Yan Shu, Yajun Chu, Sicheng Yang, Jinyi Cao, Yi Qiao, Yang Zhao, Zhifu Yang
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Wuling capsule is a traditional Chinese medicine composed of four herbals. It has been widely used to treat chronic active hepatitis and has shown significant efficacy in hyperlipidemia. However, the treatment of NAFLD disease has not been studied in depth.
Methods: Firstly, the potential bioactive compounds in Wuling capsules were identified by TCMSP (https://old.tcmsp-e.com/tcmsp.php). Secondly, the pathway and GO function were analyzed by using the DAVID database (https://david.ncifcrf.gov/). Then, the molecular docking techniques were used to confirm the accuracy of binding between key targets and components. Furthermore, the experimental pharmacology validation was conducted using RT-qPCR and WB of the NAFLD model.
Results: A total of 138 active compounds and 40 common potential targets associated with NAFLD were identified through network pharmacology. The pathway and functional enrichment analysis showed that the Wuling capsule was associated with the PI3K-AKT and HIF-1α signaling pathways. In vivo experiments showed that the Wuling capsule could reduce IL-6, TNF-α, and HIF-1α proteins and up-regulate STAT3 and VEGFA levels (P < 0.05), thus alleviating liver inflammation.
Conclusions: With the support of network pharmacology and animal experiments, the study preliminarily investigated the effect of the Wuling capsule on liver inflammation by regulating the HIF-1α signaling pathway, thereby protecting liver function and treating NAFLD.
期刊介绍:
Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening (CCHTS) publishes full length original research articles and reviews/mini-reviews dealing with various topics related to chemical biology (High Throughput Screening, Combinatorial Chemistry, Chemoinformatics, Laboratory Automation and Compound management) in advancing drug discovery research. Original research articles and reviews in the following areas are of special interest to the readers of this journal:
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