Effects and mechanisms of Zhizi Chuanxiong herb pair against atherosclerosis: an integration of network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation

Abstract Background The Zhizi Chuanxiong herb pair (ZCHP) can delay pathological progression of atherosclerosis (AS); however, its pharmacological mechanism remains unclear because of its complex components. The purpose of current study is to systematically investigate the anti-AS mechanism of ZCHP. Methods The databases of TCMSP, STITCH, SwissTargetPrediction, BATMAN-TCM, and ETCM were searched to predict the potential targets of ZCHP components. Disease targets associated with AS was retrieved from the GEO database. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) signaling pathway analyses were executed using DAVID 6.8. Molecular docking method was employed to evaluate the core target binding to blood components, and animal experiments were performed to test action mechanism. Results A ZCHP-components-targets-AS network was constructed by using Cytoscape, included 11 main components and 52 candidate targets. Crucial genes were shown in the protein–protein interaction network, including TNF, IL-1β, IGF1, MMP9, COL1A1, CCR5, HMOX1, PTGS1, SELE, and SYK. KEGG enrichment illustrated that the NF-κB, Fc epsilon RI, and TNF signaling pathways were important for AS treatment. These results were validated by molecular docking. In ApoE −/− mice, ZCHP significantly reduced intima-media thickness, pulse wave velocity, plaque area, and serum lipid levels while increasing the difference between the end-diastolic and end-systolic diameters. Furthermore, ZCHP significantly decreased the mRNA and protein levels of TNF-α and IL-1β, suppressed NF-κB activation, and inhibited the M1 macrophage polarization marker CD86 in ApoE −/− mice. Conclusion This study combining network pharmacology, molecular biology, and animal experiments showed that ZCHP can alleviate AS by suppressing the TNF/NF-κB axis and M1 macrophage polarization. Graphical Abstract