Integrative pharmacological mechanism of vitamin C combined with glycyrrhizic acid against COVID-19: findings of bioinformatics analyses
Integrative pharmacological mechanism of vitamin C combined with glycyrrhizic acid against COVID-19: findings of bioinformatics analyses
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DOI：
10.1093/bib/bbaa141
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发表时间：
2021-03-01
影响因子：
9.5
通讯作者：
Chen, Jian
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Li, Rong;Wu, Ka;Chen, Jian
目的：2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 是一种致命且快速传播的病毒感染。迄今为止，全球 COVID-19 患者人数已超过 600 万，死亡人数超过 37 万人（根据世界卫生组织的数据；2020 年 6 月 2 日更新）。尽管可以快速诊断出 COVID-19，但仍无法对 COVID-19 进行有效的临床治疗，导致死亡率很高。一些临床试验已确定维生素 C (VC) 是一种有效的复合肺炎治疗方法。此外，甘草酸（GA）在临床上被用作对抗肺炎引起的炎症应激的抗炎药物。我们假设 VC 和 GA 的组合是治疗 COVID-19 的潜在选择。方法：本研究的目的是利用生物信息网络药理学确定 VC+ GA 治疗 COVID-19 的药理学靶点和分子机制。结果：我们发现了 VC+ GA 对抗 COVID-19 的最佳靶点、生物过程和京都基因与基因组百科全书 (KEGG) 途径。我们的研究结果表明，VC和GA联合治疗COVID-19与提高免疫力和抑制炎症应激有关，包括激活T细胞受体信号通路、调节FcγR介导的吞噬作用、ErbB信号通路和血管内皮生长因子信号通路。我们还确定了 VC+ GA 的 17 个核心靶点，这表明其具有抗菌功能。结论：我们的研究首次揭示了 VC 和 GA 联合治疗 COVID-19 的药理学机制。这些结果应该有利于解决世界目前面临的最紧迫问题的努力。
Objective: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a fatal and fast-spreading viral infection. To date, the number of COVID-19 patients worldwide has crossed over six million with over three hundred and seventy thousand deaths (according to the data from World Health Organization; updated on 2 June 2020). Although COVID-19 can be rapidly diagnosed, efficient clinical treatment of COVID-19 remains unavailable, resulting in high fatality. Some clinical trials have identified vitamin C (VC) as a potent compound pneumonia management. In addition, glycyrrhizic acid (GA) is clinically as an anti-inflammatory medicine against pneumonia-induced inflammatory stress. We hypothesized that the combination of VC and GA is a potential option for treating COVID-19.Methods: The aim of this study was to determine pharmacological targets and molecular mechanisms of VC+ GA treatment for COVID-19, using bioinformational network pharmacology.Results: We uncovered optimal targets, biological processes and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways of VC+ GA against COVID-19. Our findings suggested that combinatorial VC and GA treatment for COVID-19 was associated with elevation of immunity and suppression of inflammatory stress, including activation of the T cell receptor signaling pathway, regulation of Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis, ErbB signaling pathway and vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway. We also identified 17 core targets of VC+ GA, which suggest as antimicrobial function.Conclusions: For the first time, our study uncovered the pharmacological mechanism underlying combined VC and GA treatment for COVID-19. These results should benefit efforts to address the most pressing problem currently facing the world.