Network pharmacology and experimental validation to explore the molecular mechanisms of kidney and blood refreshing recipe for the treatment of intrauterine adhesions

Kidney and blood refreshing recipe formula is usually used to effectively treat intrauterine adhesions (IUAs). However, little is known about the underlying mechanism of kidney and blood refreshing recipes. We investigated the pharmacological mechanism of Bushen Yixue recipe on IUA through pharmacological and experimental validation. By network pharmacological analysis, 183 active constituents of the kidney and blood refreshing recipe were screened out (retrieved from TCMSP and TCM-ID). According to Venn diagram analysis, there were 102 common targets of the kidney and blood refreshing recipe. PPI analysis of the above common targets showed that there were 102 nodes and 1678 edges. Subsequently, GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analyses were also performed, which resulted in 1582 biological processes, 111 molecular functions, 82 cell components, and 174 related pathways. The active component of the kidney and blood refreshing recipe was also determined by liquid mass spectrometry. Finally, a rat model of IUA was constructed and tested in vivo. After kidney and blood refreshing recipe treatment, HE staining, Masson staining and immunohistochemistry (TGF-β1, SDF-1, VEGF) were performed on the uterine tissues of rats. The results showed that fibrosis in the uterine tissue was inhibited. The kidney and blood refreshing recipe inhibits fibrosis by inhibiting the expression of genes typical of fibrosis.