Study on anti-PRRSV mechanism of Ma-Xing-Shi-Gan granule via network pharmacology and molecular docking

ZHANG Miao; HUANG Jiankun; RAN Xuhua; WEN Xiaobo

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.15.014

Abstract：The experiment aims to explore the inhibitory effect of the compound traditional Chinese medicine Ma-Xing-Shi-Gan granules(MXSGG)on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus(PRRSV)through in vitro experiments,and to reveal the potential mechanism of MXSGG against PRRSV by using network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques.Marc-145 cell was used to detect the effect of MXSGG in inhibiting PRRSV proliferation in vitro by fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)and tissue half infection volume(TCID50).The active ingredients and targets of MXSGG were screened by traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform(TCMSP),and PRRSV disease targets were collected by GeneCards,and the protein-protein interaction network was constructed through the intersection targets of MXSGG and PRRSV diseases,and the gene ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathways were analyzed.The molecular docking between the screened active ingredients and the core targets was verified.The results showed that MXSGG could significantly inhibit the relative expression level and viral titer of open the reading frame 7(ORF7)gene in PRRSV.Using the network pharmacology approach,a total of 82 active ingredients and 140 potential therapeutic targets related to MXSGG anti-PRRSV were identified,albumin(ALB),peroxisome proliferator-activating γ(PPARG),caspasin 3(CASP3),signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3),transforming growth factor β1(TGFβ1),and protein kinase cAMP-activated catalytic subunit α(PRKACA)as the core therapeutic targets.GO and KEGG results were mainly enriched in viral response,innate immunity and inflammatory response,Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and interleukin-6 regulation.Molecular docking confirmed that the core target had high binding energy to the key active ingredients,which verified the molecular mechanism of MXSGG against PRRSV.The study indicates that MXSGG may inhibit PRRSV through ALB,PPARG,CASP3,STAT3,TGFB1,PRKACA and other targets.