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Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation of the Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Modified Qianzheng Powder in
Nianpei Yin1,2, Hui Luo3, Jie Feng2
1Department of Clinical Medicine, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, Sichuan, China.
Objective:
This study aims to validate the hypothesis that Modified Qianzheng Powder (MQZP) exerts a protective effect on atherosclerosis (AS) by targeting macrophageassociated inflammatory pathways through a multi-target approach.
Materials And Methods:
The active compounds and targets of MQZP were identified through TCMSP, HERB, and published literature. AS-related targets were extracted from disease databases. Using Venny 2.1.0, intersection targets were obtained, followed by PPI network construction and topological analysis to identify core therapeutic targets of MQZP for AS. Metascape facilitated GO and KEGG enrichment analyses. Molecular docking validated core targetcompound interactions, with experimental verification of network pharmacology results.
Results:
We identified 124 active compounds and 417 potential therapeutic targets for atherosclerosis. Key bioactive constituents included cyclo(D)-Pro-(D)-Phe, aurantiamide, and beauverilide A, with TP53, SRC, STAT3, and AKT1 as core targets. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed 3,417 biological processes and 238 signaling pathways. Molecular docking confirmed stable binding between core targets and compounds. In vitro, MQZP exhibited no significant cytotoxicity, effectively reducing ox-LDL-induced macrophage lipid accumulation and downregulating the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, and MCP-1.
Discussion:
In summary, we found a variety of active ingredients of MOZP, which interfere with multiple targets of AS through multiple pathways. In vitro experiments verified that MOZP can reduce lipid accumulation in macrophages, reduce inflammation levels, and inhibit the IL- 6/STAT3 signaling pathway, thereby exerting its anti-atherosclerosis effect.
Conclusion:
In this paper, the molecular mechanism of MOZP against AS has been preliminarily explored; nonetheless, the therapeutic mechanism needs to be further investigated.
