Abstract
Background: Frankincense has been used as a traditional medicine in many countries. It is an important herb with multiple targets and therapeutic effects, including liver protection. However, its mechanism of action in drug-induced liver injury (DILI) remains unknown.
Objective: The purpose of this work was to elucidate the active components, core genes, and molecular mechanism of frankincense in DILI through network pharmacology and molecular docking approaches.
Methods: The active components of frankincense and its target genes were obtained from the BATMAN-TCM database, and the DILI target genes were obtained from the GeneCards and Drug- Bank databases. Cytoscape was used to create the compound-shared gene target network. STRING and DAVID software were used to analyze key targets and pathway enrichment. Autodock Vina software was used for molecular docking.
Results: Network analysis identified 16 compounds in frankincense and 103 target genes highly related to DILI. The core genes in the protein-protein interaction network are INS, IL6, TP53, TNF, SRC, PTGS2, IL1B, CAT, IL10, and IGF1. Furthermore, GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses indicated that the effect of frankincense on DILI is related to positive regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter and inflammatory response. Core pathways such as the HIF-1, TNF, FoxO, PI3K-Akt, and the sphingolipid signaling pathway are closely related to DILI.
Conclusion: This study revealed the chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of frankincense and unveiled potential DILI healing targets. This study could provide insights for further development of drugs that specifically target DILI.
Keywords: Network pharmacology, frankincense, drug-induced liver injury, compound-target gene network, molecular docking, traditional Chinese medicine.
Graphical Abstract
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