Exploration on mechanism of action of nalfurafine in treatment of chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus based on network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques
LI Jing
SHI Jingxuan
WANG Xu
ZHANG Zheng
ZHUO Li
LI Wenge
Abstract：Objective To explore the mechanism of action of nalfurafine in treatment of chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus(CKD-aP)based on network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques.Methods The basic information and target sites of nalfurafine were obtained via Chemical Book platform,SwissTargetPrediction database and GeneCards database.Comparative Toxicogenomics Database(CTD)and GeneCards database were used to screen the target sites related to chronic kidney disease(CKD)and pruritus.The data update of the relevant databases was up to July 2025.The protein-protein interaction(PPI)network was constructed.Gene Ontology(GO)function enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analysis were performed on the common target sites.Results A total of 100 effect target genes of nalfurafine,4277 target genes related to CKD,4091 target genes related to pruritus,and 49 nalfurafine and CKD-aP common target genes were obtained.Nine key target genes were obtained through the screening of PPI network.A total of 933 enrichment results were obtained by using GO enrichment analysis,among which biological processes(BP)were mainly involved in phosphorylation,transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase signal pathway and protein phosphorylation,and cellular components(CC)were mainly involved in receptor complex,postsynaptic portion andⅠA phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase complex,and molecular functions(MF)were mainly involved in protein kinase activity,phosphotransferase activity with ethanol as receptor and kinase activity.A total of 139 pathways were obtained by using KEGG enrichment analysis,which were mainly involved in epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR)tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance,PI3K-Akt signal pathway and ErbB signal pathway.Conclusion Nalfurafine can treat CKD-aP via multiple targets and pathways,which provides a theoretical basis for further research on nalfurafine.
Keywords：NalfurafineChronic kidney disease-associated pruritus(CKD-aP)Network pharmacology
Publication Date：2025-12-30
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-16(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 1342-1348 )