PIM1, CYP1B1, and HSPA2 Targeted by Quercetin Play Important Roles in Osteoarthritis Treatment by Achyranthes bidentata

What is it about?

Achyranthes bidentata is one of the most commonly used Chinese herbal medicines (CHM) that is currently considered for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Te purpose of this study was to reveal the mechanism of Achyranthes bidentata in osteoarthritis treatment based on the network pharmacology. Methods. Te efective components of Achyranthes bidentata were frstly screened out from the TCMSP database with ADME property parameters. Ten, osteoarthritis-related proteins targeted by the efective components were predicted based on the DrugBank and CTD databases. Subsequently, enrichment analysis and interaction network between targets of efective components and pathways were also studied. In addition, the diferentially expressed genes (DEGs) of GSE55457 were used for validation of the osteoarthritis-related target proteins. Finally, the efective components–target molecular docking models were predicted. Results. A total of 10 efective components were identifed, of which kaempferol and quercetin had 1 and 29 targets, respectively. Tere were 26 target proteins of quercetin related to the osteoarthritis. Tese targets were mainly enriched in mitochondrial ATP synthesis coupled proton transport, cellular response to estradiol stimulus, and nitric oxide biosynthetic process. In addition, there were three common proteins, PIM1, CYP1B1, and HSPA2 based on the DEGs of GSE55457, which were considered as the key targeted proteins of the quercetin. Conclusion. Te docking of PIM1-quercetin, CYP1B1-quercetin, and HSPA2-quercetin may play important roles during the treatment of osteoarthritis by Achyranthes bidentata.

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Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Osteoarthritis, which is characterized by degeneration of articular cartilage and bone hyperplasia, is thought to be the most prevalent chronic joint disease . Multiple factors are known to afect the progression of osteoarthritis, containing joint instability, malalignment, obesity, aging population,muscle weakness, and peripheral neuropathy . Pain and loss of function are the main clinical features, and the common treatments of osteoarthritis included nonpharmacological, pharmacological, and surgical approaches. At present, the common treatment strategies are mainly based on reducing pain, enhancing function, and delaying the operation. Nonsteroidal anti-infammatory drugs and disease modifying osteoarthritis drugs were usually used for therapeutic agents. However, long-term application of these drugs will lead to side efects on the gastrointestinal tract 。

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