Study on the Mechanism of Astragalus Polysaccharide in Treating Proliferative Vitreoretinopathy Based on Network Pharmacology and Cell Experiments

YU Yue; ZHAO Minyao; SONG Zhengyu

Abstract：Objective To investigate the mechanism of action of astragalus polysaccharide(APS)in inhibiting proliferative vitreoretinopathy(PVR)and validate it by network pharmacology and in vitro cellular experiments.Methods The predicted targets of APS were obtained using PharmMapper,SwissTarget Prediction and GeneCards databases.Relevant targets of PVR were searched in DisGenet,GeneCards,and OMIM databases.The intersecting targets were taken for protein interaction network establishment,GO functional enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis;CCK-8 method was used to detect the effect of APS on the cell viability of human retinal pigment epithelium-19 cells(ARPE-19);scratch assay to detect the effect of different concentrations of APS on the migration ability of ARPE-19 cells;Transwell assay to detect the effect of different concentrations of APS on the vertical migration of ARPE-19 cells;collagen contraction assay to detect the effect of different concentrations of APS on the contraction of ARPE-19 cells in collagen gels;Western blot to detect the effect of APS on AKT/GSK-3β pathway.Results A total of 68 relevant targets for APS treatment of PVR were obtained,mainly EGFR,AKT1 and MMP9.These core targets act on Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/Akt signaling pathway,inflammation related signaling pathway,etc.to exert therapeutic effects on PVR.The results of in vitro experiments showed that APS could significantly inhibit horizontal and vertical migration of ARPE-19 cells and inhibit extracellular matrix formation.Conclusion APS may play a therapeutic role in the treatment of PVR by inhibiting ARPE-19 cell migration through the AKT/GSK-3β pathway and suppressing the production of ECM.