Analysis of the action mechanism of Fang Ji Huang Qi decoction in treating rheumatoid arthritis by network pharmacology

Objective: To explore the pharmacological action mechanism of Fang Ji Huang Qi decoction (FHD) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by network pharmacology. Methods: The chemical compositions and functional targets of the TCM were retrieved using the systematic pharmacological analysis platform TCMSP, and the gene name of each target protein was obtained from the UniProtKB network platform. The targets of RA were queried through the CTD database. The proteinprotein interaction network was constructed in the STRING database, and the network visualization analysis was performed in Cytoscape. The Gene Ontology and Kyoto Gene and Genomic Encyclopedia pathways enrichment analyses of key target proteins were performed using the DAVID data platform. Results: A total of 472 drug active ingredients were screened from the TCMSP database. Seventyfive disease targets from the CTD database were screened. The compoundtarget network map contained further screened out 98 components and corresponding 75 targets. The key compounds included quercetin and kaempferol. The key targets were prostaglandin G/H synthase 2 and nitric oxide synthase 2. The proteinprotein interaction network consisted of 75 proteins, of which 37 were key proteins, including tumor protein 53, JUN and interleukin6. There were 260 Gene Ontology entries, of which 246 were biological processes. Fiftyfive Kyoto Gene and Genomic Encyclopedia pathways were enriched, mainly the cancer pathway, NODlike receptor signaling pathway, and Tolllike receptor signaling pathway, which are involved in the action mechanism of FHD. Conclusion: The results of this study preliminarily verified the basic pharmacological action mechanism of FHD in the treatment of RA, laying a foundation for elucidating its mechanism of action.