Network Pharmacology-Based Prediction of Active Ingredients and Mechanisms of Tongxinluo Against Acute Myocardial Infarction

Purpose: The aim of this network pharmacology was to explore the potential active ingredients and mechanisms of Tongxinluo (TXL) against acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods: : We selected active ingredients and targets of TXL according to TCMSP database and converted protein targets into gene symbol by UniProt database. Therapeutic gene targets on AMI were collected from DisGeNET and GeneCards databases. The overlapping genes between ingredients and AMI were identified using Venn diagram. Then, the interaction network between ingredients and overlapping genes was constructed, visualized, and analyzed by Cytoscape software. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) was analyzed by String database. Finally, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of overlapping genes were carried out by metascape platform. Results: : A total of 111 active ingredients, 184 ingredient-related genes, and 1020 AMI-related genes were retrieved using public databases. Eventually, 79 overlapping genes between TXL and AMI were identified. Cytoscape and PPI results suggested that the active ingredients and genes of TXL against AMI consisted of 66 active ingredients and 79 genes, among them beta-sitosterol and IL-6 were the uppermost active ingredient and hub gene, respectively. Metascape results exhibited that the key mechanism of TXL against AMI might be reducing oxidative stress in cell membrane by inactivating pathways in cancer. Conclusion: This network pharmacology study reveals potential mechanisms of multi-target and multi-component TXL in the treatment of AMI, providing scientific evidence for further expounding the active ingredients and mechanisms of TXL against AMI.