Ping Feng Qingfei mixture treats airway hyperresponsiveness: a network pharmacology and molecular docking study

As air pollution has increased in severity over recent years, fine particulate matter (PM) (<25 µm; PM2.5) has led to a greater incidence of disease, including airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). Ping Feng Qingfei Mixture (PFQF) is effective in treating AHR caused by PM2.5. As there is a lack of knowledge regarding the mechanisms of PFQF in the treatment of AHR, we conducted a network pharmacology study to clarify this issue.

We obtained the composition of PFQF from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) systems pharmacology database and its potential targets. The potential targets of AHR were obtained from the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man and Gene Cards databases. Then psychophysiological interaction, KEGG pathway, and Gene Ontology biological process analyses were carried out for targeting PFQF in treating AHR. We further constructed a related network diagram and verified the experimental results in molecular docking.

We identified a total of 4 core active compounds, and through KEGG analysis obtained multiple signaling pathways, including T helper17 (Th17) cell differentiation and interleukin-17 (IL-17) signaling pathway. Our molecular docking also verified that PFQF could effectively regulate the imbalance of Th17-T regulatory (Treg) cells.

PFQF can effectively treat the AHR caused by PM2.5 through Th17-Treg immune balance. The combination of molecular docking and network pharmacology provides a way to elucidate the complex mechanism of action of this Chinese herbal medicine.