Based on the network pharmacology, molecular docking, and animal experiment, this study explored the anti-rheumatoid arthritis(RA) mechanism of Sophorae Tonkinesis Radix et Rhizoma(STRR). The active components of STRR were retrieved from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP), Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrative Database(TCMID), and previous research, main targets of STRR from TCMSP and SwissTargetPrediction, and targets of RA from GeneCards, DrugBank, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM), and Therapeutic Target Database(TTD). The common targets of the two were screened by Venny 2.1.0. Cytoscape 3.6.0 was used to generate the "component-target" network, and STRING and Cytoscape were used to construct the protein-protein interaction(PPI) network. DAVID 6.8 was employed for Gene Ontology(GO) term enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment, and AutoDock Vina for molecular docking. Finally, collagen-induced rheumatoid arthritis(CIA) mouse model was constructed, and the expression of core target proteins was detected by Western blot. A total of 27 active components, including quercetin, genistein, kaempferol, subprogenin C, and daidzein, and 154 anti-RA targets, such as signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3), tumor necrosis factor(TNF), mitogen-activated protein kinase 1(MAPK1), AP-1 transcription factor subunit(JUN), and interleukin 6(IL6), of STRR were screened out. It was preliminarily indicated that STRR may regulate phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase-protein kinase B(PI3 K-AKT) signaling pathway and TNF signaling pathway to modulate the positive regulation of RNA polymerase Ⅱ promoter transcription, inflammatory response, and other biological processes, thus exerting the anti-RA effect. The results of molecular docking showed that the main active components in STRR had high binding affinity to the core targets. Animal experiment suggested that the water extract of STRR can significantly reduce the levels of p-STAT3, p-MAPK1, and TNF. This study demonstrated the multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway synergistic effect of STRR in the treatment of RA, laying an experimental basis for clinical application of this medicine.
Keywords: Sophorae Tonkinesis Radix et Rhizoma; collagen-induced rheumatoid arthritis(CIA); in vivo validation; molecular docking; network pharmacology; rheumatoid arthritis.