ABSTRACT
Objective:To explore the potential molecular mechanism of Erigeron breviscapus in the prevention and treatment of ischemic stroke through network pharmaco-molecular docking.Methods:The Chinese Herbal Medicine Systematic Pharmacology Platform(TCMSP)database provided active ingredients and potential targets of Erigeron breviscapus.Ischemic stroke-related targets were searched through the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM)database,the bioinformatics and chemoinformatics(DrugBank)database and human gene comprehensive database(GeneCards).The targets criteria were de-weighted by the Protein Data Bank(Uniprot)and imported into the Venny online platform to obtain the intersecting targets of both.The intersecting targets were visualized by STRING database and Cytoscape 3.7.1 software for protein-protein interaction(PPI),followed by the enrichment analysis of intersection targets for gene ontology(GO)function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway.AutoDock Vina1.5.6 software was used to verify the molecular docking of key active ingredients and core targets and realize the vi-sualization of docking results.Results:Eleven active ingredients and 176 targets were obtained.There were 690 targets ischemic stroke-related targets and 69 intersection targets.Through PPI network,10 core genes were screened according to the degree value,including tumor necrosis factor(TNF),interleukin-6(IL-6),serine/threonine protein kinase 1(AKT1),interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA).KEGG enrichment included the advanced glycation end products-receptor(AGE-RAGE)signaling pathway,interleukin-17(IL-17)signaling pathway,tumor necrosis factor(TNF)signaling pathway,etc.The top 3 active ingredients and the top 5 target proteins were selected according to the degree value,and the molecular docking results demonstrated a considerable binding ability.Conclusion:Erigeron breviscapus in the treatment of ischemic stroke may work through multiple active ingredients,such as quercetin,kakaferol,and luteolin,which act on TNF,IL-6,AKT1,IL-1β,and VEGFA,and through a varie-ty of signaling pathways such as IL-17,TNF,etc.showing the characteristics of multi-components,multi-targets,and multi-pathways.