Protective effects of Zingiber officinale Roscoe in obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome based on systems pharmacology...

Antiphospholipid syndrome is an autoimmune disorder of unknown etiology. The anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of Zingiber officinale Roscoe may provide a novel approach for potentially preventing obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome (OAPS). Based on several public databases, compounds and potential drug targets of Z officinale Roscoe were screened, and a compound-target network was constructed using Cytoscape. The targets of OAPS were identified from GeneCards. The common genes of the disease targets and compound targets were defined as hub genes. Protein-protein interaction, Gene Ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were performed, and the OAPS pathway was obtained. Molecular docking was used to verify the binding ability of the effective compounds and targets. In total, 298 compounds were identified as components of Z officinale Roscoe. Among these, 12 active compounds exhibited an oral bioavailability of ≥30% and drug-likeness of ≥0.14, with 99 associated targets. A total of 28 common targets were identified as hub genes. In addition, the beneficial effects of Z officinale Roscoe in OAPS management are thought to be mediated by anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory mechanisms. These processes are regulated by 9 biological signaling pathways involved in the protection against OAPS. Molecular docking showed that the binding affinities of tumor protein 53 with beta-sitosterol, tumor protein 53 with stigmasterol, prostaglandin G/H synthase 2 with beta-sitosterol, and prostaglandin G/H synthase 2 with stigmasterol were -6.651, -6.709, -7.099, and -6.829, all of which had high binding affinities. Overall, systematic pharmacology and molecular docking provide a new theoretical basis and research insight for the prevention of OAPS.