Preliminary Analysis of the Therapeutic Mechanism of Feiluoning in Convalescent Patients With COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is often accompanied by injury to pulmonary function and pulmonary fibrosis. Feiluoning (FLN) is a new Chinese medicine prescription which is available for the treatment of severe and critical convalescence of COVID-19 patients. FLN also has a positive effect on pulmonary function injury and pulmonary fibrosis. We explored the potential mechanism of FLN’s effect on the convalescent treatment of COVID-19. According to the pharmacodynamic activity parameters, we screened the active chemical constituents of FLN by comparing the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform. The Uniprot database was used to querying the corresponding target genes, and Cytoscape 3.6.1 was used to construct a herb-compound-target network. Protein interaction analysis, target gene function enrichment analysis, and signal pathway analysis were performed using the STRING, DAVID, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway databases. Molecular docking was used to predict the binding capacity of the core compound with COVID-19 hydrolase 3 Cl and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The herb-compound-target network was successfully constructed and key targets identified, including prostaglandin G/H synthase 2, estrogen receptor 1, heat shock protein HSP 90, and androgen receptor. The major affected metabolic pathways were pathways in cancer, pancreatic cancer, nonsmall cell lung cancer, and toll-like receptor signaling. The core compounds of FLN, including quercetin, luteolin, kaempferol, and stigmasterol, could strongly bind to COVID-19 3 Cl hydrolase, and other compounds, including 7-O-methylisomucronulatol and medicocarpin, could strongly bind to ACE2. Thus, it is predicted that FLN has the characteristics of a multicomponent, multitarget, and multichannel overall control compound. FLN’s mechanism of action in the treatment of COVID-19 may be associated with the regulation of inflammation and immune-related signaling pathways, and the influence of COVID-19 3 Cl hydrolase binding ability.