ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the mechanism of Kechuan'an Oral Liquid in treating asthma based on network pharmacology; To carry out experimental verification.Methods:The effective components and targets of Kechuan'an Oral Liquid were obtained through TCMSP and literature search. The related targets of asthma were screened by GEO database, and the intersection targets of drug and disease were selected. The PPI network was constructed by STRING database, and the GO function and KEGG pathway were enriched and analyzed for key targets by DAVID database. The rats were divided into blank control group, model group and Kechuan'an Oral Liquid group according to the method of random number table. Kechuan'an Oral Liquid group received Kechuan'an Oral Liquid 12.34 ml/kg for gavage, and blank control group and model group were perfused with distilled water of the same volume for gavage, once a day for 3 days. The asthma model of rats was prepared by atomizing the mixture of acetylcholine chloride and histamine phosphate, and HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of lung tissue; Western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of IL-6, TLR4, MyD88 and TAK1, and the network pharmacological prediction results were verified.Results:A total of 153 active components, 1 896 targets and 2 982 differentially expressed genes of Kechuan'an Oral Liquid were screened out, and 25 intersection targets of drugs and diseases were obtained. The enrichment results showed that toll-like receptor signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway and Nod-like receptor signaling pathway were the main mechanisms of immune inflammation. Compared with the control group, the lung tissue of rats in the model group showed morphological changes such as thickening of air duct wall and infiltration of inflammatory cells, which were significantly improved in the Kechuan'an Oral Liquid group. Compared with the control group, the expressions of IL-6, TLR4, MyD88 and TAK1 in the model group significantly increased ( P<0.01), and compared with model group, the expressions of IL-6, TLR4, MyD88 and TAK1 in Kechuan'an Oral Liquid group significantly decreased ( P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion:Kechuan'an Oral Liquid can inhibit toll-like receptor signaling pathway and mediate anti-inflammatory effect to treat asthma.