Abstract

The active ingredients in Tripterygium wilfordii have anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and many other effects. The main objective of this study is to explore the therapeutic mechanism of Tripterygium wilfordii in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus using network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques. The active components and targets of Tripterygium wilfordii bark were screened by using traditional Chinese medicine system pharmacology database, high-throughput experiment- and reference-guided database, PubChem and SwissTargetPrediction, and systemic lupus erythematosus disease targets were screened by GeneCards website. Bioconcentration analysis of relevant targets was conducted to derive a possible mechanism of action of Tripterygium wilfordii active ingredients on systemic lupus erythematosus. The molecular docking results showed that the docking of the core active ingredients of Tripterygium wilfordii with the core targets was successfully validated and the docking activity was good. The therapeutic effects of Tripterygium wilfordii on systemic lupus erythematosus are not limited to a single target and a single pathway, but rather act synergistically on multiple pathways to alleviate the inflammatory response and maintain metabolic and immune homeostasis. The present study provides preliminary insights into the biological processes and signaling pathways involved in the therapy of SLE with Tripterygium wilfordii, which will be a theoretical reference and basis for further studies.