Study on the mechanism of the Modified Ginseng-Schisandra Decoction (MGSD) in the treatment of recurrent respiratory tract infection (RRTI) based on network pharmacology

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of Modified Ginseng-Schisandra Decoction in the treatment of recurrent respiratory tract infection (RRTI) using network pharmacology. METHODS: To screen the active ingredients of A Modified Ginseng-Schisandra Decoction, TCMSP, TCMID, Batman-TCM and PubChem database were applied. To predict the targets of active ingredients on RRTI, TCMSP, Pubmed, OMIM, Drug Bank, GAD and TTD database were used. The compounds-therapeutic target network was constructed with Cytoscape 3.7.2 software. The STRING database was used to construct a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis was used to identify potential signal pathways. RESULTS: The 3 main active ingredients of Modified Ginseng-Schisandra Decoction obtained by screening were quercetin, kaempferol, and isoflavone; the main therapeutic targets were PTGS2, ESR1, AR, PPARG, NOS2, and others. Based on the PPI network, we found that the targets of Modified Ginseng-Schisandra Decoction were significantly enriched in (FDR <0.01) cancer pathway, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1) signaling pathway, and others. CONCLUSIONS: Modified Ginseng-Schisandra Decoction can treat RRTI primarily through acting in the signal transduction of some key nodes of cancer pathway and TNF pathway. It exerts a direct or indirect influence on multiple signaling pathways, and has the characteristics of multicomponent, multitarget, and multichannel action.