Title:Investigation of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Therapeutic
Effect of Perilla frutescens L. Essential Oil on Acute Lung Injury Using
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and Network Pharmacology
Volume: 27
Issue: 10
Author(s): Hou Chen*, Lu Bai, Yanqiong Shi, Xiaofei Zhang, Xuan Wang, Yujiao Wang, Jiadong Hu and Peijie Zhou
Affiliation:
- School of Pharmaceutical and Chemical Engineering, Yangling Vocational and Technical College, Yangling, 712100,
China
Keywords:
Acute lung injury, Perilla essential oil, network pharmacology, NF-κB signal pathway, Perilla frutescens L, GC-MS.
Abstract: Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism through
which Perilla essential oil treats acute lung injury (ALI) through network pharmacology, molecular
docking, and in vitro assays.
Methods: Relevant ALI targets of the active ingredients of Perilla essential oil were predicted
using the SwissTargetPrediction database and meta TarFisher database. These ALI targets were
then screened using GeneCards and DisGeNET, and differentially expressed ALI target genes
were identified using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Next, key targets were enriched
using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG).
Protein-protein interaction network analysis was performed to obtain targets with the highest
degree values for molecular docking with Perilla essential oil active ingredients. For in vitro experiments,
lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to induce an ALI inflammation model using
RAW264.7 cells. The model cells were then treated with Perilla essential oil to detect the protein
expression levels of vascular endothelial factor (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and
p65 nuclear transcription factor in them.
Results: Sixty-eight key targets of Perilla oil were identified for the treatment of ALI. These targets
were found to be involved in biological processes related to peptides, response to lipopolysaccharides,
the positive regulation of cytokine production, etc., using GO. The signaling pathways
found to be associated with the targets included the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic
complications, the NF-kappa B signaling pathway, and small cell lung cancer and other inflammatory
signaling pathways. The five key targets that showed good binding activity with Perilla oil active
ingredients included TNF, RELA, PARP1, PTGS2, and IRAK4. In vitro assays showed that
Perilla essential oil could significantly reduce NO and TNF-α levels and inhibit the phosphorylation
of nuclear transcription factor P65, thus inhibiting the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway.
Conclusion Perilla essential oil can play a role in the treatment of ALI by inhibiting the activation
of the NF-κB signaling pathway and preventing an excessive inflammatory response. This
study thus provides a reference for the in-depth study of the mechanisms through which Perilla
essential oil treats ALI.
