Integrative network pharmacology and experimental verification to reveal the anti-inflammatory mechanism of...

Inflammation is an innate immune response to infection, and it is the main factor causing bodily injury and other complications in the pathological process. Ginsenoside Rh4 (G-Rh4), a minor ginsenoside of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer and Panax notoginseng, has excellent pharmacological properties. However, many of its major pharmacological mechanisms, including anti-inflammatory actions, remain unrevealed. In this study, network pharmacology and an experimental approach were employed to elucidate the drug target and pathways of G-Rh4 in treating inflammation. The potential targets of G-Rh4 were selected from the multi-source databases, and 58 overlapping gene symbols related to G-Rh4 and inflammation were obtained for generating a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Molecular docking revealed the high affinities between key proteins and G-Rh4. Gene ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment analyses were used to analyze the screened core targets and explore the target-pathway networks. It was found that the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway may be the key and main pathways of G-Rh4 to treat inflammation. Additionally, the potential molecular mechanisms of G-Rh4 predicted from network pharmacology analysis were validated in RAW264.7 cells. RT-PCR, Western blot, and ELISA analysis indicated that G-Rh4 significantly inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, as well as inflammation-related enzymes in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. Moreover, in vitro experiments evaluated that Ginsenoside Rh4 exerts anti-inflammatory effects via the NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways. It is believed that our study will provide the basic scientific evidence that G-Rh4 has potential anti-inflammatory effects for further clinical studies.