This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of Yindan Pinggan capsules (YDPG) on intrahepatic cholestasis (IHC) through animal experiments, while utilizing network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques to explore its potential mechanisms. Initially, the therapeutic effect of YDPG on an α-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT)-induced IHC mouse model was assessed through liver function tests, routine blood tests, and liver pathology analysis. Subsequently, network pharmacology tools were employed to predict the active components, core targets, and signaling pathways of YDPG. Molecular docking technology was employed to verify the binding activity of key active components of YDPG with core targets, followed by protein immunoblotting to validate the key targets. Results showed that YDPG significantly improved liver function abnormalities and hepatocyte damage in IHC mice. Network pharmacology analysis revealed that 94 active components in YDPG were associated with 396 targets for the treatment of IHC, and were significantly enriched in pathways such as the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathway, lipid metabolism, and bile secretion. Molecular docking results showed good binding activity between key active components of YDPG and core targets of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. Further protein immunoblotting confirmed that YDPG could reduce the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT proteins, core targets of the PI3K-AKT pathway in liver tissue. These findings suggest that YDPG may alleviate biological processes such as oxidative stress and inflammatory responses by regulating the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, thereby improving liver damage in IHC mice and exerting a therapeutic effect on IHC. This experiment has been approved by the Animal Experiment Ethics Committee of Jinan University (ethical approval number: IACUC-20241011-09).
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |