Poricoic Acid A from Poria cocos Attenuates AGE-Induced Podocyte Injury: Network Pharmacology Analysis and In Vitro Validation

Background/Objectives: Poria cocos (PC), a well-known medicine–food homologous fungus, has promising reno-protective potential against diabetic kidney disease (DKD); however, its bioactive constituents and underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly elucidated. This study aimed to decipher the reno-protective potential of PC via network pharmacology, and to subsequently validate the cyto-protective effect of poricoic acid A (PAA), a major active component of PC, against advanced glycation end product (AGE)-induced podocyte injury.

Methods

Network pharmacology was adopted to identify active ingredients, core targets and pivotal pathway of PC. Molecular docking was performed to analyze binding interactions between the identified active ingredients and core targets. The AGE-induced podocyte model was used to detect cell viability, mRNA and protein expression.