Mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of Semen Cuscutae in treating Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Background This paper aims to analyze the active components of SC by network pharmacology and screen the most stable compounds with TNF-a by molecular docking, to explore the mechanism of SC treatment of RSA and provide theoretical basis for drug development. Methods Active compounds of SC and the potential inflammatory targets of RSA were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology Database and GeneCard, respectively. The interaction network of RSA– SC -target gene was accomplished and Visualizing by STRING database and Cytoscape software.GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were obtained from DAVID to further explore the RSA mechanism and therapeutic effects of SC . Interactions between TNF-α and active compounds were analyzed by molecular docking. Results 10 active ingredients and 128 target genes were screened from SC , and 79 of them intersected with RSA target inflammatory genes,which were considered to be potential therapeutic targets. Network pharmacological analysis showed that Sesamin, matrine, matrol and other SC active components had good correlation with the inflammatory target genes of RSA.Related genes include PGR, PTGS1, PTGS2, TGFB1 and CHRNA7. Multiple signaling pathways are involved in RSA pathogenesis,sunh as TNF-α signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, estrogen signaling pathway, proteoglycans in cancer, FoxO signaling pathway, etc. Molecular docking results suggested that sesamin was the most appropriate natural TNFis. Conclusion Our findings provide an important role and basis for further research on the molecular mechanism of SC treatment of RSA and drug development of TNFis.