ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Dermatology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1616886
This article is part of the Research Topic25 Years of 21st Century MedicineView all 18 articles
Network pharmacology, molecular docking and in vivo study on Oleanolic acid against Psoriasis
Provisionally accepted
- Xingyi City People's Hospital, Xingyi, Guizhou, China
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Background: Psoriasis remains incurable, driving the need for new treatments.This study evaluated the therapeutic effects of oleanolic acid on IMQ-induced psoriasis model mice and used network pharmacology and molecular docking to predict its mechanism of action.Methods: This study assessed the different concentrations (1%, 5%, 10%) of oleanolic acid cream effects on IMQ-induced psoriasis in female Balb/C mice, evaluating therapeutic outcomes via PASI scores, skin lesion staining, and inflammatory factor detection. Network pharmacology and molecular docking predicted OA's mechanism. Key targets were identified using databases and software analyses.Results:Oleanolic acid can treat skin damage in psoriasis model mice and improve systemic inflammatory responses. Network pharmacology results identified important potential targets for OA treatment of psoriasis, including HSP90AA1, STAT3, MAPK3, HSP90AB1, PPARG, PTGS2, AR, CDK1. GO functional enrichment analysis involved biological functions such as inflammation response, signal transduction, G protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway, etc. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis involved signaling pathways such as neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, PPAR signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation, etc. Molecular docking results showed good affinity between oleanolic acid and MAPK3, STAT3, HSP90AB1, HSP90AA1, PPARG.Conclusion: OA has therapeutic effects on psoriasis, with possible target points being MAPK3, STAT3, HSP90AB1, HSP90AA1, and PPARG, involving processes such as inflammation response, PPAR signaling pathway, and Th17 cell differentiation.
Keywords: Oleanolic Acid, Psoriasis, Network Pharmacology, molecular docking, Balb/c mice
Received: 23 Apr 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zan, Zhang, Liu, Wang and Tian. 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: Xuejuan Zan, 375024517@qq.com
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