Investigation of Pharmacological Mechanisms of Yinhua Pinggan Granule on the Treatment of Pneumonia through Network Pharmacology and In Vitro

Yinhua pinggan granule (YHPGKL), a traditional Chinese medical compound, could treat pneumonia. Although previous studies demonstrated the protective and therapeutic effects of YHPGKL on pneumonia, its potential molecular mechanisms and its effective components are still elusive. Herein, we performed a network pharmacology analysis to determine the possible signaling pathways involved in the protective effects of components of YHPGKL. A total of 119 components and 257 target proteins of YHPGKL were identified, among which 117 effective components interacted with 113 proteins related to pneumonia. Then, a compound-effective component-target protein network was established to screen the effective hub components. The top three effective components, namely luteolin, kaempferol, and quercetin, were selected. Moreover, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of 113 proteins revealed a significant enrichment term associated with host immune and anti-infectious responses. Furthermore, by constructing a protein-protein interaction network between common proteins, ten hub proteins were identified, among which three hub components hit eight proteins. A further molecular docking analysis confirmed that the three effective hub components had a good affinity with six hub proteins. Eventually, the interactions were further visualized and screened on account of an infectious macrophage model in vitro. The results noted that three components could inhibit proinflammatory related hub genes but had no effect on survival-related hub genes. Thus, the three effective hub components and corresponding hub genes may play essential roles in the treatment of YHPGKL on pneumonia.