Network pharmacology and molecular docking analysis on the mechanism of Wensan tincture in the treatment of pulmonary nodules: A review

Network pharmacology and molecular docking methods were applied to elucidate the molecular mechanism of action of Wensan tincture (WST) in the treatment of pulmonary nodules. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology and the Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chemical Composition database were used to screen the active ingredients. Potential targets of WST were retrieved using Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology, SwissADME, and SwissTargetPrediction, while pulmonary nodule-associated targets were obtained from GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man databases. An active ingredient-target network was constructed using Cytoscape 3.9.1, and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses were conducted via the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery platform to identify core targets and signaling pathways. Molecular docking studies were performed using AutoDockTools. The results revealed 62 active ingredients and 344 corresponding targets within the tincture, alongside 1005 targets associated with pulmonary nodules. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses indicated that the potential therapeutic targets of WST include signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, mitogen-activated protein kinase-3, mitogen-activated protein kinase-1, Jun proto-oncogene, tumor protein 53, phosphoinositide-3-kinase regulatory subunit 1, heat shock protein 90 alpha family class A member 1, and AKT serine/threonine kinase 1. The primary pathways were the cancer pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling, advanced glycation end-products and their receptor signaling, epidermal growth factor receptor signaling, hypoxia-inducible factor-1 signaling, and the programmed cell death-ligand 1/programmed cell death protein 1 checkpoint pathways. Molecular docking demonstrated that quercetin exhibited the strongest binding affinity with mitogen-activated protein kinase-3, with a binding energy of -9.1 kcal/mol. Notably, key components of WST, such as quercetin, demonstrate considerable potential as drug candidates for the treatment of pulmonary nodules.