Investigating the effects of dendrobine on fibrosis and inflammation in orbital fibroblasts of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy via network pharmacology, molecular docking, and transcriptomics

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effects and mechanisms of dendrobine against thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO). Potential targets of dendrobine and TAO were selected to construct a protein-protein interaction network, elucidating the potential mechanisms of dendrobine against TAO. The potential mechanisms systematically were verified by molecular docking, transcriptomics and in vitro experiments. Orbital fibroblasts (OFs) were isolated from orbital decompression-derived fat tissue, and the effects of dendrobine were studied in transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1)-induced fibrosis models and interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced inflammation models. The results showed that dendrobine inhibited the migration, fibrosis and levels of inflammatory factors in TAO OFs. Network pharmacology and transcriptomics studies revealed the mechanisms of dendrobine, while in vitro experiments confirmed it alleviates TGF-β1-induced fibrosis in TAO OFs by inhibiting AKT phosphorylation.

Keywords: AKT; Dendrobine; Fibrosis; Molecular docking; Network pharmacology; Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy; Transcriptomics.