The potential mechanism of Huangqin for treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus based on network pharmacology, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation.

BACKGROUND

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that cannot be cured at present. The primary treatment strategies for SLE include glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants, antimalarial drugs, and biologics. There is an urgent need for milder and more effective treatment methods. This study aims to explore the effective ingredients and targets of traditional Chinese medicine (Huangqin) in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus based on network pharmacology, and further analyze the potential mechanisms of action.

METHOD

Employing the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) database to identify the active chemical components of Huangqin, searching for target genes related to SLE through GeneCards and the KEGG database, extracting the SLE expression gene profile from the GEO database to identify SLE-related targets, and identifying Huangqin-SLE interaction targets using Venny diagrams; Constructing protein interaction networks using the STRING database, identifying core targets with Cytoscape software, and conducting protein clustering analysis; Importing the common targets into the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. Molecular docking was carried out by AutoDockTools, AutoDock Vina, and Discovery Studio software to verify the correlation between the main components of Huangqin and the core targets. Molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed the stability of the binding between components and the targets.

RESULTS

Network pharmacology identified 36 active components and 512 drug targets in Huangqin, resulting in the identification of 1,439 SLE targets and 28 common targets. The primary active components are baicalin, acacetin, oroxylin a, neobaicalin, and stigmasterol. Key genes were IL6, CASP3, BCL2, ESR1, and FOS; GO enrichment analysis yielded 77 significant results, while KEGG enrichment analysis produced 64 significant results. The primary signaling pathways targeted by Huangqin in SLE include the HIF-1 signaling pathway, PI3K-AKt signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway. Results of molecular docking indicated good binding affinity of Huangqin to stigmastero, baicalein and acacetin. The dynamics simulation indicated that the four complexes possessed reliable structural stability and compactness.

CONCLUSION

Huangqin can treat SLE through its effective components such as baicalin and acacetin. The mechanism involves inhibiting inflammatory factors, affecting the expression and activation of immune cells, and regulating cell autophagy.