Abstract

Background

The clinical efficacy of matrine in treating coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been confirmed; however, its underlying mechanism of action remains unknown.

Methods

TCMSP, SwissTargetPrediction, SEA, GeneCards, CTD, and TTD were used to identify potential targets for matrine in SARS-CoV-2. Cytoscape software was used to determine the target-pathway network for topographical analysis. The online STRING analysis platform and Cytoscape were together used to generate a PPI network and for GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Finally, molecular docking simulations were performed to study matrine-Mpro, matrine-ACE2, and matrine-RdRp interactions.

Results

Ten common matrine targets were obtained, particularly including TNF-α, IL-6, and CASP3. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed five significantly enriched signalling pathways involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, programmed cell death, and immune responses.

Conclusions

During COVID-19 treatment, matrine regulates viral replication, host cell apoptosis, and inflammation by targeting the TNF-α, IL-6, and CASP3 in the TNF signalling pathway.

中文翻译：

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通过网络药理学方法和分子对接分析揭示苦参碱对 COVID-19 患者影响的潜在机制

摘要

背景

苦参碱治疗冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的临床疗效已得到证实；然而，其潜在的作用机制仍然未知。

方法

TCMSP、SwissTargetPrediction、SEA、GeneCards、CTD 和 TTD 用于确定苦参碱在 SARS-CoV-2 中的潜在靶标。Cytoscape 软件用于确定用于拓扑分析的目标通路网络。在线 STRING 分析平台和 Cytoscape 一起用于生成 PPI 网络并用于 GO 和 KEGG 通路富集分析。最后，进行了分子对接模拟以研究苦参碱-Mpro、苦参碱-ACE2 和苦参碱-RdRp 相互作用。

结果

获得了十个常见的苦参碱靶标，特别是包括 TNF-α、IL-6 和 CASP3。GO 和 KEGG 通路富集分析揭示了五种显着富集的信号通路，涉及细胞增殖、凋亡、程序性细胞死亡和免疫反应。

结论

在 COVID-19 治疗期间，苦参碱通过靶向 TNF 信号通路中的 TNF-α、IL-6 和 CASP3 来调节病毒复制、宿主细胞凋亡和炎症。