Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Massage, Wenzhou People's Hospital Wenzhou Women and Children's Hospital, Wenzhou, China.
Department of Gastroenterology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Cell Mol Biol (Noisy-le-grand). 2024 Sep 8;70(8):193-200. doi: 10.14715/cmb/2024.70.8.27.
Long COVID is a poorly understood condition characterized by persistent symptoms following the acute phase of COVID-19, including fatigue, cognitive impairment, and joint pain. Acupuncture, a key component of traditional Chinese medicine treatment, has shown potential in alleviating long COVID symptoms. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effects remain largely unknown. In this study, we employed bioinformatics approaches to explore the potential molecular mechanisms of acupuncture's therapeutic effects on long COVID symptoms. We screened protein targets of active ingredients produced by the body after acupuncture and identified potential therapeutic targets of long COVID. Protein-protein interaction networks were constructed, and Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed to identify key targets and pathways. Our findings provide valuable insights into the potential molecular mechanisms of acupuncture's therapeutic effects on long COVID symptoms and may contribute to the development of targeted therapies for managing this challenging condition.
长新冠是一种由新冠急性后期持续出现症状的疾病，这些症状包括疲劳、认知障碍和关节疼痛。针灸作为中医治疗的一个重要组成部分，已经显示出缓解长新冠症状的潜力。然而，其治疗效果的分子机制在很大程度上仍然未知。在这项研究中，我们采用生物信息学方法探索针灸对长新冠症状治疗效果的潜在分子机制。我们筛选了针灸后身体产生的活性成分的蛋白靶点，并确定了长新冠的潜在治疗靶点。构建了蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用网络，并进行了基因本体论（GO）和京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）富集分析，以确定关键靶点和通路。我们的研究结果为针灸治疗长新冠症状的潜在分子机制提供了有价值的见解，并可能有助于开发针对这种具有挑战性疾病的靶向治疗方法。
