Journal
JOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE
Volume 25, Issue 2, Pages 677-685Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.16117
Keywords
COVID-19; molecular docking; network pharmacology; puerarin; targets
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [81560134, 81660091]
- National Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi [2019GXNSFBA185015, 2018GXNSFAA281242]
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This study aimed to uncover the pharmacological function and underlying mechanism of puerarin as a potential treatment for COVID-19 using network pharmacology and molecular docking. Puerarin was found to target key proteins involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis to exert its anti-COVID-19 effects. The results also indicated that puerarin may serve as a potential treatment for COVID-19 by targeting specific signaling pathways.
The present study aimed to uncover the pharmacological function and underlying mechanism of puerarin as a potential treatment for COVID-19, using an in silico methodology, including network pharmacology and molecular docking. The pivotal targets of puerarin to treat COVID-19 were identified and included the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), tumour necrosis factor (TNF), tumour protein p53 (TP53), caspase 3 (CASP3), RELA proto-oncogene (RELA), Fos proto-oncogene (FOS), caspase 8 (CASP8), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), interleukin 2 (IL2), protein kinase CB (PRKCB), B cell lymphoma/leukaemia gene-2 (BCL2), protein kinase CA (PRKCA), nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG). Functionally, the anti-COVID-19 action of puerarin was associated with the suppression of oxidative stress and inflammatory cascades, and cell apoptosis. The signalling pathways of puerarin to treat COVID-19 included modulation of the pathways of apoptosis, IL-17 signalling, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling and TNF signalling. Molecular docking data illustrated the binding capacity of puerarin with COVID-19 and the effective anti-COVID-19 activity of puerarin. Taken together, our current network pharmacology-based findings revealed the pharmacological role of puerarin in the treatment of COVID-19. Furthermore, the bioinformatic findings elucidated that some of these pivotal targets might serve as potential molecular markers for detecting COVID-19.
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