Study on the effect and mechanism of Swertia mussotii Franch. in the treatment of primary biliary cholangitis based on bioinformatics and in vitro experiments

Background: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic biliary autoimmune liver disease characterized by intrahepatic cholestasis. Swertia mussotii Franch. (SMF) is a Tibetan medicine with hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory activities. In this study, the therapeutic effect and potential mechanisms of SMF on PBC were investigated by bioinformatics analysis and in vitro experimental validation, with the aim of promoting the progress of SMF and PBC research. Methods: We first explored the therapeutic effects and key targets of SMF on PBC using a network pharmacology approach, further screened the core targets using the GSE79850 dataset, and finally validated the results using molecular docking techniques and in vitro experiments. Results: By bioinformatics analysis, we identified core targets of SMF for PBC treatment (STAT3, JAK2, TNF-alpha, and IL-1 beta) and important signaling pathways: JAK-STAT, TNF, and PI3K-AKT. The molecular docking results showed that the significant components of SMF had good binding properties to the core targets. In vitro experiments showed that SMF extracts improved the extent of epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human intrahepatic biliary epithelial cells and had a significant reversal effect on epithelial-mesenchymal transition process markers and potential targets in PBC. Conclusion: SMF may exert its therapeutic effects on PBC by acting on important targets such as STAT3, JAK2, TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, Vimentin, and E-cadherin and the pathways in which they are involved.