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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Nephrology
Volume 12 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1506972
This article is part of the Research Topic Enhancing Research on Drug Small Molecules and Target Proteins for the Treatment of Genetic Diseases View all articles
Clinical Study, Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking of Kunxian Capsule in Treating Idiopathic Membranous Nephropathy
Provisionally accepted- Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
Objective A new Tripterygium wilfordii preparation called Kunxian capsule (KX) has been approved in China. However, it is still unknown whether KX is safe and effective for idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) and its therapeutic mechanism of action is unclear. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of 39 patients with IMN who received KX to investigate its efficacy and side effects of KX in treating IMN. We also used network pharmacology and molecular docking methods to explore the potential mechanism of action of KX in IMN. Results In patients with IMN receiving KX treatment, 24 h urine protein was markedly decreased, whereas serum albumin levels increased. The overall clinical response rate was 79.49% after 6 months of treatment, and there were no significant adverse events. Quercetin, luteolin and kaempferol were the main bioactive ingredients of KX in treating IMN. AKT1, IL6, and TNF were core targets. The main potential mechanism of KX in treating IMN were pathways involved in cancer, the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, lipid and atherosclerosis. Molecular docking results showed that the binding force between the active ingredient and core target was relatively stable. Conclusions KX is a safe and effective treatment option for IMN and can effectively improve serum albumin and 24 h urine protein levels in patients with IMN. This study preliminarily reveals the possible mechanism of KX in the treatment of IMN and provides a theoretical basis for future clinical research.
Keywords: Kunxian capsule 1, idiopathic membranous nephropathy 2, clinical study 3, Network pharmacology 4, Molecular docking 5
Received: 06 Oct 2024; Accepted: 17 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lv, Gao, Liu, He, Tian and Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jia Lv, Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
Xinyu Gao, Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
Lihua Liu, Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
Libing He, Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
Geng Tian, Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
Xuehong Lu, Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
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