Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38429802›Full record

ArticleChinese medicine2024

A novel network pharmacology strategy to decode mechanism of Wuling Powder in treating liver cirrhosis.

Qinwen Liu, Xiaowei Li, Yi Li, Qian Luo, Qiling Fan, Aiping Lu, Daogang Guan, Jiahui Li

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Chinese medicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 18% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Cerevisterol fromFrontiers in pharmacology · 2026
    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

8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Qinwen Liu *Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Xiaowei Li *Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Yi LiDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Qian LuoDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Qiling FanDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Aiping LuInstitute of Integrated Bioinformedicine and Translational Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China. aipinglu@hkbu.edu.hk.
Daogang GuanDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. guandg0929@hotmail.com.
Jiahui LiDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China. jaffee1115@163.com.
Southern Medical University · CNHong Kong Baptist University · HK

Funding

Hong Kong Baptist University Interdisciplinary Research Matching Scheme RC/IRCs/17-18/04Hong Kong Baptist University Interdisciplinary Research Matching Scheme SDF15-0324-P02(b)Hong Kong Baptist University Strategic Development Fund SDF13-1209-P01Hong Kong Baptist University Strategic Development Fund SDF19-0402-P02Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province 2021A1515010737Startup fund from the Southern Medical University G820282016The 2020 Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Innovation Strategy Special Fund 2020B1212030006the Natural Science Foundation Council of China 31501080the Natural Science Foundation Council of China 32070676
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLiver cirrhosis is a chronic liver disease with hepatocyte necrosis and lesion. As one of the TCM formulas Wuling Powder (WLP) is widely used in the treatment of liver cirrhosis. However, it's key functional components and action mechanism still remain unclear. We attempted to explore the Key Group of Effective Components (KGEC) of WLP in the treatment of Liver cirrhosis through integrative pharmacology combined with experiments.

methodsThe components and potential target genes of WLP were extracted from published databases. A novel node importance calculation model considering both node control force and node bridging force is designed to construct the Function Response Space (FRS) and obtain key effector proteins. The genetic knapsack algorithm was employed to select KGEC. The effectiveness and reliability of KGEC were evaluated at the functional level by using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Finally, the effectiveness and potential mechanism of KGEC were confirmed by CCK-8, qPCR and Western blot.

results940 effective proteins were obtained in FRS. KEGG pathways and GO terms enrichments analysis suggested that effective proteins well reflect liver cirrhosis characteristics at the functional level. 29 components of WLP were defined as KGEC, which covered 100% of the targets of the effective proteins. Additionally, the pathways enriched for the KGEC targets accounted for 83.33% of the shared genes between the targets and the pathogenic genes enrichment pathways. Three components scopoletin, caryophyllene oxide, and hydroxyzinamic acid from KGEC were selected for in vivo verification. The qPCR results demonstrated that all three components significantly reduced the mRNA levels of COL1A1 in TGF-β1-induced liver cirrhosis model. Furthermore, the Western blot assay indicated that these components acted synergistically to target the NF-κB, AMPK/p38, cAMP, and PI3K/AKT pathways, thus inhibiting the progression of liver cirrhosis.

conclusionIn summary, we have developed a new model that reveals the key components and potential mechanisms of WLP for the treatment of liver cirrhosis. This model provides a reference for the secondary development of WLP and offers a methodological strategy for studying TCM formulas.

Indexed as

Liver cirrhosisNetwork pharmacologyTraditional Chinese MedicineWuling Powder

Identifiers

PMID38429802
PMCPMC10905787
OpenAlexW4392359528

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.