Triptolide targets on MYC towards testis may induce male reproductive toxicity

Extracted from Chinese herbal medicine Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f., triptolide is an active compound with positive therapeutic effects on immune-regulated disease of rheumatoid arthritis. However, the male reproductive toxicity blocks its wider clinical applications. With the mechanisms of male toxicity is still obscure, it is difficult to tackle its toxicity. In this study, triptolide's male reproductive toxicity mechanisms were carried out through integrated bioinformatics analysis which covers target proteins, further regulated testis proteins, biological process enrichment, and protein-protein interactions. As a result, (I) MYC was identified as the target protein