Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 May 9;104(19):e42287.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000042287.

Exploring the mechanisms of artemisinin and its derivatives in the treatment of atopic dermatitis based on network pharmacology and molecular docking: A review

Wenjing Xu  1 , Qianyu Zhu  2 , Jiaxing Chen  1 , Junchen He  3   4 , Aijie Yuan  1 , Peng Cao  3   4 , Litao Zhang  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Exploring the mechanisms of artemisinin and its derivatives in the treatment of atopic dermatitis based on network pharmacology and molecular docking: A review

Wenjing Xu et al. Medicine (Baltimore). .

Abstract

This study investigates the therapeutic mechanisms of artemisinin (ARS) and its derivatives in atopic dermatitis (AD) using network pharmacology and molecular docking. Molecules and disease targets were screened using public databases, including SwissTargetPrediction, PharmMapper, and Genecards. Core targets were identified, and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using STRING and Cytoscape for topological analysis. Relevant data were obtained from the DAVID database for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. Molecular docking of ARS and its derivatives with target genes was performed using AutoDock, with results visualized in Pymol. A functional PPI network was established, and molecular docking demonstrated strong binding activity between ARS derivatives and target protein. Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase14 (MAPK14) and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase10 (MAPK10) was found to be a common target for their treatment of AD. ARS and its derivatives may treat AD by modulating pathways such as Prolactin signaling, cancer pathways, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, and IL-17 signaling. ARS and its derivatives have the potential to treat AD. Artemisinin, artesunate, dihydroartemisinin, artemether, artemisinin and artemisinone could potentially treat AD by targeting MAPK14 and MAPK10.

Keywords: artemisinin; artesunate; dihydroartemisinin; molecular docking; network pharmacology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(A) The Venn diagram of targets for treating AD-ARS. (B) The Venn diagram of targets for treating AD-ART. (C) The Venn diagram of targets for treating AD-DHA. (D) The Venn diagram of targets for treating AD-ARM. (E) The Venn diagram of targets for treating AD-ARE. (F) The Venn diagram of targets for treating AD-ARO. AD = atopic dermatitis, ARE = arteether, ARM = artemether, ARO = artemisone, ARS = artemisinin, ART = artesunate, DHA = dihydroartemisinin.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Common intersection targets of artemisinin and its derivatives in the treatment of AD. AD = atopic dermatitis.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
(A) The PPI network of ARS. (B) The PPI network of ART. (C) The PPI network of DHA. (D) The PPI network of ARM. (E) The PPI network of ARE. (F) The PPI network of ARO. ARE = arteether, ARM = artemether, ARO = artemisone, ARS = artemisinin, ART = artesunate, DHA = dihydroartemisinin, PPI = protein-protein interaction.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
(A) GO enrichment about AD-ARS. (B) GO enrichment about AD-ART. (C) GO enrichment about AD-DHA. (D) GO enrichment about AD-ARM. (E) GO enrichment about AD-ARE. (F) GO enrichment about AD-ARO. AD = atopic dermatitis, ARE = arteether, ARM = artemether, ARO = artemisone, ARS = artemisinin, ART = artesunate, DHA = dihydroartemisinin, GO = Gene Ontology.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
(A) KEGG enrichment about AD-ARS. (B) KEGG enrichment about AD-ART. (C) KEGG enrichment about AD-DHA. (D) KEGG enrichment about AD-ARM. (E) KEGG enrichment about AD-ARE. (F) KEGG enrichment about AD-ARO. AD = atopic dermatitis, ARE = arteether, ARM = artemether, ARO = artemisone, ARS = artemisinin, ART = artesunate, DHA = dihydroartemisinin, KEGG = Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
(A) Visualization of MAPK14 docking with ARS. (B) Visualization of MAPK14 docking with ART. (C) Visualization of MAPK14 docking with DHA. (D) Visualization of MAPK14 docking with ARM. (E) Visualization of MAPK14 docking with ARE. (F) Visualization of MAPK14 docking with ARO. AD = atopic dermatitis, ARE = arteether, ARM = artemether, ARO = artemisone, ARS = artemisinin, ART = artesunate, DHA = dihydroartemisinin, MAPK = Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
(A) Visualization of MAPK10 docking with ARS. (B) Visualization of MAPK10 docking with ART. (C) Visualization of MAPK10 docking with DHA. (D) Visualization of MAPK10 docking with ARM. (E) Visualization of MAPK10 docking with ARE. (F) Visualization of MAPK10 docking with ARO. AD = atopic dermatitis, ARE = arteether, ARM = artemether, ARO = artemisone, ARS = artemisinin, ART = artesunate, DHA = dihydroartemisinin, MAPK = Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Sroka-Tomaszewska J, Trzeciak M. Molecular mechanisms of atopic dermatitis pathogenesis. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22:4130. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Katoh N, Ohya Y, Ikeda M, et al. ; Committee for Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Atopic Dermatitis 2018, The Japanese Society of Allergology, The Japanese Dermatology Association. Japanese guidelines for atopic dermatitis 2020. Allergol Int. 2020;69:356–69. - PubMed
    1. Koumaki D, Gregoriou S, Evangelou G, Krasagakis K. Pruritogenic mediators and new antipruritic drugs in atopic dermatitis. J Clin Med. 2023;12:2091. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bylund S, Kobyletzki LB, Svalstedt M, Svensson A. Prevalence and incidence of atopic dermatitis: a systematic review. Acta Derm Venereol. 2020;100:adv00160. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Afshari M, Kolackova M, Rosecka M, Čelakovská J, Krejsek J. Unraveling the skin; a comprehensive review of atopic dermatitis, current understanding, and approaches. Front Immunol. 2024;15:1361005. - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources