This study employed network pharmacology to investigate the synergistic mechanisms of Tripterygium wilfordii (TW) and valsartan for diabetic nephropathy (DN). Network pharmacology analysis identified 67 overlapping core targets. A PPI network (67 nodes, 171 edges) prioritized key hub genes (ACE, AGT, AKT1, BCL2, CASP3, CCL2, CREB1, CXCL8, ESR1, JUN). Gene Ontology enrichment (p-value<0.001, FDR<0.05) revealed significant involvement in inflammatory response, blood pressure regulation, hypoxia response, and apoptosis. KEGG pathway analysis (p<0.001) highlighted crucial signaling pathways, including HIF-1, TNF, IL-17, MAPK, and PI3K-Akt. These results demonstrate that TW and valsartan likely exert combined therapeutic effects on DN through multi-target, multi-pathway modulation, providing a theoretical basis for optimized combination therapy and guiding future experimental validation.

Xingyue Fan, Yaqin Hou, Wen Guo, Yuanting Li, Xu Jia. Network Pharmacology-Based Exploration of Multi-Target Synergistic Mechanisms of Tripterygium Wilfordii and Valsartan in Diabetic Nephropathy. Academic Journal of Medicine & Health Sciences (2025), Vol. 6, Issue 7: 46-52. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJMHS.2025.060707.

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