Mechanism of Astragalus-Ligustrum lucidum in the Treatment of Immunodeficiency Diseases Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Abstract

The network pharmacology and molecular docking technology were applied to explore the mechanism of trratment Immunodeficiency Diseases (IDD) of Astragalus and Ligustrum lucidum. Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP), Swiss Tagert Prediction, Genecards and other online databases were used to select the active compounds and potential targets of Astragalus and Ligustrum lucidum, and build the compound-target-disease network and protein-protein interaction network. The enrichment of gene ontology (GO) function analysis by DAVID and ClueGo and the pathway enrichment analysis by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were carried out. Finally, molecular docking studies were carried out to verify the binding of core components and targets. A total of 31 active components and 81 targets of Astragalus and Ligustrum lucidum in the treatment of IDD were obtained by network analysis. The results of GO function enrichment analysis showed that the treatment of Astragalus-Ligustrum lucidum may involved 152 biological processes such as the positive regulation of MAP kinase activity and 23 immune system processes such as α-β T cell activation. The results of KEGG pathway showed that it were 91 KEGG pathways involved in cancer pathways and prostate cancer. The results of molecular docking showed that kaempferol had good binding activity to MAPK1 and other proteins. The molecular mechanism of Astragalus and Ligustrum lucidum in the treatment of IDD indicated the synergistic features of multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway, which provided reference for the development of dietary supplements.

Keywords

• network pharmacology
• astragalus
• ligustrum lucidum
• immunodeficiency
• molecular docking