Network Pharmacology-Based Exploration of the Therapeutic Mechanisms of Cordyceps cicadae in Renal Ischemia/Reperfusion

BACKGROUND: Cordyceps cicadae is beneficial in treating renal diseases, especially in inhibiting renal ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI). The aim of this study was to systematically analyze and predict the potential mechanism of Cordyceps cicadae in renal IRI therapy using network pharmacology. MATERIAL/METHODS: Cordycepin, adenosine, and cordycepic acid are the 3 major medicinal ingredients in Cordyceps cicadae. Based on network pharmacology, the 3D structure of the 3 compounds were obtained, and then the common targets between these compounds and renal IRI were analyzed and determined. We used the ingredient-target (I-T), protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks, the enrichment analysis of Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) to find the possible pharmacological mechanism of Cordyceps cicadae in treating renal IRI. RESULTS: Through target fishing and analysis, the 3 active ingredients of Cordyceps cicadae shared 81 target genes with renal IRI. I-T network showed that adenosine had the highest degree, and 5 genes were associated with the 3 active ingredients. PPI network analysis showed that ALB, GAPDH, CASP3, MAPK1, FN1, and IL-10 play a pivotal role. The enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG showed that Cordyceps cicadae can treat renal IRI through MAPK, cAMP, PPAR, Rap1, and HIF-1 signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Cordyceps cicadae exerts its therapeutic effect on renal IRI via multiple targets and pathways. Nevertheless, further experimentation is needed to verify this. The method of network pharmacology provides an effective method of determining the comprehensive action mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).