Network pharmacology analysis of ginkgo leaves extract against diabetic retinopathy / 中华实验眼科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the key targets of ginkgo leaves extract against diabetic retinopathy (DR), and the underlying pharmacological mechanism by network pharmacology.Methods:Potential targets of active components in ginkgo folium were searched from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and Swiss Target Prediction database.Therapeutic targets highly related to DR were retrieved from the GeneCards and DisGENET databases.The intersection targets were subjected to Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis to construct the active components-targets network.Based on the degree of network nodes, key active components and key targets were obtained for molecular docking verification.Results:A total of 27 active components and 34 potential therapeutic targets of ginkgo leaves extract in the treatment of DR were screened out.GO enrichment analysis indicated that these therapeutic targets were mainly enriched in the processes of inflammation, oxidative stress, angiogenesis and hypoxic damage.KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the advanced glycation end product-receptor for advanced glycation end product, mitogen active protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-protein kinase B, hypoxia inducible factor-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin (IL)-17 signaling pathways were mainly enriched.According to degree value calculated from the active components-targets network, the top 4 key active components with higher degrees were quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin and isorhamnetin, and the top 8 key targets were serine/threonine protein kinase 1, vascular endothelial growth factor A, IL-6, TNF, nitric oxide synthase 3, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ, IL-10 and matrix metalloproteinase-9.The binding activity between key active components and key targets was good.Conclusions:A variety of active compounds contained in ginkgo leaves extract can target various therapeutic targets related to DR, and regulate multiple signal pathways, thereby exerting a therapeutic effect on DR.