Study on the molecular mechanism of Guipi decoction against sleep deprivation based on integrated pharmacology analysis and gene expression profiling

Sleep disorder is a puzzling and complex health problem, and sleep deprivation (SD) may be a window for studying sleep disorder. Guipi decoction (GPD) is a classic Chinese prescription for the treatment of sleep disorder. However, the mechanism of GPD remains puzzling. In this paper, integrated pharmacological analysis and gene expression profiling were introduced to study the mechanism of GPD in treatment with SD. Firstly, the integrative pharmacology‑based research platform of traditional Chinese medicine (TCMIP) was applied to collect chemical compounds and corresponding targets for GPD. Secondly, SD‑related targets were obtained by gene expression profiling (GSE56931) from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The String database screened the core targets according to protein‑protein interaction (PPI) network. Furthermore, kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways were carried out based on the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) database. Conclusively, the "formula‑herbs‑compounds‑targets‑pathways" network was established to explore the mechanism of GPD in the treatment of SD. In addition, molecular docking was carried out to verify the connection between hub compounds and targets. The results showed that GPD was mainly linked to 44 compounds, 19 targets and 5 pathways. GPD in the treatment of sleep deprivation through metabolic pathways and cAMP signaling pathway, which were related to NR3C1, MAPK3, PPARA and core compounds such as adenosine. This study preliminarily revealed the molecular mechanism of GPD for SD, and lays a foundation for the study of the mechanism against SD for GPD.