Identification of the significant pathways of Banxia Houpu decoction in the treatment of depression based on network pharmacology

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 15; no. 9; p. e0239843
• Main Authors: Chen, Zi-ying, Xie, Dan-feng, Liu, Zhi-yuan, Zhong, Yong-qi, Zeng, Jing-yan, Chen, Zheng, Chen, Xin-lin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 30.09.2020; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: 1-Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; AKT protein; Antidepressants; Biology and life sciences; Care and treatment; Chinese medicine; Computer and Information Sciences; Databases, Factual; Depression (Mood disorder); Depression - drug therapy; Depression - metabolism; Depression - pathology; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - chemistry; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - pharmacology; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - therapeutic use; Encyclopedias; ErbB protein; Gene Ontology; Gene Regulatory Networks - drug effects; Genes; Genomes; Herbal medicine; Humans; Inflammation; MAP kinase; Medicine and Health Sciences; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Mental depression; Metabolic Networks and Pathways - drug effects; Metabolism; Methods; Molecular modelling; Nutrition; Pharmacokinetics; Pharmacological research; Pharmacology; Protein Interaction Maps - drug effects; Research and Analysis Methods; Signal transduction; Signal Transduction - drug effects; Signaling; Software; Traditional Chinese medicine; China
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239843
• ISSN: 1932-6203

Banxia Houpu decoction (BXHPD) has been used to treat depression in clinical practice for centuries. However, the pharmacological mechanisms of BXHPD still remain unclear. Network Pharmacology (NP) approach was used to explore the potential molecular mechanisms of BXHPD in treating depression. Potential active compounds of BXHPD were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform Database. STRING database was used to build a interaction network between the active compounds and target genes associated with depression. The topological features of nodes were visualized and calculated. Significant pathways and biological functions were identified using Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses. A total of 44 active compounds were obtained from BXHPD, and 121 potential target genes were considered to be therapeutically relevant. Pathway analysis indicated that MAPK signaling pathway, ErbB signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt pathway were significant pathways in depression. They were mainly involved in promoting nerve growth and nutrition and alleviating neuroinflammatory conditions. The result provided some potential ways for modern medicine in the treatment of depression.