Herbal Formula Modified Bu-Shen-Huo-Xue Decoction Attenuates Intervertebral Disc Degeneration via Regulating...

This study aims to clarify the potential mechanism of modified Bu-Shen-Huo-Xue decoction (MBSHXD) in treating intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) with methods of network pharmacology and molecular docking.

An MBSHXD and IDD-related common target gene set was established through TCMSP, UniProt, and two disease gene databases. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were performed through the R platform and STRING to discover the potential mechanism. Molecular docking between the active ingredients and the core genes is used to calculate the binding energy.

A total of 147 active ingredients and 79 common genes (including 10 core genes, TNF, VEGFA, IL6, MAPK3, AKT1, MAPK8, TP53, JUN, MMP9, and CXCL8) were identified. The results of GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that MBSHXD plays an essential role in regulating inflammation and oxidative stress. The meaningful pathways are the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, the IL-17 signaling pathway, the TNF signaling pathway, the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, the MAPK signaling pathway, and apoptosis. In addition, the PPI network and molecular docking further demonstrated the roles that nine bioactive ingredients of MBSHXD play in IDD treatment through their interference with core target proteins.

This study reveals that MBSHXD has the characteristics of a "multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway" in the treatment of IDD by regulating inflammation and oxidative stress, and network pharmacology may provide a feasible method to verify the molecular mechanism of MBSHXD for IDD by combining with molecular docking.