• Zhihao Duan, Can Jin, Shuai Ma, Jinlang Liu, Shigang Li, and You Zhou.
• Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Renhe Hospital of China Three Gorges University, Yichang, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Jan 5; 103 (1): e36844e36844.

BackgroundTraditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used in China for a long time and is gradually gaining more and more recognition worldwide. Gualou Guizhi Decoction (GGD) has long been used as a folk medicine for the treatment of rheumatic diseases, but its bioactive components and therapeutic mechanisms are still unclear.MethodsAn integrated approach using network pharmacology and molecular docking and using methotrexate as a positive control drug.ResultsWe obtained 157 active ingredients of GGD, 7542 RA disease targets and 49 intersecting targets. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that their functions were mainly related to cytokine active metal ion binding, enzyme binding and DNA binding, and enriched in TNF signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, RA pathway and other signaling pathways that are closely related to RA. The molecular docking results show that the effector components of GGD bind better to the core targets of RA, and some are even better than methotrexate.ConclusionThe therapeutic effect of GGD for RA is achieved by affecting the core targets such as VEGFA, IL-1β, IL6, CXCL8, CCL2, and JUN, which together interfere with the tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway and RA pathway to treat RA. The above study provides new ideas for further exploration of this classic formula in the future.Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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