Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation Reveal Therapeutic Potential of Propolis in UV-Induced Allergic Dermatitis

Abstract

Propolis demonstrates diverse pharmacological properties encompassing antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and wound-healing activities. This study investigated the therapeutic mechanism of propolis against ultraviolet (UV)-induced allergic dermatitis through an integrated approach combining network pharmacology with in vitro experimental validation. The targets of propolis components were conducted through the PubChem, the EMBL-EBI, and SEA Search Server databases, and the disease-associated targets for atopic dermatitis and related allergic conditions were extracted from GeneCards. The overlapping targets between propolis components and UV-induced dermatitis were screened. The Gene Ontology (GO) Enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed. The key targets were further validated through ELISA experiments using HSF cells. The results show that there were 28 overlapping targets between propolis and UV-induced allergic dermatitis. The GO enrichment results show that there were 1246 terms of biological functions, 52 terms of cellular components, and 98 terms of molecular functions. KEGG pathway enrichment obtained 110 signaling pathways. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network showed that TNF, NFKB1, MMP-9, and IL-2 were hub proteins. The ELISA experiment confirmed that propolis reduced the levels of MMP-9 and IL-2 in UBV-induced allergic dermatitis of HSF cells in a dose-dependent manner. These findings provide mechanistic evidence supporting propolis as a promising functional food, dietary supplements, or medicinal agent for UV-induced allergic skin disorders.

Keywords: UV-induced allergic dermatitis; in vitro; network pharmacology; propolis; treatment strategy.

Figure 1

Overlapping targets between the main components of propolis and UV allergic dermatitis.

Figure 2

GO enrichment analysis of overlapping targets of the propolis main components and UV allergic dermatitis.

Figure 3

KEGG enrichment analysis of overlapping targets of propolis main components and UV allergic dermatitis.

Figure 4

PPI analysis of common targets of the propolis main components and UV allergic dermatitis. The characters indicate the gene names of differentially expressed proteins, and the lines between genes indicate that the differentially expressed proteins interact. The darker the red color and the larger the diameter, the more associated proteins it has.

Figure 5

The standard curves of TNF-α, NF-κB, MMP-9, and IL-2 determined by ELISA assay.

Figure 6

The contents of hub proteins in UVB-irradiated HSF cells: (A) TNF-α, (B) NF-κB, (C) MMP-9, and (D) IL-2. Different characters in the figures indicate significant differences between the treatment group and the blank control (BC) group.

Figure 7

The proliferation of UVB-irradiated HSF cells. Different characters in the figures indicate significant differences between the treatment group and the untreated blank control (BC) group.