Network pharmacology and experimental validation revealed the mechanism on scutellarin against intracerebral hemorrhage

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to explore the network mechanism of scutellarin (SCU) in the treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) via using network pharmacology and experimental validation. Methods: Public databases were employed to find related targets of SCU and ICH. Then, the relevant literature with the keywords "scutellarin" AND "HMGB1" OR "TLR4" were searched respectively in PubMed to obtain a more complete list of SCU-related targets, and merged the gene target of SCU both from public database and PubMed. Subsequently, protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis was performed to decipher the critical targets network of both SCU and ICH. Furthermore, gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were applied to reveal the core gene functions and related pathways of SCU in ICH treatment. Finally, we performed quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to validate the expressional level of hub genes for SCU against ICH. Results: The 91 shared targets of SCU and ICH were identified, which partially include HMGB1, TLR4 and NF-KB. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis demonstrated that they were enriched in the apoptotic and inflammatory pathway and their expressional level could be experimentally validated in rat model of ICH. Conclusion: The network pharmacology of SCU against ICH involves the expression of HMGB1, TLR4 and NF-KB, which has been validated by qRT-PCR.