Understanding the molecular mechanism of the effect of ginkgo folium on the treatment of IgA nephropathy using network pharmacology and molecular docking

Nat Prod Res. 2022 Nov;36(22):5836-5841. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2021.2018433. Epub 2021 Dec 19.

Abstract

This work focused on identifying the molecular target of Ginkgo Folium (GF) for treating IgA nephropathy and underlying mechanism through network pharmacology (NP). The active components and targets of GF and targets associated with IgAN were obtained by TCMSP database, DrugBank etc. The key targets of GF against IgAN were searched by network topology. The drug-disease intersection targets were performed GO functional annotation as well as KEGG pathway analysis, and molecular docking (MD) was conducted to verify the degree of combination of the target and ligand. Three core compounds and seven key targets were found by topological analysis. GO and KEGG results suggested that GF effect on IgAN was strongly associated with OS cellular response and AGE-RAGE pathways. Molecular docking of the three core components with AKT1 indicated that they had good binding activity. Ginkgo biloba had multicomponent, multitarget, and multi-pathway effects on IgAN.

Keywords: IgA nephropathy; molecular docking; network pharmacology; traditional Chinese medicine.

MeSH terms

  • Databases, Factual
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal*
  • Ginkgo biloba
  • Glomerulonephritis, IGA* / drug therapy
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Network Pharmacology

Substances

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal