†These authors contributed equally.
Academic Editor: Fazle Elahi
Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic multisystem
autoimmune disorder affecting almost any organ system without effective
treatment. Based on accumulating evidence, activated T cells are key cause
promoting the pathogenesis of SLE. A traditional clinic Langchuangding formula
(LCD) is an effective clinical traditional Chinese medicine prescription for SLE
with few side effects and good patient compliance. However, the mechanism of how
LCD affects SLE remains unclear. Methods: Targets related to LCD and SLE
were predicted and overlapped to construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) for
screening core target. Subsequently, flow cytometry analysis and Western-blot
method were used to verify the expression levels of target gene in LCD serum
treated-Jurkat T cells. The main compounds of LCD were identified by HPLC-MS and
further docked with the core targe. Results: 283 protein targets in LCD,
1498 SLE targets and 150 common targets were obtained to construct
protein-protein interaction (PPI). Network pharmacology results suggested that
LCD was closely related to CASP3 target. To verify the prediction of
pharmacological mechanism of LCD treatment for SLE, we investigated the
anti-proliferative effects of LCD-treated rat serum on