Exploring mechanism of Glycyrrhiza intervention in porcine respiratory disease complex based on network pharmacology and molecular docking
YANG Yuge
WANG Fang
SHEN Yunqi
LI Junqiang
XU Huiyan
ZHANG Sumei
Abstract：This study aimed to systematically elucidate the multi-component,multi-target mechanism of Glycyrrhiza intervention in porcine respiratory disease complex(PRDC)by employing network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques.Active components of licorice were screened and their potential targets were predicted using the traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform(TCMSP).Disease targets related to PRDC were simultaneously retrieved from the GeneCards and OMIM databases.After intersecting these datasets,a protein-protein interaction(PPI)network and a'component-target'network were constructed.Subsequently,gene ontology(GO)functional enrichment and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG)pathway analyses were performed.Molecular docking was utilized to validate the binding activity between the core active components and the key targets.The results showed that the core active components of licorice were 18α-glycyrrhetinic acid,coumarin,quercitrin,eriodictyol,and isolicoflavonol.The key targets involved caspase-3(CASP3),tumor necrosis factor(TNF),epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR),signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3),and proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase SRC(SRC).GO enrichment analysis yielded 943 entries for biological process(BP),138 for cellular component(CC),and 302 for molecular function(MF).KEGG analysis primarily involved the regulation of inflammatory mediators on the transient receptor potential(TRP)channel pathway,Ras signaling pathway,calcium signaling pathway,phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase B(PI3K-Akt)signaling pathway,and hypoxia-inducible factor-1(HIF-1)signaling pathway.Molecular docking results demonstrated stable binding between the core active components and key targets,with the most robust interaction observed between 18α-glycyrrhetinic acid and CASP3.The study shows that licorice likely exerts its therapeutic effect on PRDC by acting through the aforementioned core components on key targets such as CASP3,TNF,EGFR,STAT3,and SRC,thereby regulating multiple pathways involved in inflammatory response,cell metabolism,and proliferation.
Keywords：Glycyrrhizaporcine respiratory disease complexnetwork pharmacologymolecular docking
Publication Date：2026-01-28
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-20(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 78-83 )