Uncovering the mechanism of Fuzi and Baishao in treating rheumatoid arthritis using systems pharmacology and molecular docking
image: C-T-P, compound-target-pathway; DL, drug-likeness; GO, gene ontology; OB, oral bioavailability; PPI, protein-protein interaction; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; TCMSP, Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform.
Credit: Cheng Peng, Shijun Yue, Yuxi Zhang, Haoming Zhou
Background and Objectives
Traditional Chinese Medicine has been implemented in clinical practice for thousands of years to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Aconitum carmichaelii Debx (Fuzi) and Paeonia lactiflora Pall (Baishao) are a common herb-pair that is used in many herbal prescriptions to treat RA. However, the mechanism of Fuzi and Baishao for treating RA remains unclear. Here, we used a systems pharmacology and molecular docking approach to investigate the mechanism of Fuzi and Baishao in the treatment of RA.
Methods
We obtained active compounds and targets through a database search and manual supplementation, followed by network construction and protein-protein interaction construction, which were then verified using molecular docking, Gene Ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses.
Results
We obtained 56 active compounds (including a duplicate compound), 102 targets, and 54 pathways using our systems approach. The results indicate that both herbs are involved in IL-17 and tumor necrosis factor signaling pathways through albumin, interleukin-6, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, epidermal growth factor receptor, prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2, and other targets in the treatment of RA. After the combination, the number of targets, pathways, and specific targets on pathways increased.
Conclusion
This research provides new insight into this particular herb pair and novel research directions for the treatment of RA with Fuzi and Baishao.
Full text:
https://www.xiahepublishing.com/2835-6357/FIM-2023-00044
The study was recently published in the Future Integrative Medicine.
Future Integrative Medicine (FIM) publishes both basic and clinical research, including but not limited to randomized controlled trials, intervention studies, cohort studies, observational studies, qualitative and mixed method studies, animal studies, and systematic reviews.
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