Exploring Key Genes and Signaling Pathways in Treatment of Bronchial Asthma with Xiao Qinglongtang Based on Network Pharmacology and Bioinformatics / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:This research aims to construct the "disease-gene-target-components-drug" network with the methods of network pharmacology and bioinformatics， and to explore the key genes and signaling pathways of Xiao Qinglongtang in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Method:First，we selected the differentially expressed genes between patients with asthma and healthy people with use of the gene expressing Omnibus（GEO） database，and searched the active ingredients from Xiao Qinglongtang with use of TCMSP database，and then screened disease genes and herb ingredient targets as intersecting genes to construct the protein-protein interactions （PPI） network by using R language and Cytoscape 3.7.2 software. At the same time Gene Ontology （GO） analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis were carried out. Result:Series GSE43696 in GEO database were successfully filtered，which contained 108 pieces of chip data. A total of 820 differentially expressed genes were screened from the chip data. Then we filtered 169 active ingredients and 246 targets of Xiao Qinglongtang from database. Through the above steps，we obtained 25 intersecting genes， and PPI network results showed that 91 potential targets may be involved in the mechanism of Xiao Qinglongtang. A total of 180 gene functions such as response to oxidative stress，inflammatory response，extracellular matrix organization and positive regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor production were showed in GO enrichment analysis results. 39 signaling pathways were showns in the results of KEGG pathway enrichment analysis，such as T helper cell 17（Th17） cell differentiation，interleukin 17（IL-17）signaling pathway，tumor necrosis factor（TNF） signaling pathway，and hypoxia inducible factor-1（HIF-1） signaling pathway. Conclusion:Xiao Qinglongtang fully embodies the characteristics of multi-components，multi-targets and multi-pathways in the intervention of bronchial asthma. The results of the study could provide an important basis for mechanism research of Xiao Qinglongtang in treating asthma.