Identifying Active Substances and the Pharmacological Mechanism of Thunb. in Treating Radiation-Induced Lung Injury Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Verification.

BACKGROUND

Thunb. is a traditional Chinese herb widely used mainly because of the pharmacological effects related to heat clearance and detoxification. Emerging clinical evidence indicates that the efficacy of Thunb. on RILI is upstanding. Nevertheless, its underlying therapeutic mechanism remains unclear and warrants further elucidation.

METHODS

The major active components and corresponding targets of Thunb. were retrieved from the traditional Chinese medicine system pharmacology database (TCMSP) and literature review. The related targets of RILI were retrieved from the GeneCards database. Common targets among the active compounds and diseases were identified through Venn diagram analysis. Cytoscape was employed to construct and visualize the network relationship among the drug, active compounds, targets, and disease. The protein interaction network (PPI) was constructed by STRING. The reliability (the binding affinity) of the core targets and active compounds was verified by molecular docking.

RESULTS

A search of the TCMSP database and related literature revealed 12 active compounds of Thunb. against RILI. The core active compounds included quercetin, kaempferol, hyperoside, and rutin. Hub nodes including TP53, VEGFA, JUN, TNF, and IL-6 were identified in the PPI network. The GO categories were classified into three functional categories: 112 biological processes, 9 molecular functions, and 32 cellular components of the active compounds of Thunb. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated the enrichment of target genes in several key cancer-related signaling pathways, including the cancer pathways, TNF signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and HIF-1 signaling pathway. Molecular docking analysis validated the effective binding capacity of the main active compounds with the core targets.

CONCLUSION

The main active components of Thunb. have a potential pharmacological effect against RILI via the cancer pathways, TNF signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.