AIM To analyze the potential mechanism of Kushen in the treatment of viral myocarditis (VMC) by network pharmacology method to provide reference for further study of Kushen and drug development for VMC.
METHODS The main active components of Kushen were collated by TCMSP, TCMIP and BATMAN-TCM databases and corresponding targets were generalized. The targets related to VMC were retrieved by GeneCards, OMIM, TTD and PharmGKB databases. Venny2.1.0 platform was imported to draw Venn diagram and Cytoscape was used to construct disease-component-target network diagram and core genes. Then, GO functional enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed.
RESULTS A total of 11 main active components were screened out from Kushen, corresponding to 662 potential targets. After mapping and information screening with 1161 VMC disease targets, 27 drug-disease interaction targets were obtained. The top 10 core targets were obtained by topological analysis, including IL-6, TNF, VEGFA, STAT3, MYC, EGFR, CCND1, CASP3, MMP9 and IL-2. The results of enrichment analyses involved three biological processes and 151 signaling pathways.
CONCLUSION The treatment of VMC by Kushen is characterized by multi-components, multi-targets and multi-pathways. However, it mainly regulates core gene targets such as IL-6, TNF, VEGFA, STAT3, MYC and EGFR and participates in mediating signal pathways such as PI3K-Akt, TNF and HIF-1 that contribute to VMC. This study provides a potential mechanism of Kushen in the treatment of VMC and provides guidance for subsequent pharmacological research and clinical application.
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