A network pharmacology analysis to identify active components and targets of Moschus in treatment and rehabilitation of Bell’s palsy

The traditional Chinese herb, Moschus (also called She Xiang in Chinese), is used to accelerate the rehabilitation of Bell’s palsy (BP) through acupoint sticking therapy in China. However, the mechanism of its effect is not clear. In this study, we explored the pharmacological mechanism using bioinformatics analysis. We identified 59 active ingredients in Moschus using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database, including 17-beta-estradiol, testosterone, and 2,6-decamethylene pyridine. In total, 837 differently expressed genes were identified in blood of BP patients by RNA sequencing. Finally, 33 proteins were identified with overlapping predictions by the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database and Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Proteins of interest were closely associated with 406 Gene Ontology biological processes and 4 pathways. The hub proteins in the protein–protein interaction network were FOS, JUN, proopiomelanocortin, and G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1. A pharmacology network was constructed with 15 active components of Moschus, 33 protein targets and four pathways. The docking model of androst-4-ene-3,17-dione and FOS-JUN complexes was predicted and constructed. The results indicated testosterone as an effective component of Moschus that may enhance BP rehabilitation by targeting FUN and the mitogen-activated protein kinase and cyclic adenosine monophosphate signaling pathways, and that docking of androst-4-ene-3,17-dione and FOS-JUN complexes might play a critical role. The findings provide a direction for future research to verify the key targets of Moschus in the treatment of BP and an application prospect in the field of facial nerve rehabilitation.