Systematic understanding the mechanisms of vitiligo pathogenesis and its treatment by Qubaibabuqi formula.
BACKGROUND
Vitiligo is a depigmentation disorder, which results in substantial cosmetic disfigurement and poses a detriment to patients' physical as well as mental. Now the molecular pathogenesis of vitiligo still remains unclear, which leads to a daunting challenge for vitiligo therapy in modern medicine. Herbal medicines, characterized by multi-compound and multi-target, have long been shown effective in treating vitiligo, but their molecular mechanisms of action also remain ambiguous.


METHODS
Here we proposed a systems pharmacology approach using a clinically effective herb formula as a tool to detect the molecular pathogenesis of vitiligo. This study provided an integrative analysis of active chemicals, drug targets and interacting pathways of the Uygur medicine Qubaibabuqi formula for curing Vitiligo.


RESULTS
The results show that 56 active ingredients of Qubaibabuqi interacting with 83 therapeutic proteins were identified. And Qubaibabuqi probably participate in immunomodulation, neuromodulation and keratinocytes apoptosis inhibition in treatment of vitiligo by a synergistic/cooperative way.


CONCLUSIONS
The drug-target network-based analysis and pathway-based analysis can provide a new approach for understanding the pathogenesis of vitiligo and uncovering the molecular mechanisms of Qubaibabuqi, which will also facilitate the application of traditional Chinese herbs in modern medicine.
Center of Bioinformatics, College of Life Science, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Northwest University, Ministry of Education, China.
Tianli
T
Pei
Center of Bioinformatics, College of Life Science, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
Chunli
C
Zheng
Center of Bioinformatics, College of Life Science, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
Chao
C
Huang
Center of Bioinformatics, College of Life Science, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
Xuetong
X
Chen
Center of Bioinformatics, College of Life Science, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
Zihu
Z
Guo
Center of Bioinformatics, College of Life Science, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
Yingxue
Y
Fu
Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Northwest University, Ministry of Education, China.
Jianling
J
Liu
Center of Bioinformatics, College of Life Science, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China. Electronic address: yh_wang@nwsuaf.edu.cn.
Yonghua
Y
Wang
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000209:etiology; D003879:Dermatologic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D060066:Protein Interaction Maps; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D012880:Skin Pigmentation / Q000187:drug effects*; D049490:Systems Biology / Q000379:methods*; D014820:Vitiligo / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology
D003879:Dermatologic Agents; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C000617251:qubaibabuqi
Butein (PubChem CID: 5281222); Butin (PubChem CID: 92775); Cholesterol (PubChem CID: 5997); Galangin (PubChem CID: 5281616); Herbal medicines; Isopsoralen (PubChem CID: 10658); Kaempferol (PubChem CID: 5282102); Molecular pathogenesis; Psoralen (PubChem CID: 6199); Qubaibabuqi formula; Systems pharmacology; Vitiligo