Mechanism of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis based on network pharmacology

Abstract Objective: The molecular mechanism of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (SMRR) in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) was analyzed based on network pharmacology.Methods: Active components and potential targets of SMRR were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). KOA targets were obtained from the OMIM, DisGeNET, DrugBank, PharmGKB and GeneCards Databases. The potential targets of SMRR in the treatment of KOA were identified by Venn diagram. A protein-protein interaction network was generated with the STRING database. Visualization of the interactions in a potential pharmacodynamic component-target network was accomplished with Cytoscape software. The DAVID database and R software were used for Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway annotation analyses of common targets. Molecular docking of the potential leading components, as determined by efficacy with the core target molecules, was performed with Discovery Studio.Results: Fifty-seven potential pharmacodynamic components and 58 potential targets of SMRR in the treatment of KOA were found. Bioinformatics analyses showed that the IL-17, HIF-1 and TNF signaling pathways, as well as the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in cases of diabetic complications, are related to the molecular mechanism of SMRR in the treatment of KOA. Molecular docking results showed that luteolin, Tanshinone IIA, Cryptotanshinone and other components of SMRR had strong affinity for MYC, STAT3, CASP3, JUN, CCND1, PTGS2, EGFR, MAPK1, AKT1, VEGFA and other targets.Conclusion: SMRR indirectly regulates IL-17, HIF-1, TNF and other signal transduction pathways by regulating the expression of proteins including PTGS2, MAPK1, EGFR and CASP3, thus playing a role in promoting chondrocyte proliferation, improving microcirculation, eliminating free radicals, and inhibiting inflammatory factors.