Transcriptome Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine ‘Kechuanning Plaster’ in the Treatment of Asthma

Background: Asthma is a severe chronic inflammatory airway disease. Kechuanning plaster has excellent efficacy in the treatment of asthma. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the molecular mechanisms of Kechuanning plaster in the treatment of asthma. Methods: An asthma model was constructed using Sprague Dawley rats. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened in three rat groups: the control (normal rats), model (asthma rats), and treatment (asthma rats treated with Kechuanning) groups. After enrichment analysis of the DEGs, the protein-protein interactions (PPIs) of the DEGs were analyzed, and transcription factors and microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate DEGs were predicted. Finally, western blotting (WB) and immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis was performed to validate protein expression. Results: A total of 745 DEGs were identified and enriched in 93 Gene Ontology terms and 25 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways. A PPI network, consisting of 224 protein nodes and 368 edges, was constructed. The nuclear factor of activated T cells 2 (NFATc2) was predicted to have binding sites in 61 DEGs. The miRNA-target interaction network included 24 DEGs and 9 miRNAs. WB and IHC analysis demonstrated that the fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5) and the chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 3 (CXCL3) had higher expression in the model group and lower expression in the control and treatment groups. Conclusion: We concluded that FABP5, CXCL3, suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3), E1A binding protein P300 (EP300), NFATc2, microRNA 495 (miR-495), and miR-30 may play important roles in treating asthma.