ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo reveal the pharmacological mechanisms of astragaloside Ⅳ（AS-Ⅳ）in treating diabetic retinopathy based on network pharmacology and molecular docking and to provide reference for new drug development and mechanism research. MethodPotential targets of AS-Ⅳ were obtained from SwissTargetPrediction and Targetnet. The targets of diabetic retinopathy were screened using GeneCards，Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man（OMIM） and Therapeutic Target Database. The targets of AS-Ⅳ and diabetic retinopathy were intersected by Venny 2.1.0. STRING platform and Cytoscape 3.7.2 were used to construct protein-protein interaction（PPI） network and screen core targets， respectively. Then，Gene ontology （GO） and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analyses were performed. Furthermore，the binding affinity of AS-Ⅳ to key target receptors was assessed by molecular docking with Autodock Vina， and the key target signaling transduction pathway was ResultA total of 56 intersected targets of AS-Ⅳ and diabetic retinopathy were found，and the top five key targets were obtained through PPI network analysis：protein kinase B（Akt）1，vascular endothelial growth factor A（VEGFA），epidermal growth factor receptor（EGFR），Src and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3（STAT3）. Molecular docking verified the strong binding affinity of AS-Ⅳ to the five key target receptors. In addition，in vitro tests have been confirmed that AS-Ⅳ attenuated high glucose-induced injury in human retinal pigment epithelial cell line ARPE-19 by regulating Akt/Nrf2/HO-1 and Akt/glycogen synthase kinase-3β（GSK-3β）signaling pathways. ConclusionThere was a significant overlap in the targets of AS-Ⅳ and diabetic retinopathy. The key targets and pathways may reveal the main pharmacological mechanism of AS-Ⅳ in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.