[Mechanism of Fuke Qianjin Capsules in treating pelvic inflammatory disease based on network pharmacology and...

This study aims to investigate the mechanism of Fuke Qianjin Capsules in treating pelvic inflammatory disease(PID) based on network pharmacology and animal experiments. The potential targets and signaling pathways of Fuke Qianjin Capsules in regulating PID were predicted by network pharmacology. The mouse model of PID was constructed and administered with different doses of Fuke Qianjin Capsules. After treatment, the uterus tissue of mice was observed for the pathological changes by HE staining. The level of IL-6 and TNF-α in the peripheral blood was measured by ELISA. The protein expression in the TLR4/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathways was determined by Western blot. Network pharmacology indicated that a total of 78 compounds, 152 targets, 1 632 PID targets, and 72 intersection targets of "drug-disease" were obtained from Fuke Qianjin Capsules. The main active ingredients included β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, luteolin, and catechin. The key targets included TNF, IL-6, TP53, IL-1β, and CASP3. PI3K/Akt, IL-17, and lipid metabolism/atherosclerosis signaling pathways were mainly involved in the treatment. Animal experiments showed that compared with the model group, Fuke Qianjin Capsules alleviated the uterine inflammatory lesions, reduced pathological damage in the uterus tissue, and decreased the serum level of IL-6 and TNF-α, down-regulated the protein level of TLR4, PI3K, Akt, and NF-κB p65 in PID mice. These findings suggest that Fuke Qianjin Capsules can exert therapeutic effects on PID via multiple components, targets, and pathways. Meanwhile, Fuke Qianjin Capsules may reduce the inflammation and attenuate the uterine injuries of PID mice by inhibiting TLR4/PI3K/Akt/NF-κB signaling pathways.