Abstract:In order to explore the mechanism of toxicity induced by citrinin in Monascus, the databases of Swiss Target Prediction, Similarity ensemble approach, Comparative Toxicogenomics Database and GeneCards were searched, and the software of Metascape, Kobas 3.0, Cytoscape 3.7.2 and AutoDock were employed for network pharmacology analysis. The results showed that a total of 110 potential targets, which showed the relationship between citrinin and liver toxicity as well as kidney toxicity, were achieved after filter and deduplication. There were 496 items enriched by GO analysis, including 97 molecular function, 354 biological process and 45 cell composition. The KEGG signal pathways with more enriched targets and higher significance mainly included MicroRNAs in cancer, Patyways in cancer, Hepatitis B and so on. Citrinin might induce hepatorenal toxicity through targets of TP53, CASP3, MAPK3 and ALB, and the molecular docking experiments showed that citrinin could bind to these targets. The potential targets and related signal pathways of citrinin-induced hepatorenal toxicity were revealed, providing theoretical reference for further study on the mechanism of citrinin-induced toxicity and health protection.
