Danqi soft capsules alleviate myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury through inhibiting apoptosis-related signaling pathways.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to explore the mechanisms of Danqi Soft Capsules (DQ) in reducing myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (MI/RI) through network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation.

Methods: The TCMSP database was used to screen for active ingredients of DQ and their potential targets, and compare them to MI/RI-related targets to construct a "drug-active ingredient-target" network. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING database; and Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed. Molecular docking experiments verified the binding affinity between DQ's active ingredients and apoptosis-related target proteins, and cellular experiments validated DQ's anti-apoptotic effects in the H9c2 cardiomyocyte hypoxia/reoxygenation model.

Results: Network pharmacology analysis identified 66 active ingredients and 240 potential targets, of which 105 were related to MI/RI. PPI network analysis screened out 10 core targets. GO and KEGG analyses indicated that these targets were related to the pathways of cell apoptosis. The molecular docking experiment confirmed that the active ingredient had a strong binding affinity with the core target, with the binding affinity between tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and tanshinone IIA being -9.2 kcal/mol, and that between tumor protein (TP) 53 and quercetin being -8.6 kcal/mol. Cellular experimental results showed that the cell apoptosis rate in the DQ-treated group was lower than in the model group, with the protective effect in the high-dose group being slightly better than the low-dose group.

Conclusion: This study revealed that DQ alleviates MI/RI by inhibiting cell apoptosis, providing a scientific basis for the clinical application of DQ and offering new directions for drug development.