Zheng Shihao, Xue Chengyuan, Li Size, Zao Xiaobin, Li Xiaoke, Liu Qiyao, Cao Xu, Wang Wei, Qi Wenying, Zhang Peng, Ye Yongan
Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2024 Apr 17;15:1381712. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1381712. eCollection 2024.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinicopathological syndrome characterized by abnormalities in hepatic fat deposition, the incidence of which has been increasing year by year in recent years. It has become the largest chronic liver disease globally and one of the important causes of cirrhosis and even primary liver cancer formation. The pathogenesis of NAFLD has not yet been fully clarified. Modern medicine lacks targeted clinical treatment protocols for NAFLD, and most drugs lack efficacy and have high side effects. In contrast, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has significant advantages in the treatment and prevention of NAFLD, which have been widely recognized by scholars around the world. In recent years, through the establishment of a "medicine-disease-target-pathway" network relationship, network pharmacology can explore the molecular basis of the role of medicines in disease prevention and treatment from various perspectives, predicting the pharmacological mechanism of the corresponding medicines. This approach is compatible with the holistic view and treatment based on pattern differentiation of TCM and has been widely used in TCM research. In this paper, by searching relevant databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase, we reviewed and analyzed the relevant signaling pathways and specific mechanisms of action of single Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine combinations, and Chinese patent medicine for the treatment of NAFLD in recent years. These related studies fully demonstrated the therapeutic characteristics of TCM with multi-components, multi-targets, and multi-pathways, which provided strong support for the exact efficacy of TCM exerted in the clinic. In conclusion, we believe that network pharmacology is more in line with the TCM mindset of treating diseases, but with some limitations. In the future, we should eliminate the potential risks of false positives and false negatives, clarify the interconnectivity between components, targets, and diseases, and conduct deeper clinical or experimental studies.
非酒精性脂肪性肝病(NAFLD)是一种以肝脏脂肪沉积异常为特征的临床病理综合征,近年来其发病率逐年上升。它已成为全球最大的慢性肝病,也是肝硬化乃至原发性肝癌形成的重要原因之一。NAFLD的发病机制尚未完全阐明。现代医学缺乏针对NAFLD的靶向临床治疗方案,大多数药物疗效欠佳且副作用大。相比之下,中医药在NAFLD的治疗和预防方面具有显著优势,已得到全球学者的广泛认可。近年来,通过建立“药物-疾病-靶点-通路”网络关系,网络药理学可以从多个角度探索药物在疾病防治中作用的分子基础,预测相应药物的药理机制。这种方法与中医的整体观和辨证论治相契合,已在中医药研究中广泛应用。本文通过检索PubMed、Web of Science和Embase等相关数据库,对近年来治疗NAFLD的单味中药、中药复方及中成药的相关信号通路和具体作用机制进行了综述和分析。这些相关研究充分展示了中医药多成分、多靶点、多通路的治疗特点,为中医药在临床中发挥的确切疗效提供了有力支持。综上所述,我们认为网络药理学更符合中医治病思维,但存在一定局限性。未来应消除假阳性和假阴性的潜在风险,阐明成分、靶点和疾病之间的相互联系,并开展更深入的临床或实验研究。