape to screen key active ingredients. RESULTS: 19 key active ingredients were identified by network pharmacological, including Baicalein, Cryptopin, etc. The core targets of QBTLP for treating brucellosis contained TNF, TLR4, MAPK3, MAPK1, MAPK8, MAPK14, MMP9, etc. And the main pathways included the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation, and IL-17 signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: This study explored the mechanisms of QBTLP for treating brucellosis, which may provide a scientific basis for the clinical application of QBTLP.

Comparisons of recurrence-free survival and overall survival between microwave versus radiofrequency ablation treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma: A multiple centers retrospective cohort study with propensity score matching.

Both microwave (MW) ablation and radiofrequency (RF) ablation are widely used for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatments in clinic. However, it is still unclear if ablative methods could influence the recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) of HCC patients. Therefore, we carried out this multi-center retrospective cohort study to investigate the differences of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) between MW ablation and RF ablation by survival analysis. From January 2014 to December 2016, patients who received thermal ablation surgery for HCC treatment were screened. Finally, 452 patients met the eligibility criteria and finished the follow-up. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses were used to identify independent predictive factors of the RFS and OS. Also, propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance the bias between two groups. Finally, we found that before the PSM, the univariable and multivariable regression analyses revealed that there were no significant differences on the RFS between two groups. Same results were obtained for the OS. After PSM, 115 pairs of patients were created, and both the univariable and multivariable regression analyses suggested that there were still no significant differences on the RFS between two groups. Same results were obtained for the OS. In conclusion, our present study showed that there were no significant differences between MW ablation and RF ablation for HCC patients on the RFS or OS.