Bioinformatics approach and experimental validation reveal the hepatoprotective effect of pachyman against acetaminophen-associated liver injury

Pachyman, known as Poria cocos polysaccharides, refers to the bioactive compounds isolated from Poria cocos. Pachyman is thought to exert cytoprotective action. However, the detailed mechanisms of pachyman action for hepatoprotection remain unknown. In this study, we aimed to assess the therapeutic actions, molecular mechanisms, and key target proteins of pachyman in the treatment of liver injury through network pharmacology and molecular docking assays. Furthermore, these bioinformatic findings were validated by an acetaminophen (APAP)-induced liver injury in vivo. Primarily using bioinformatic analysis, we screened and characterized 12 genes that act as potential therapeutic targets of pachyman against APAP-induced liver injury, in which all core targets were obtained. By using enrichment analysis, these core target genes of pachyman were characterized to reveal the pharmacological functions and molecular mechanisms of anti-liver injury induced by APAP. A molecular docking simulation was further performed to certain anti-liver injury target proteins of pachyman, including cytochrome P450 3A4 enzyme (CYP3A4) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2). In animal experiments, pachyman exerted potent hepatoprotective activities in prenatal APAP-exposed offspring livers, characterized by activated hepatocellular CYP3A4 and NOS2 expressions. These current findings have thus indicated that pachyman exerts hepatoprotective effects and may be the promising nutraceuticals for the treatment of APAP-induced liver injury.