Integrated analyses to explore the mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction in treating liver cirrhosis

Abstract The study aims to explore the key mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction (GCRSZXD) in treating liver cirrhosis (LC). Common targets of GCRSZXD and LC were obtained, and the hub genes were identified by network construction and differential expression analysis. Key active ingredients w...

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Main Author: Junwei Pan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09206-5
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author Junwei Pan
author_facet Junwei Pan
author_sort Junwei Pan
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The study aims to explore the key mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction (GCRSZXD) in treating liver cirrhosis (LC). Common targets of GCRSZXD and LC were obtained, and the hub genes were identified by network construction and differential expression analysis. Key active ingredients were determined by intersecting the top 10 common target-related and hub gene-related active ingredients. Then, enrichment analysis was performed to identify the essential pathways. Besides, the GCRSZXD-Chinese herb-active ingredient-hub gene-signaling pathway-LC network was constructed to explore potential regulatory mechanisms. Molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation were used to verify the binding ability of key active ingredients with hub genes. Finally, hub gene expression was validated in vitro. Totally 180 common targets and 120 associated active ingredients were identified. Three hub genes, AKT1, EGFR, and SRC were differentially expressed in LC and healthy groups (P < 0.05). Five key active ingredients and three signaling pathways were obtained. Excellent binding effects of receptors and ligands were observed. Additionally, GCRSZXD significantly reduced the expression of AKT1, EGFR, and SRC in the TGF-β1-induced cells. In conclusion, this study reveals the mechanism of GCRSZXD in LC treatment, which provides the theoretical basis for the mechanism research of GCRSZXD.
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spelling doaj-art-609734d32d7442b1be3f0bc80eb07dfa2025-08-20T03:45:24ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111610.1038/s41598-025-09206-5Integrated analyses to explore the mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction in treating liver cirrhosisJunwei Pan0Department of Pharmacy , Deqing Hospital of Traditional Chinese MedicineAbstract The study aims to explore the key mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction (GCRSZXD) in treating liver cirrhosis (LC). Common targets of GCRSZXD and LC were obtained, and the hub genes were identified by network construction and differential expression analysis. Key active ingredients were determined by intersecting the top 10 common target-related and hub gene-related active ingredients. Then, enrichment analysis was performed to identify the essential pathways. Besides, the GCRSZXD-Chinese herb-active ingredient-hub gene-signaling pathway-LC network was constructed to explore potential regulatory mechanisms. Molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation were used to verify the binding ability of key active ingredients with hub genes. Finally, hub gene expression was validated in vitro. Totally 180 common targets and 120 associated active ingredients were identified. Three hub genes, AKT1, EGFR, and SRC were differentially expressed in LC and healthy groups (P < 0.05). Five key active ingredients and three signaling pathways were obtained. Excellent binding effects of receptors and ligands were observed. Additionally, GCRSZXD significantly reduced the expression of AKT1, EGFR, and SRC in the TGF-β1-induced cells. In conclusion, this study reveals the mechanism of GCRSZXD in LC treatment, which provides the theoretical basis for the mechanism research of GCRSZXD.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09206-5Gancao Renshen Zhixue DecoctionLiver cirrhosisNetwork PharmacologyMolecular dockingExperimental verification
spellingShingle Junwei Pan
Integrated analyses to explore the mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction in treating liver cirrhosis
Scientific Reports
Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction
Liver cirrhosis
Network Pharmacology
Molecular docking
Experimental verification
title Integrated analyses to explore the mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction in treating liver cirrhosis
title_full Integrated analyses to explore the mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction in treating liver cirrhosis
title_fullStr Integrated analyses to explore the mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction in treating liver cirrhosis
title_full_unstemmed Integrated analyses to explore the mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction in treating liver cirrhosis
title_short Integrated analyses to explore the mechanism of Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction in treating liver cirrhosis
title_sort integrated analyses to explore the mechanism of gancao renshen zhixue decoction in treating liver cirrhosis
topic Gancao Renshen Zhixue Decoction
Liver cirrhosis
Network Pharmacology
Molecular docking
Experimental verification
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09206-5
work_keys_str_mv AT junweipan integratedanalysestoexplorethemechanismofgancaorenshenzhixuedecoctionintreatinglivercirrhosis