Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33883881›Full record

ArticleDrug design, development and therapy2021

Network Pharmacology Analysis of ZiShenWan for Diabetic Nephropathy and Experimental Verification of Its Anti-Inflammatory Mechanism.

Xiaoyuan Guo, You Wu, Chengfei Zhang, Lili Wu, Lingling Qin, Tonghua Liu

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Drug design, development and therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. ZishenWan reduces obesity inJournal of traditional and complementary medicine · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Revealing the Mechanism ofPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Xiaoyuan GuoDepartment of Nephrology, Dong Fang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100078, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0002-4714-9182
You WuSecond Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100078, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0002-0179-8865
Chengfei ZhangSecond Clinical Medical College, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100078, People's Republic of China.
Lili WuKey Laboratory of Health Cultivation of the Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China.
Lingling QinTechnology Department, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China.
Tonghua LiuKey Laboratory of Health Cultivation of the Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0001-7015-5348
Beijing University of Chinese Medicine · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDiabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The inflammatory response plays a critical role in DN. ZiShenWan (ZSW) is a classical Chinese medicinal formula with remarkable clinical therapeutic effects on DN, but its pharmacological action mechanisms remain unclear.

aimIn this study, a network pharmacology approach was applied to investigate the pharmacological mechanisms of ZSW in DN therapy. Based on the results of network analysis, the core targets and signaling pathways related to anti-inflammatory effect were verified via experiments in vivo.

methodsThe candidate chemical ingredients of ZSW as well as its putative targets and known therapeutic targets of DN were acquired from appropriate databases. The "herb-ingredient-target" network for ZSW in DN treatment was established. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of potential targets was constructed to screen the core targets. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed. In addition to biochemical and pathological indicators, the core targets and signaling pathways associated with inflammation were partially validated in db/db mice at molecular level.

resultsA total of 56 active ingredients in ZSW and 166 DN-related targets were selected from databases. A high proportion of core targets and top signaling pathways participate in inflammation. ZSW markedly alleviated renal injuries pathologically and regulated related biomarkers. In particular, ZSW significantly inhibited the exaggerated release of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF)-ɑ, and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 as well as regulating p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathways in db/db mice.

conclusionThis study first comprehensively investigated the active ingredients, potential targets, and molecular mechanism of ZSW as a therapy for DN. ZSW achieved renoprotective effects in DN via regulation of multiple targets and signaling pathways, especially by alleviating inflammation. Results indicate that ZSW is a promising multi-target therapeutic approach for DN treatment.

Indexed as

Administration, OralAnimalsAnti-Inflammatory AgentsCytokinesDiabetic NephropathiesDisease Models, AnimalDrugs, Chinese HerbalInflammationMaleMiceMice, Inbred C57BLSignal TransductionAnti-Inflammatory AgentsCytokinesDrugs, Chinese Herbaldiabetic nephropathyinflammationnetwork pharmacologyZiShenWan

Identifiers

PMID33883881
PMCPMC8055297
OpenAlexW3156159535

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.