Network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental verification reveal the mechanism of San-Huang decoction in treating acute kidney injury

Background: Cisplatin is an effective anti-tumor drug. However, its usage is constrained by side effects such as nephron toxicity. Cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) appears in approximately 20%–30% of cases. Hence, finding an effective protective strategy is necessary. San-Huang decoction (SHD) is a Chinese herbal decoction with good efficacy in treating chronic kidney disease (CKD). Nevertheless, the mechanism of SHD on AKI remains unclear. Consequently, we proposed to explore the potential mechanism of SHD against cisplatin-induced AKI. Methods: Active compounds, core target proteins, and associated signaling pathways of SHD were predicted through network pharmacology. Then confirmed by molecular docking. In vivo experiment, Cisplatin + SHD group was treated with SHD (6.5 g/kg/day) for 6 days before building the model. An AKI model was established with a single intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin at 20 mg/kg. After 72 h of cisplatin injection, all mice were sacrificed to collect blood and kidney tissues for verification of network pharmacology analysis. Results: We found that calycosin, rhein, and ginsenoside Rh2 may be SHD’s primary active compounds in treating cisplatin-induced AKI, and AKT, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, caspase-3, and MMP9 are the core target proteins. The relationship between the compound and target protein was further confirmed by molecular docking. The Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses predicted that SHD has an anti-inflammatory role through the TNF and IL-17 signaling pathway. Moreover, Western blot and immunohistochemistry validated the potential molecular mechanisms of SHD, predicted from network pharmacology analysis. The mechanism of cisplatin-induced AKI involves apoptosis and inflammation. In apoptosis, Caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, and Bax proteins were down-regulated, while Bcl-2 was up-regulated by SHD. The differential expression of MMP protein is involved in the pathological process of AKI. MMP9 protects from glomerular tubule damage. MMP9 and PI3K/AKT anti-apoptosis pathway were up-regulated by SHD. In addition, we discovered that SHD alleviated AKI by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. Conclusion: SHD plays a critical role in anti-inflammation and anti-apoptosis via inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway and activating PI3K/AKT anti-apoptosis pathway, indicating that SHD is a candidate herbal drug for further investigation in treating cisplatin-induced AKI.