Systems Pharmacology-based Dissection Of The Mechanisms Of Action Of Chinese Medicinal Formula For Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a depigmentation disorder, which results in substantial cosmetic disfigurement and poses a detriment to the 1-4% of the population in the world, physical as well as mental. However, the molecular pathogenesis of vitiligo still remains unclear, which leads to a daunting challenge for vitiligo therapy in modern medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine, characterized by multi-compound and multi-target, have long been shown effective in treating vitiligo, but their molecular mechanisms of action also remain ambiguous. Here we proposed a systems pharmacology approach using a clinically effective herb formula Qubaibabuqi as a tool to detect the molecular mechanisms. We firstly utilized pharmacokinetic systems to screen out the active ingredients, then drug targets were obtained via weighted ensemble similarity model, finally an integrative analysis of compound-target, target-pathway and vitiligo pathway was performed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of Chinese herbal formula in treating vitiligo. 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. Systems pharmacology-based analysis provide a new approach for uncovering the molecular mechanisms of Qubaibabuqi, which will also facilitate the application of traditional Chinese herbs in modern medicine.