Clinical and Translational Research
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jul 26, 2022; 10(21): 7224-7241
Published online Jul 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i21.7224
Molecular mechanisms of Biyu decoction as treatment for psoriasis: A network pharmacology and molecular docking study
Zi Wang, Hao-Min Zhang, Yuan-Rui Guo, Ling-Ling Li
Zi Wang, Hao-Min Zhang, Yuan-Rui Guo, Ling-Ling Li, Department of Dermatology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100700, China
Author contributions: Li LL designed the research; Wang Z, Zhang HM, and Guo YR performed the research; Zhang HM, and Guo YR analyzed the data; Wang Z wrote the paper.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), No. 81874393.
Institutional review board statement: Because the data from public databases are publicly available and open-access, this study do not require approval by the local ethics committees. This study followed public databases access policies and publication guidelines.
Clinical trial registration statement: This registration policy applies to prospective, randomized, controlled trials only.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the manuscript.
CONSORT 2010 statement: The authors have read the CONSORT 2010 statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CONSORT 2010 statement.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ling-Ling Li, PhD, Doctor, Department of Dermatology, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, No. 5 Haiyuncang Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing 100700, China. linglingli1980@163.com
Received: January 17, 2022
Peer-review started: January 17, 2022
First decision: March 16, 2022
Revised: March 24, 2022
Accepted: June 4, 2022
Article in press: June 4, 2022
Published online: July 26, 2022
Processing time: 174 Days and 19.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The therapeutic effects of a combination of Chinese medicines called Biyu decoction have been clinically verified, although its molecular targets in psoriasis remain unknown.

AIM

To explore the molecular mechanisms of Biyu decoction for psoriasis treatment.

METHODS

In this network pharmacology and molecular docking study, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database was searched for Biyu decoction active ingredients. GeneCards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, PharmGkb, Therapeutic Target Database, and DrugBank databases were searched for psoriasis-related genes. The genes targeted by the decoction’s active ingredient and disease genes were intersected to obtain predictive targets of the drug during psoriasis treatment. Cytoscape 3.8.0 was used to construct a drug component/ target disease network. The The functional protein association networks database and Cytoscape were used to construct a protein-protein interaction network and streamline the core network. The Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were used for pathway enrichment analysis. Molecular docking technology was used to verify the drug component/target disease network.

RESULTS

We screened 117 major active ingredients, including quercetin, kaempferol, naringenin, and acetyl-shikonin, and identified 213 gene targets, such as MAPK3, JUN, FOS, MYC, MAPK8, STAT3, and NFKBIA. Using a molecular docking analysis, the main active ingredients demonstrated good binding to the core targets. The Gene Ontology analysis showed that these ingredients were significantly associated with biological activities, such as transcription factor DNA binding, RNA polymerase II-specific DNA binding of transcription factors, and cytokine receptor binding; responses to lipopolysaccharides, molecules of bacterial origin, and oxidative stress; and were mainly distributed in membrane rafts, microdomains, and regions. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that decoction ingredients act on Th17 cell differentiation, tumor necrosis factor and mitogen-activated protein signaling pathways, the interleukin-17 signaling pathway, and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.

CONCLUSION

Biyu decoction may be effective against psoriasis through multi-component, multi-target, and multi-channel synergy.

Keywords: Medicine; Chinese traditional; Molecular docking simulation; Protein interaction maps; Psoriasis; Gene ontology; Network pharmacology

Core Tip: Biyu decoction has significant effects on psoriasis; however, its molecular targets in psoriasis remain unknown. We conducted a network pharmacology and molecular docking study to determine whether Biyu decoction ingredients target molecules and signaling pathways related to psoriasis pathogenesis. The main active ingredients identified include quercetin, kaempferol, beta-sitosterol, naringenin, and acetyl-shikonin. Target genes included MAPK3, JUN, FOS, MYC, MAPK8, STAT3, and NFKBIA, which can regulate the inflammatory state mediated by psoriasis immune cells and mediate the expression of factors that adjust local skin inflammation. Our results confirm that Biyu decoction can treat psoriasis through multi-component, multi-target, and multi-channel synergy.