Molecular Mechanisms of Notopterygii Rhizoma Et Radix for Treating Arrhythmia Based on Network Pharmacology

Abstract

Objective: To explore the possible mechanism for the treatment of NRR in arrhythmia by using network pharmacology and molecular docking in this study. Methods: Active compounds and targets for NRR were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) Database and Analysis Platform, SymMap, and also from the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ETCM) databases. Arrhythmia-related genes were acquired from the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) and the GeneCards database. Overlapping targets of NRR associated with arrhythmia were acquired and displayed via a Venn diagram. DAVID was applied for GO and KEGG pathway analyses. Cytoscape software and its plug-in were used for PPI network construction, module division and hub nodes screening. AutoDock Vina and qRT-PCR were carried out for validation. Results: In total, 21 active compounds and 57 targets were obtained. Of these, coumarin was the predominant category which contained 15 components and 31 targets. There were 5 key targets for NRR in relation to treating arrhythmia, and these targets are involved in the apoptotic process, extrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway in absence of ligand, endopeptidase activity involved in apoptotic process by cytochrome c. The main pathways were p53 signaling pathway, Hepatitis B and apoptosis. The results from the molecular docking and qRT-PCR displayed good effects on hub node regulation in NRR treatment. Conclusion: NRR plays an important role in anti-apoptotic mechanisms mediated by modulating p53 signaling pathway, which may provide insight for future research and clinical applications focusing on arrhythmia therapy.