Table 8_Systems pharmacology-based optimization of Ma Xing Shi Gan components for the enhanced treatment of chick health issues caused by infectious bronchitis virus.xlsx

IntroductionInfectious bronchitis virus (IBV) imposes severe economic burdens on the poultry industry, and current treatments face challenges in efficacy and sustainability, necessitating the development of novel therapeutic strategies. To address this, this study employed the Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Computing Platform (TCMICS) to collect clinical prescriptions for IBV treatment, based on which two optimized versions of the traditional Chinese medicine Maxing Shigan Decoction (MXSG), namely MXSG-mix1 and MXSG-mix2, were designed. In vitro cell culture and in vivo chicken model experiments were then carried out, including egg testing, clinical symptom observation, immune function analysis, and viral load quantification, to assess the antiviral activity of the optimized formulations.
MethodsTo explore the underlying mechanisms, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was combined with network pharmacology to identify 28 active compounds in MXSG-mix and 47 key genes involved in viral replication, inflammation, and apoptosis pathways. Furthermore, molecular docking and RT-qPCR were performed, which confirmed that MXSG-mix downregulated BCL2 expression and interacted with AKT1 and CASP3, thus inhibiting IBV-induced cell apoptosis.
Results and discussionThe results showed that both MXSG-mix1 and MXSG-mix2 exhibited superior anti-IBV activity compared to traditional MXSG, effectively reducing viral load and improving immune responses in vivo. In conclusion, integrating TCMICS, LC-MS, and network pharmacology offers a novel paradigm for developing veterinary TCM formulations. The optimized MXSG-mix shows potential as an effective, multi-target therapeutic against IBV, providing valuable insights for future anti-viral drug development in poultry medicine.

引言：传染性支气管炎病毒（Infectious bronchitis virus, IBV）给家禽养殖业造成了严重的经济损失，当前的治疗手段在疗效与可持续性方面均存在瓶颈，因此亟需开发新型治疗策略。为此，本研究借助中医传承辅助平台（Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Computing Platform, TCMICS）收集了用于治疗IBV感染的临床方剂，并以此为基础优化得到两款传统中药麻杏石甘汤（Maxing Shigan Decoction, MXSG）的改良方，即MXSG-mix1与MXSG-mix2。随后通过体外细胞培养与体内鸡模型实验，涵盖鸡胚试验、临床症状观察、免疫功能分析及病毒载量定量，对两款改良方的抗病毒活性进行评估。
方法：为探究其潜在作用机制，本研究结合液相色谱-质谱联用法（liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, LC-MS）与网络药理学技术，从MXSG-mix中鉴定出28种活性成分，并筛选得到47个参与病毒复制、炎症反应及细胞凋亡通路的关键基因。此外，本研究还开展了分子对接与实时荧光定量PCR（RT-qPCR）实验，结果证实MXSG-mix可下调BCL2基因的表达，并与AKT1、CASP3蛋白结合，从而抑制IBV诱导的细胞凋亡。
结果与讨论：实验结果表明，相较于传统麻杏石甘汤，MXSG-mix1与MXSG-mix2均展现出更优异的抗IBV活性，可有效降低体内病毒载量并改善机体免疫应答。综上，将TCMICS、液相色谱-质谱联用法与网络药理学相结合，为兽药中药方剂的研发提供了全新范式。本研究优化得到的MXSG-mix具备作为抗IBV多靶点高效治疗剂的潜力，可为未来家禽医学领域的抗病毒药物开发提供重要参考。