The Mechanism of Rose in Treating Sjögren's Syndrome Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Abstract

Background: Modern medicine has yet to cure the xerostomia and other symptoms caused by the early onset of Sjögren's Syndrome (SS). Rose, a common flower used in traditional Chinese medicine, is investigated in this study using network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques to explore its potential mechanisms of action against SS. Methods: The active components and targets of rose were identified using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform. The genes encoding these targets were identified using the UniProt database. Additionally, SS-related targets were identified from the GeneCards and OMIM databases. By intersecting the compound targets with SS targets, the predicted targets for rose in the treatment of SS were obtained. A "candidate compound-target" network was constructed using Cytoscape 3.10.2, and a protein-protein interaction network was built. Further analysis of active compounds and their targets was performed through Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses using R software. Finally, molecular docking techniques were employed to validate the affinity between the candidate compounds and key targets. Results: Quercetin, beta-carotene, beta-sitosterol, and demethoxycapillarisin in rose interacted with IL6, TNF, AKT1, ALB, IL1B, TP53, JUN, TGFB1, BCL2, and ESR1. These findings indicate that rose exerts therapeutic effects on peripheral glandular damage in SS and its associated cardiovascular diseases and tumorigenesis through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant pathways. Conclusion: From a network pharmacology perspective, this study systematically identified the main active ingredients, targets, and specific mechanisms of rose in treating SS, providing a theoretical basis and research direction for further exploration of rose's therapeutic mechanisms in SS.