Title:Network Pharmacology Research Indicates that Wu-Mei-Wan Treats
Obesity by Inhibiting Th17 Cell Differentiation and Alleviating Metabolic
Inflammation
Volume: 26
Issue: 1
Author(s): Zhe Cheng, Xinyu Xiong, Fan Wu, Yan Zhao, Ruolan Dong, Shujun Jiang, Ke Fang, Panpan Huang*Guang Chen*
Affiliation:
- Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Compound
and Chinese Medicine Resources Ministry of Education, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065,
China
- Basic Medical Sciences College, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China
- Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College,
Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Keywords:
Wu-Mei-Wan, obesity, Th17 cell, IL-17, network pharmacology, metabolic inflammation.
Abstract:
Background: Wu-Mei-Wan (WMW), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula,
has a good effect on the treatment of obesity and has been proven helpful to promote the metabolism
of adipose tissue. However, its underlying mechanism remains to be studied. This study aims
to explore the potential pharmacological mechanism of WMW in the treatment of obesity.
Methods: Network pharmacology was used to sort out the relationship between WMW putative
targets and obesity-related drug targets or disease targets, which indicated the mechanism of
WMW in treating obesity from two aspects of clinical drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) and obesity-related diseases. Databases such as Traditional Chinese Medicine
Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP), PubChem, DrugBank, DisGeNET, and Genecards were used to
collect information about targets. String platform was used to convert the data into gene symbol of
“homo sapiens”, and perform gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes
(KEGG) enrichment analyses. With the Human Protein Reference Database (HPRD) as background
data, Cytoscape 3.6.0 software was used to construct a new protein-protein interaction
(PPI) network. Mechanism diagrams of key pathways were obtained from the KEGG database.
AutoDock Vina software was used to conduct molecular docking verification.
Results: The number of targets in the overlap between WMW putative targets and obesity-related
drug targets accounted for more than 50% of the latter, and HTR3A, SLC6A4, and CYP3A4 were
core targets. In obesity-related disease targets-WMW putative targets PPI network, the Th17 cell
differentiation pathway, and the IL-17 signaling pathway were key pathways, and the 1st module
and the 7th module were central function modules that were highly associated with immunity and
inflammation. Molecular docking verified that STAT3, TGFB1, MMP9, AHR, IL1B, and CCL2
were core targets in the treatment of WMW on obesity.
Conclusion: WMW has similar effects on lipid and drug metabolism as the current obesity-related drugs,
and is likely to treat obesity by inhibiting Th17 cell differentiation and alleviating metabolic inflammation.