The dominant paradigm of “one gene, one target, one disease” has influenced many aspects of drug discovery strategy. However, in recent years, it has been appreciated that many effective drugs act on multiple targets rather than a single one. As an integrated multidisciplinary concept, network pharmacology, which is based on system biology and polypharmacology, affords a novel network mode of “multiple targets, multiple effects, complex diseases” and replaces the “magic bullets” by “magic shotguns.” Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been recognized as one of the most important strategies in complementary and alternative medicine. Though CHM has been practiced for a very long time, its effectiveness and beneficial contribution to public health has not been fully recognized. Also, the knowledge on the mechanisms of CHM formulas is scarce. In the present review, the concept and significance of network pharmacology is briefly introduced. The application and potential role of network pharmacology in the CHM fields is also discussed, such as data collection, target prediction, network visualization, multicomponent interaction, and network toxicology. Furthermore, the developing tendency of network pharmacology is also summarized, and its role in CHM research is discussed.

Chelerythrine (CHE) is a type of benzophenanthridine alkaloid found in many herbs and is also the main alkaloid constituent of Toddalia asiatica (L.) LAM. It has been proven to have various activities including antitumor, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic effects. We have previously demonstrated that CHE can inhibit proliferation and promote apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. However, the effect of CHE on the metastasis of HCC and its related molecular mechanisms have yet to be validated. In this study, we investigated the effects of CHE on the migration and invasion of the HCC cell line Hep3B. Key words Chelerythrine; hepatocellular carcinoma; metastasis Despite the groundbreaking progress in the diagnosis and treatment of malignant tumors, cancer remains the greatest health concern in the world due to high morbidity and mortality.1) Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common types of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death with the 5th highest morbidity rate according to recent studies.2,3) Currently, there are a few treatment options of HCC, including surgical resection and liver transplantation. However, most of the patients who undergo the treatments mentioned above experience new tumors in the residual liver, and their five-year survival rate is no more than 10%.4-6) Metastasis and recurrence are the two main reasons for poor prognosis in patients with HCC. 7) Therefore, key efforts should be focused on blocking invasion and migration of cancer cells.Natural products have been used to treat cancer for over 40 years. Approximately 60% of the clinically used anti-cancer drugs are natural products or derivatives.8) The traditional Chinese medicinal herb Toddalia asiatica LAM. is a kind of traditional folk medicine commonly used in southwest China. It can disperse pathogenic wind and relieve pain, remove blood stasis to stop bleeding, clear away toxic materials and alleviate edema, as stated in the Chinese theory of medicine. We extracted total alkaloids from Toddalia asiatica LAM. and observed obvious anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-tumor effects. 10,11) CHE has a wide range of biological activities including antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anti-parasitic and anti-tumor effects. [11][12][13][14] Regarding cancer therapy, we have reported that CHE can inhibit proliferation and promote apoptosis in HepG2 cells.15) However, the effect of CHE on the metastasis of HCC and its related molecular mechanisms are still undefined.Studies have shown that tumor metastasis involves a serious of complex processes. The primary tumor cells proliferate, invade the basement membrane (BM) and enter the blood and lymphatic circulation. Finally, metastases are formed at distal sites, resulting in secondary tumors. 16,17) In the process described above, the degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is key to tumor migration and invasion. Many protein kinases play important roles in the degradation of the ECM, including matrix metalloprote...

BackgroundHuangqi decoction (HQD) is used for liver fibrosis and cirrhosis treatment in Chinese medicine. This study aims to investigate the pharmacological actions of HQD against liver fibrosis in rats by high-throughput gene expression profiling, network analysis and real-time qRT-PCR.MethodsWe analyzed the profiles of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in dimethylnitrosamine (DMN)-induced liver fibrosis in rat. The liver tissue samples of control group (n = 3), model group (n = 3) and HQD group (n = 3) were examined by microarrays. Pathways were analyzed by KEGG. Pathway-gene and protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks were constructed with Cytoscape software. The expression of candidate genes was verified by qRT-PCR. P values less than 0.05 indicated statistical significance.ResultsCollagen deposition and hydroxyproline (Hyp) content were decreased in the HQD group compared with the model group (P < 0.001), while that of Hyp in the model group were increased compared with the control group (P < 0.001). In comparison with the model group, 1085 DEGs (all P < 0.05, |fold change| >1.5) and 52 pathways in the HQD group were identified. TGF-beta, ECM-receptor interaction, and the cell adhesion molecules pathways were significantly recovered by HQD (P < 0.001). A pathway-gene network was constructed, including 303 DEGs and 52 pathways, and 514 nodes and 2602 edges, among 142 genes with node degrees greater than 10. The expressions of PDGFra, PDGFrb, PDGFb, PDGFd, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL5A2, and THBS1 were significantly down-regulated by HQD (P < 0.001).ConclusionHQD down-regulated the expressions of PDGFra, PDGFrb, PDGFb, PDGFd, COL1A1, COL1A2, COL5A2 and THBS1, and TGF-β and PDGF signaling pathways in the DMN-induced liver fibrosis in rats.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13020-015-0066-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The present study implied the important role of complement C4a in inhibiting the HBV DNA secretion in CHB.