Abstract

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Title:: A bioinformatics-based study on the mechanism of action of Xitongsan in the treatment of gouty arthritis

Author(s):: NAN Xiaoqiang; LEI Peng; LI Juane; Department of TCM, Shaanxi Provincial Peoples Hospital, Xian 710068, China

Keywords:: Keywords: Xitongsan gouty arthritis bioinformatics network pharmacology traditional Chinese medicine

Abstract:: Abstract: Objective To explore the active ingredients and predict the potential functional targets of the traditional Chinese medicine Xitongsan, and to explore the mechanism of action of Xitongsan in the treatment of gouty arthritis through network pharmacology and experimental validation. Methods TCMSP and TCMID databases were used for screening the active ingredients and targets of Xitongsan, while NCBI and GeneCards databases for screening the disease targets of gouty arthritis. Cytoscape software was utilized to construct protein interaction network maps and perform topological analysis on both targets for screening core targets out and then KEGG and GO enrichment analyses were performed by R software. Finally, the results of the network pharmacology enrichment analysis were validated by molecular docking and Western Blot assay. Results A total of 146 active ingredients and 158 key targets were screened out, involving PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway and MAPK signaling pathway, etc. The experimental validation showed that the key node proteins of the pathway were differentially expressed. Conclusion This study systematically reveals the material basis and mechanism of action of Xitongsan in regulating gouty arthritis through multicomponent-multitarget-multipathway, which provides a theoretical basis and scientific basis for the clinical application of the traditional Chinese medicine compound Xitongsan.