Mechanisms of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation
Abstract Background Atherosclerosis serves as the fundamental pathology for a variety of cardiovascular disorders, with its pathogenesis being closely tied to the complex interplay among lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Wogonoside is a natural flavonoid extracted from Scutellari...
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| Format: | Article |
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BMC
2025-01-01
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| Series: | BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-025-04760-x |
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| author | Zhaohui Gong Haixin Yang Li Gao Yi Liu Qingmin Chu Chuanjin Luo Liang Kang Huiqi Zhai Qiang Xu Wei Wu Nan Li Rong Li |
| author_facet | Zhaohui Gong Haixin Yang Li Gao Yi Liu Qingmin Chu Chuanjin Luo Liang Kang Huiqi Zhai Qiang Xu Wei Wu Nan Li Rong Li |
| author_sort | Zhaohui Gong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Atherosclerosis serves as the fundamental pathology for a variety of cardiovascular disorders, with its pathogenesis being closely tied to the complex interplay among lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Wogonoside is a natural flavonoid extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis with a variety of biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, and cardiac function improvement properties. Despite these known effects, the specific role of wogonoside in the context of atherosclerosis remains to be elucidated. Purpose To validate the efficacy of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis and to investigate its possible therapeutic mechanisms. Methods Network pharmacology was used to obtain the core targets and signaling pathways that may be efficacious in the treatment of atherosclerosis with wogonoside, which were validated using molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. To further validate the core targets in the signaling pathway, we performed in vivo experiments using apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-/- mice. This included pathological morphology and lipid deposition analysis of mouse aorta, serum lipid level analysis, Elisa analysis, oxidative stress analysis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) fluorescence assay, immunohistochemical analysis and protein blot analysis. Results Predictions were obtained that wogonoside treatment of atherosclerosis has 31 core targets, which are mainly focused on pathways such as Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway and NF-kappa B (NF-κB ) signaling pathway. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations showed that wogonoside has good binding properties to the core targets. In vivo experimental results showed that wogonoside significantly inhibited aortic inflammatory response and lipid deposition, significantly reduced the release levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), oxidized low density (ox-LDL) and free fatty acid (FFA), and significantly inhibited the release of inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and oxidative stress in ApoE-/- mice. Further molecular mechanism studies showed that wogonoside significantly inhibited the activation of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in ApoE-/- mice. Conclusion Wogonoside may be an effective drug monomer for the treatment of atherosclerosis, and its mechanism of action is closely related to the inhibition of the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Graphical Abstract |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4dfd55a780884f85ba3f6f425179da61 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-7671 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies |
| spelling | doaj-art-4dfd55a780884f85ba3f6f425179da612025-02-02T12:08:31ZengBMCBMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies2662-76712025-01-0125111710.1186/s12906-025-04760-xMechanisms of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validationZhaohui Gong0Haixin Yang1Li Gao2Yi Liu3Qingmin Chu4Chuanjin Luo5Liang Kang6Huiqi Zhai7Qiang Xu8Wei Wu9Nan Li10Rong Li11Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineSchool of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan UniversitySchool of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan UniversitySchool of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan UniversityDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineState Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, The First Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineSchool of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan UniversityDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese MedicineAbstract Background Atherosclerosis serves as the fundamental pathology for a variety of cardiovascular disorders, with its pathogenesis being closely tied to the complex interplay among lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Wogonoside is a natural flavonoid extracted from Scutellaria baicalensis with a variety of biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, and cardiac function improvement properties. Despite these known effects, the specific role of wogonoside in the context of atherosclerosis remains to be elucidated. Purpose To validate the efficacy of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis and to investigate its possible therapeutic mechanisms. Methods Network pharmacology was used to obtain the core targets and signaling pathways that may be efficacious in the treatment of atherosclerosis with wogonoside, which were validated using molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. To further validate the core targets in the signaling pathway, we performed in vivo experiments using apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-/- mice. This included pathological morphology and lipid deposition analysis of mouse aorta, serum lipid level analysis, Elisa analysis, oxidative stress analysis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) fluorescence assay, immunohistochemical analysis and protein blot analysis. Results Predictions were obtained that wogonoside treatment of atherosclerosis has 31 core targets, which are mainly focused on pathways such as Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathway and NF-kappa B (NF-κB ) signaling pathway. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations showed that wogonoside has good binding properties to the core targets. In vivo experimental results showed that wogonoside significantly inhibited aortic inflammatory response and lipid deposition, significantly reduced the release levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), oxidized low density (ox-LDL) and free fatty acid (FFA), and significantly inhibited the release of inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and oxidative stress in ApoE-/- mice. Further molecular mechanism studies showed that wogonoside significantly inhibited the activation of TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway in ApoE-/- mice. Conclusion Wogonoside may be an effective drug monomer for the treatment of atherosclerosis, and its mechanism of action is closely related to the inhibition of the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-025-04760-xAtherosclerosisWogonosideInflammationNetwork pharmacology |
| spellingShingle | Zhaohui Gong Haixin Yang Li Gao Yi Liu Qingmin Chu Chuanjin Luo Liang Kang Huiqi Zhai Qiang Xu Wei Wu Nan Li Rong Li Mechanisms of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies Atherosclerosis Wogonoside Inflammation Network pharmacology |
| title | Mechanisms of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation |
| title_full | Mechanisms of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation |
| title_fullStr | Mechanisms of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mechanisms of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation |
| title_short | Mechanisms of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation |
| title_sort | mechanisms of wogonoside in the treatment of atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology molecular docking and experimental validation |
| topic | Atherosclerosis Wogonoside Inflammation Network pharmacology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-025-04760-x |
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