Peng Xiaomin, Wang Kaijun, Wang Yuhan, Lu Yujie, Lv Feifei, Cui Yao, Wang Ying, Si Hongbin
State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-bioresources, College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 Mar 17;9:849518. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.849518. eCollection 2022.
Gegen Qinlian Decoction is a long-established Chinese herbal compound for the treatment of diarrhea and dysentery, while Magnolia officinalis has been demonstrated to have some anthelmintic activity. The preliminary screening of this study showed that the addition of Modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction has some effective on the prevention and treatment of coccidiosis in chickens. However, the mechanism of its treatment of chicken coccidiosis is not clear. The network pharmacology study was based on the screening of chemical components and related targets from TCMSP and PharmMapper server databases. Genes related to chicken coccidiosis were obtained from the SRA database, and those genes that intersected with the target genes of Modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction were screened. By exploring the target interactions through the String system and enrichment analysis by the Metascape system, the mechanism of action of Modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction in chicken coccidiosis was identified. Using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to analyze the mRNA levels of the relevant factors in chicken coccidiosis, molecular docking was used to reveal the extent of binding of the key target genes predicted in the network pharmacology by the action of Modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction. Compound and target screening suggested that the 99 chemical targets of Modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction were involved in chicken coccidiosis, and the enrichment results of KEGG pathway suggested that Modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction was significantly associated with PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in chicken coccidiosis. The Hubba gene module in Cytoscape_v3.7.1 software was used to analyze the network topology to obtain the Hubba gene SRC, STAT3, and PPARG, etc. The molecular docking results showed that SRC, STAT3, and PPARG were key targets in the treatment of coccidiosis in chickens by Modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction, which was in agreement with the RT-qPCR results. Through network pharmacology, molecular docking and experiments, it was confirmed that Modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction fights against chicken coccidiosis through key targets such as SRC, STAT3, and PPARG.
葛根芩连汤是一种久负盛名的用于治疗腹泻和痢疾的中药复方，而厚朴已被证明具有一定的驱虫活性。本研究的初步筛选表明，加味葛根芩连汤对鸡球虫病的防治有一定效果。然而，其治疗鸡球虫病的机制尚不清楚。网络药理学研究基于从中药系统药理学数据库（TCMSP）和中药分子机制生物信息学数据库（PharmMapper）服务器数据库中筛选化学成分和相关靶点。从序列读取档案（SRA）数据库中获取与鸡球虫病相关的基因，并筛选出与加味葛根芩连汤靶基因相交的那些基因。通过String系统探索靶标相互作用，并通过Metascape系统进行富集分析，确定了加味葛根芩连汤在鸡球虫病中的作用机制。使用实时定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）分析鸡球虫病相关因子的mRNA水平，采用分子对接揭示加味葛根芩连汤作用下网络药理学预测的关键靶基因的结合程度。化合物和靶点筛选表明，加味葛根芩连汤的99个化学靶点参与了鸡球虫病，京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路富集结果表明，加味葛根芩连汤与鸡球虫病中的磷脂酰肌醇-3-激酶/蛋白激酶B（PI3K/AKT）信号通路显著相关。使用Cytoscape_v3.7.1软件中的Hubba基因模块分析网络拓扑结构，得到Hubba基因Src、信号转导和转录激活因子3（STAT3）以及过氧化物酶体增殖物激活受体γ（PPARG）等。分子对接结果表明，Src、STAT3和PPARG是加味葛根芩连汤治疗鸡球虫病的关键靶点，这与RT-qPCR结果一致。通过网络药理学、分子对接和实验，证实加味葛根芩连汤通过Src、STAT3和PPARG等关键靶点对抗鸡球虫病。
