Data Mining and Network Pharmacology Analysis of Kidney-Tonifying Herbs on the Treatment of Renal Osteodystrophy Based on the Theory of "Kidney Governing Bones" in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Background: Renal osteodystrophy (ROD) secondary to chronic kidney disease is closely associated with osteoporosis and fractures. Based on the theory of "kidney governing bones" in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), treating bone diseases from the perspective of the kidney has become a basic principle of treating ROD. However, there are many kidney-tonifying herbs and their mechanisms of treating ROD are not clear. Therefore, our study intends to use data mining and network pharmacology to study the commonly used kidney-tonifying herbs, as well as their active ingredients and mechanisms of treating ROD.

Methods: We established a clinical ROD database by searching PubMed, CNKI, and other databases and screened out a core herbal combination of treating ROD. Furthermore, by using databases such as Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform and GeneCards, we obtained active ingredients and targets of the core herbal combination and ROD targets. The STRING website and Cytoscape software were then used to obtain information on key active ingredients and key targets. Finally, we conducted GO and KEGG analyses using the Metascape website and molecular docking using the AutoDock Vina software.

Results: Our study eventually included 58 prescriptions and 116 herbs of treating ROD. Through data mining, we found that yin-yang-huo, du-zhong, and bu-gu-zhi (YDB) constituted a core herbal combination to treat ROD. Network pharmacology showed that YDB mainly acted on targets such as estrogen receptor alpha through active ingredients such as quercetin by mitogen-activated protein kinase and other signaling pathways.

Conclusion: Many ingredients, targets, and pathways are involved in the treatment of YDB for ROD. Specifically, the flavonoids contained in YDB have great potential for ROD treatment.