Systems Pharmacology and In Silico Docking Analysis Uncover Association of CA2, PPARG, RXRA, and VDR with the Mechanisms Underlying the Shi Zhen Tea Formula Effect on Eczema

Figure 1

The workflow of systems pharmacology used for analysis of SZT formula for eczema treatment. TCMSP: TCM Systems Pharmacology; OB: oral bioavailability; DL: drug-likeness; TTD: therapeutic target database; GAD: genetic association database; and GO: gene ontology. First, 51 active compounds of formula were selected from the TCMSP database. Their biological targets were further collected from several reliable databases. Meanwhile, physicochemical property analysis was conducted to sum up common properties of active compounds in different physicochemical parameters. Similarly, the targets involved in the pathological process of eczema were collected from related databases including TTD, GAD, DisGeNet, and Open Targets Platform. With biological targets of compounds and related targets of eczema, their shared targets are chosen as potential therapeutic targets of SZT for eczema. Then, network construction, GO analysis, pathway analysis, and molecular docking are used to reveal the critical compounds from the SZT, the hub targets, and pivotal regulated pathway of SZT for eczema treatment.