Exploring the Mechanism of Xijiao Dihuang Decoction in Treating Blood-heat Psoriasis Based on Network Pharmacology,Molecular Docking and Experimental Research
Objective:To explore the active components and molecular mechanisms of Xijiao Dihuang Decoction for the treatment of blood-heat psoriasis using network pharmacology,molecular docking techniques and experimental research.Methods:TCMID was used to obtain the chemical compositions of the four herbs in the formula,and the relevant targets of action were obtained by Swiss Target Prediction.The psoriasis targets were collected in OMIM database and GeneCards database,and the intersecting targets were screened.The PPI network was mapped using String database and Cytoscape 3.9.1,and the core targets were analyzed using the plug-in Centiscape 2.2 topology.GO and KEGG analyses of the intersecting targets were performed with the help of Metascape database,and molecular docking validation and visualization of the results were carried out for the key components and the core targets with the top 5 degree values using Autodock 1.5.7 software as well as Pymol software.After comprehensive analysis,Akt1,a target with stable binding energy,was selected for validation in animal experiments.Results:The key active ingredients of Xijiao Dihuang Decoction for the treatment of psoriasis are baicalein,paeoniflorin,glutathione,quercetin,ellagic acid and so on.From the perspective of target proteins,the core targets are GAPDH,TP53,Akt1,IL-6,TNF,GFR and so on.GO enrichment analysis suggests that it is mainly involved in the regulation of inflammatory response,regulation of miRNA metabolic process,regulation of oxidoreductase/protein kinase activity,and other biological processes.KEGG pathways mainly include the pathways for the pathogenesis of hepatitis B,cancer,PI3K-Akt signaling pathway MAPK signaling pathway,etc.The molecular docking results showed that the active ingredients baicalein,paeoniflorin,glutathione,quercetin,ellagic acid had good binding activities with the core targets GAPDH,TP53,Akt1,IL-6,and TNF.The results of animal experiments showed that Xijiao Dihuang Decoction improved skin lesions and increased PI3K/Akt expression in psoriasis mice.Conclusion:The treatment of blood-heat type psoriasis by Xijiao Dihuang Decoction may be a multi-component,multi-target,multi-pathway process,and the animal experiments further verified that this compound formula for psoriasis may work through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
Xijiao Dihuang DecoctionPsoriasisNetwork PharmacologyMolecular DockingExperimental Research