Astilbin's Therapy On Mice Periodontitis Based On Network Pharmacology

This study aimed to reveal the therapeutic effect of astilbin (AST) in periodontitis by the network pharmacology, molecular docking and further validate it through in vivo experiments. The potential therapeutic target genes of AST from Swiss databases, and periodontitis-related target genes were identified from Genecards, TTD, OMIM, DisGeNET, Pharmgkb, DrugBank databases. The common target genes were extracted using Venny. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was inferred and GO and KEGG pathway analysis were performed. Molecular docking between the targets and AST was performed. The therapeutic effects of AST on periodontitis mice were demonstrated by micro-CT, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). 24 potential target genes were found by intersection of AST and periodontitis. GO and KEGG pathway analysis revealed metal matrix protease (MMP) related pathway. According to PPI score, the main proteins was screened and molecular docking further showed strong binding of AST with MMP9, PTGS2, TP53, BCL2, PPARG, KDR, ESR1, HIF1A, MMP2, SERPINE1, MAPK14. In vivo experiments have demonstrated the anti-inflammatory ability of AST to reduce the bone absorption by micro-CT, inflammatory cell infiltration by HE staining, and the gene expression of inflammatory factors including interleukin 1β and tumor necrosis factor α, and predicted targets including MMP2, MMP9, MMP13. Our study could not only provide a theoretical basis for the application ofAST as a therapeutic drug for periodontitis, but also provide a methodological reference for the evelopment of natural compounds against periodontitis and other inflammatory diseases