Mechanism exploration of SanShi ShengXin Ointment in the treatment of pressure ulcers based on network pharmacology and molecular docking.

BACKGROUND: To explore the active ingredients, prospective targets, and action mechanisms of SanShi ShengXin Ointment in the treatment of pressure ulcers (PU) based on the network pharmacology technique and molecular docking technology.

METHODS: The active ingredients and action targets of Sanshishengxin Ointment were searched through the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform. The PU-related targets were retrieved from the GeneCards and DisGeNET databases. The intersection target genes of disease and drugs were obtained. The "disease-drug-active ingredient-target" was constructed using Cytoscape software. The intersection target genes were imported into the String database to construct a protein-protein interaction network for gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses. The Auto Dock software was used for relevant molecular docking.

RESULTS: A total of 78 active ingredients of SanShi ShengXin Ointment were obtained, corresponding to 539 target genes. There were 5896 PU-related target genes, and 373 intersection target genes of disease and drugs were obtained, such as STAT3, TP53, JUN, MAPK3, CTNNB1, involving PI3K-Akt, TNF, MAPK, and other related signaling pathways.

CONCLUSION: Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses, this study demonstrates that SanShi ShengXin Ointment can treat PU through multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway. .