[Action mechanism of Huotu Jiji Pellets in the treatment of erectile dysfunction: An exploration based on network pharmacology and molecular docking]

Objective: To explore the potential action mechanism of Huotu Jiji Pellets (HJP) in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.

Methods: We identified the main effective compounds and active molecular targets of HJP from the database of Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) and Integrative Pharmacology-Based Research Platform of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCMIP) and the therapeutic target genes of ED from the databases of Genecards. Then we obtained the common targets of HJP and ED using the Venny software, constructed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of HJP acting on ED, and screened out the core targets with the Cytoscape software. Lastly we performed GO functional enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses of the core targets followed by molecular docking of HJP and the core targets using Chem3D and AutoDock Tools and QuickVina-W software.

Results: A total of 64 effective compounds, 822 drug-related targets, 1 783 disease-related targets and 320 common targets were obtained in this study. PPI network analysis showed that the core targets of HJP for ED included ESR1, HSP90AA1, SRC, and STAT3. GO functional enrichment analysis indicated the involvement of the core targets in such biological processes as response to xenobiotic stimulus, positive regulation of kinase activity, and positive regulation of MAPK cascade. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis suggested that PI3K-Akt, apoptosis, MAPK, HIF-1, VEGF, autophagy and other signaling pathways may be related to the mechanism of HJP acting on ED. Molecular docking prediction exhibited a good docking activity of the key active molecules of HJP with the core targets.

Conclusion: This study showed that HJP acted on ED through multi-components, multi-targets and multi-pathways, which has provided some evidence and reference for the clinical treatment and subsequent studies of the disease.