Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, General Hospital of Chinese PLA, Beijing 100853, China.
Comput Math Methods Med. 2022 Jul 12;2022:7518109. doi: 10.1155/2022/7518109. eCollection 2022.
To explore the mechanism of action of the yin nourishing and heat clearing prescription in treating cough variant asthma (CVA) based on network pharmacology (NP).
The active ingredients and targets of the yin nourishing and heat clearing prescription were screened using the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Analysis Platform (TCMSP); CVA targets were screened by the GeneCards, NCBI gene, and OMIM databases to construct the component-target network and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. GO functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of the target genes were performed to construct the component-disease-pathway-target biological network. Moreover, CVA-related core target structures with high values were subjected to molecular docking (MD) with the active components.
We found 265 eligible targets in the prescription and 1115 CVA-related genes. The medicine targets were intersected with disease targets, which yielded 148 common targets. After topology analysis, 66 key targets were screened. Upon GO functional annotation, 2408 biological processes, 153 molecular functions, and 162 KEGG pathways were enriched. Molecular docking results suggested that the major active ingredients of the prescription showed high affinity to the key targets, among which AKT1 might be the most important target.
Active ingredients might act on AKT1, IL-6, VEGFA, IL-1B, and JUN to suppress eosinophil accumulation, decrease histamine release, suppress airway inflammation, regulate the airway immune microenvironment, increase autophagy in lung tissue, inhibit mucus production, and reduce airway resistance and hyperresponsiveness, thus treating CVA. Our findings provide a reference for further research and clinical applications of the prescription.
基于网络药理学（NP）探讨滋阴清热方治疗咳嗽变异性哮喘（CVA）的作用机制。
采用中药系统药理学分析平台（TCMSP）筛选滋阴清热方的活性成分及作用靶点；通过GeneCards、NCBI 基因、OMIM 数据库筛选 CVA 靶点，构建成分-靶点网络和蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用（PPI）网络。对靶基因进行 GO 功能富集分析和京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路富集分析，构建成分-疾病-通路-靶标生物网络。对具有较高值的 CVA 相关核心靶标结构进行分子对接（MD）与活性成分。
筛选出方剂中 265 个有效靶点和 1115 个 CVA 相关基因，药物靶点与疾病靶点相交，得到 148 个共同靶点。拓扑分析后筛选出 66 个关键靶点。GO 功能注释后，共富集到 2408 个生物学过程、153 个分子功能和 162 个 KEGG 通路。分子对接结果表明，方剂中的主要活性成分与关键靶点具有较高的亲和力，其中 AKT1 可能是最重要的靶点。
活性成分可能通过作用于 AKT1、IL-6、VEGFA、IL-1B 和 JUN 抑制嗜酸性粒细胞聚集、减少组胺释放、抑制气道炎症、调节气道免疫微环境、增加肺组织自噬、抑制黏液产生、降低气道阻力和高反应性，从而治疗 CVA。本研究结果为该方的进一步研究和临床应用提供了参考。
