Network Pharmacology-Based Study of the Underlying Mechanisms of Huangqi Sijunzi Decoction for Alzheimer's Disease

Wei Zhang; Mingti Lv; Yating Shi; Yonghui Mu; Zhaoyang Yao; Zhijun Yang

doi:10.1155/2021/6480381

Network Pharmacology-Based Study of the Underlying Mechanisms of Huangqi Sijunzi Decoction for Alzheimer's Disease

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2021 Oct 5:2021:6480381. doi: 10.1155/2021/6480381. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Wei Zhang¹, Mingti Lv¹, Yating Shi¹, Yonghui Mu¹, Zhaoyang Yao¹, Zhijun Yang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China.
² School of Life Science and Technology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China.

Abstract

Background: Huangqi Sijunzi decoction (HQSJZD) is a commonly used conventional Chinese herbal medicine prescription for invigorating Qi, tonifying Yang, and removing dampness. Modern pharmacology and clinical applications of HQSJZD have shown that it has a certain curative effect on Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Methods: The active components and targets of HQSJZD were searched in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). The genes corresponding to the targets were retrieved using UniProt and GeneCard database. The herb-compound-target network and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were constructed by Cytoscape. The core targets of HQSJZD were analysed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). The main active compounds of HQSJZD were docked with acetylcholinesterase (AChE). In vitro experiments were conducted to detect the inhibitory and neuroprotective effects of AChE.

Results: Compound-target network mainly contained 132 compounds and 255 corresponding targets. The main compounds contained quercetin, kaempferol, formononetin, isorhamnetin, hederagenin, and calycosin. Key targets contained AChE, PTGS2, PPARG, IL-1B, GSK3B, etc. There were 1708 GO items in GO enrichment analysis and 310 signalling pathways in KEGG, mainly including the cAMP signalling pathway, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signalling pathway, serotonergic synapses, the calcium signalling pathway, type II diabetes mellitus, arginine and proline metabolism, and the longevity regulating pathway. Molecular docking showed that hederagenin and formononetin were the top 2 compounds of HQSJZD, which had a high affinity with AChE. And formononetin has a good neuroprotective effect, which can improve the oxidative damage of nerve cells.

Conclusion: HQSJZD was found to have the potential to treat AD by targeting multiple AD-related targets. Formononetin and hederagenin in HQSJZD may regulate multiple signalling pathways through AChE, which might play a therapeutic role in AD.