ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of action of Sini powder in the treatment of liver cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. MethodsTraditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform was used to obtain the compound and target of Sini powder, and the corresponding gene Symbol was obtained through Uniprot. The disease genes of liver cancer were obtained from Human Genome Database, and the genes with intersection with the target genes of Sini powder were screened out. Cytoscape3.7.1 software was used to draw the map of “traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-compound-target” network. STRING was used to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, R studio software was used to conduct gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses on therapeutic targets, and then the results were visualized. The active component with the highest number of targets was selected as the ligand, and the target with the highest degree in the PPI network was selected as the receptor, so as to predict the structure of receptor-ligand complex and the amino acid residues that bind to each other. ResultsIn this study, 91 core targets and 141 relevant active components of Sini powder were screened out, among which quercetin and kaempferol were the main active components in the treatment of liver cancer. TP53 and HSP90AA1 were the main therapeutic targets. The GO enrichment analysis obtained 1007 items which met the screening criteria, which were mainly involved in the biological processes of antioxidation reaction, activity regulation of protein serine and threonine kinase, and cellular stress response. The KEGG enrichment analysis obtained 102 pathways, which mainly regulated the hepatitis B pathway and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in the prevention and treatment of liver cancer. The results of molecular docking showed a synergistic antitumor effect between the crystal structure domains VAL147, CYS220, GLU221, and PRO222 of quercetin-TP53. ConclusionThis study reveals the mechanism of action of Sini powder in the treatment of liver cancer by acting on multiple targets and signaling pathways, which provides a theoretical basis for biological experiments.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE： To investigate the potential pharmacological mechanism of the seed of Draba nemorosa， and to provide reference for further development， utilization and clinical application. METHODS： Effective components and related target proteins of D. nemorosa were screened and identified by using TCMSP and STRING database. Cytoscape 3.7.0 software was used to construct a visual network of effective components and target proteins for the seed of D. nemorosa， and the network topology analysis was performed. The targeting protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed and analyzed by STRING database and Cytoscape 3.7.0 software. KEGG pathway enrichment of target proteins was analyzed by DAVID bioinformatics resource database. RESULTS： A total of 9 effective components were screened from the seed of D. nemorosa， including quercetin， kaempferol， β-sitosterol， etc. Totally 174 target proteins were obtained， mainly including PTGS2， NCOA2， PGR， etc. Among them， JUN and MAPK1 were core proteins in PPI network. KEGG enrichment pathway included PI3K/Akt signaling pathway， TNF-α signaling pathway， HIF-1 signaling pathway， Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and thyroid hormone signal pathway， etc. CONCLUSIONS： Effective components from the seed of D. nemorosa such as quercetin， kaempferol and β-sitosterol may act on PTGS2， JUN and MAPK1 target proteins through PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and TNF-α signaling pathway， thus exert the effects of purging lung， relieving asthma， promoting edema and reducing edema.
ABSTRACT
Objectiye To optimize the depth of the microchannel and the time point for sperm collection,and improve the efficiency of sperm screening on a microfluidic device. Methods Microchannels with four different depths of 25, 50, 100 and 200 μm were tested. Mice sperm were added to the inlet of the microchannel. The relative quantity and motility of sperm in the outlet were recorded at different collection times, i.e. ,5, 15, 30 and 60 min. Statistical method one-way ANOVA and appropriate post-hoc testing were applied to analyze differences between different groups, and further to select the best-fit depth of the microchannel and the time point for collection. Results In microchannels with depths of 25, 50, 100 and 200 μm, the sperm motilities measured in each outlet were (85.4 ± 2.3)%, (85.8 ± 5.8)%,( 87. 2 ± 2. 8 ) %, (76. 5 ± 2. 8 ) % respectively with statistical significance ( F = 5.8, P ＜ 0. 05 ). No obvious differences were found among 25-100 μm channels, however the motility dramatically decreased in the 200 μm group. The relative sperm quantities were (5.2 ±2.0)%, (7.2 ±2.5)%,(12.3 ±2.0)%,(7. 7 ± 1.1 ) % respectively with statistical significance ( F = 6. 9, P ＜ 0. 05), which increased with channel depth from 25 to 100 μm,while it decreased in the 200 μm channel Taking 2 indexes into account, 100 μmwas the most fit channel depth for sperm motility screening. The sperm motility in the outlet gradually decreased with time. At the time points of 5, 15, 30 and 60 min after adding sperm, the sperm motilities were (99. 6 ±0. 7)%, (87.2 ±2. 8)%, (79. 3 ±2. 2)% and (62. 6 ±8.0)% respectively with statistical significance ( F = 37. 3, P ＜ 0. 01 ). Yet the relative quantities of sperm in the outlet increased almost three times in this process. At the time points mentioned above, the relative quantities of sperm were (5.8±1.1)%, (10.6 ± 0.9)%, (12.1 ± 1.7)%, (17.9 ± 3.4)% respectively with statistical significance ( F = 17.8, P ＜ 0. 01 ). Thus 15-30 min was the ideal screening time. Conclusion An effective microdevice for sperm screening with optimized depth and collection time period is developed,which may contribute significantly for the screening of healthy sperm on microfluidic chips.