Prediction of the Potential Mechanism of Triptolide in Improving Diabetic Nephropathy by Utilizing A Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Approach

BACKGROUND: Triptolide (TP) is a major active component of colquhounia root tablet, which has been long been used in China to treat diabetic nephropathy (DN) due to its marked anti‑inflammatory, antiproteinuric, and podocyte‑protective effects. METHODS: This study investigated the anti-proteinuria activity and related signaling cascade of TP in DN by utilizing a network pharmacology and molecular docking approach. RESULTS: From the GeneCard, DisGeNET, and National Center for Biotechnology Information Gene databases, 1458 DN targets were obtained and input together with 303 TP targets into Venny2.1.0 for mapping and comparing. In total, 113 common targets of TP and DN were obtained, of which 7 targets were found to play an important role through theoretical inhibitory constant analysis. The common targets were further analyzed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes to identify the pathways related to the therapeutic effect of TP on DN. Among them, the seven targets were found to play key roles in six signaling pathways. The molecular docking results also showed TP had good binding ability to the seven targets. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the common targets and key pathways showed that TP can improve DN via its anti-nephritis, anti-renal fibrosis, antioxidant, and podocyte-protective effects, which might elucidate the mechanism by which TP improves renal function and reduces proteinuria in DN.