Exploring a novel traditional Chinese medicine prescription containing Chrysanthemi Flos for retinal diseases: an integrated strategy of data mining and network pharmacology
Zhang JX, Zhang KL, Chang XW, Gu JF, Wei SB, Zhu BY, Wang Q, Wu DL, Gui SY, Yan H, Duan JA · Traditional Medicine Research · 2024 January
DOI 10.53388/TMR20231023001
Objective
To investigate a novel Traditional Chinese Medicine prescription against retinal diseases based on patents containing Chrysanthemi Flos using data mining, network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation.
Conclusions
The novel Traditional Chinese Medicine prescription containing Chrysanthemi Flos, Cassiae Semen, Lycii Fructus, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma has shown potential in treating retinal diseases by targeting core pathways and effectively modulating core targets involved in inflammatory response, oxidative stress, neovascularization, and apoptosis, thereby ameliorating retinal structural impairment.
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Insights
The traditional Chinese medicine prescription combination of Chrysanthemi Flos, Cassiae Semen, Lycii Fructus, Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma presents potential for treating retinal diseases.
The researchers employed data mining to discern a new traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription against retinal diseases and explore its medication rule. This was followed by constructing a network of TCMs, core ingredients, core targets, and core pathways using network pharmacology. The binding ability between core active ingredients and core targets was then verified through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation techniques.
The novel TCM prescription screened in this study bears great potential in retinal diseases treatment through a unique mechanism of action. This mechanism involves TCM prescriptions that possess clearing heat and supplementing activities, associated with liver and lung meridians. The mechanism was found to act by modulating several core targets implicated in multiple core pathways such as the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, among others. This potentially inhibits the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and retinal neovascularization and apoptosis of retinal ganglion cells and retinal pigment epithelial cells. This improves retinal structural impairment and can have a significant impact on the treatment of retinal diseases.
