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In Silico Investigation of the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo biloba L. on Alzheimer’s Disease

Based on compelling experimental and clinical evidence, Ginkgo biloba L. exerts a beneficial effect in ameliorating mild to moderate dementia in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurological disorders, although the pharmacological mechanisms remain unknown. In the present study, comp...

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Autores principales: Li, Hongxiang, Sun, Xiaoyuan, Yu, Fan, Xu, Lijia, Miu, Jianhua, Xiao, Peigen
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5986469/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29747475
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu10050589
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author Li, Hongxiang
Sun, Xiaoyuan
Yu, Fan
Xu, Lijia
Miu, Jianhua
Xiao, Peigen
author_facet Li, Hongxiang
Sun, Xiaoyuan
Yu, Fan
Xu, Lijia
Miu, Jianhua
Xiao, Peigen
author_sort Li, Hongxiang
collection PubMed
description Based on compelling experimental and clinical evidence, Ginkgo biloba L. exerts a beneficial effect in ameliorating mild to moderate dementia in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurological disorders, although the pharmacological mechanisms remain unknown. In the present study, compounds, their putative target proteins identified using an inverse docking approach, and clinically tested AD-related target proteins were systematically integrated together with applicable bioinformatics methods in silico. The results suggested that the beneficial effects of G. biloba on AD may be contributed by the regulation of hormone sensitivity, improvements in endocrine homeostasis, maintenance of endothelial microvascular integrity, and proteolysis of tau proteins, particularly prior to amyloid β-protein (Aβ) plaque formation. Moreover, we identified six putative protein targets that are significantly related to AD, but have not been researched or have had only preliminary studies conducted on the anti-AD effects of G. biloba. These mechanisms and protein targets are very significant for future scientific research. In addition, the existing mechanisms were also verified, such as the reduction of oxidative stress, anti-apoptotic effects, and protective effects against amyloidogenesis and Aβ aggregation. The discoveries summarized here may provide a macroscopic perspective that will improve our understanding of the molecular mechanism of medicinal plants or dietary supplements, as well as new clues for the future development of therapeutic strategies for AD.
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spelling pubmed-59864692018-06-05 In Silico Investigation of the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo biloba L. on Alzheimer’s Disease Li, Hongxiang Sun, Xiaoyuan Yu, Fan Xu, Lijia Miu, Jianhua Xiao, Peigen Nutrients Article Based on compelling experimental and clinical evidence, Ginkgo biloba L. exerts a beneficial effect in ameliorating mild to moderate dementia in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurological disorders, although the pharmacological mechanisms remain unknown. In the present study, compounds, their putative target proteins identified using an inverse docking approach, and clinically tested AD-related target proteins were systematically integrated together with applicable bioinformatics methods in silico. The results suggested that the beneficial effects of G. biloba on AD may be contributed by the regulation of hormone sensitivity, improvements in endocrine homeostasis, maintenance of endothelial microvascular integrity, and proteolysis of tau proteins, particularly prior to amyloid β-protein (Aβ) plaque formation. Moreover, we identified six putative protein targets that are significantly related to AD, but have not been researched or have had only preliminary studies conducted on the anti-AD effects of G. biloba. These mechanisms and protein targets are very significant for future scientific research. In addition, the existing mechanisms were also verified, such as the reduction of oxidative stress, anti-apoptotic effects, and protective effects against amyloidogenesis and Aβ aggregation. The discoveries summarized here may provide a macroscopic perspective that will improve our understanding of the molecular mechanism of medicinal plants or dietary supplements, as well as new clues for the future development of therapeutic strategies for AD. MDPI 2018-05-10 /pmc/articles/PMC5986469/ /pubmed/29747475 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu10050589 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Li, Hongxiang
Sun, Xiaoyuan
Yu, Fan
Xu, Lijia
Miu, Jianhua
Xiao, Peigen
In Silico Investigation of the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo biloba L. on Alzheimer’s Disease
title In Silico Investigation of the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo biloba L. on Alzheimer’s Disease
title_full In Silico Investigation of the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo biloba L. on Alzheimer’s Disease
title_fullStr In Silico Investigation of the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo biloba L. on Alzheimer’s Disease
title_full_unstemmed In Silico Investigation of the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo biloba L. on Alzheimer’s Disease
title_short In Silico Investigation of the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Beneficial Effects of Ginkgo biloba L. on Alzheimer’s Disease
title_sort in silico investigation of the pharmacological mechanisms of beneficial effects of ginkgo biloba l. on alzheimer’s disease
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5986469/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29747475
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu10050589
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