Uncovering the mechanisms of diosmin in treating obesity-related kidney injury based on network pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vitro validation

Background: Obesity increases the risk of kidney injury, involving various pathological events such as inflammation, insulin resistance, lipid metabolism disorders, and hemodynamic changes, making it a significant risk factor for the development and progression of chronic kidney disease. Diosmin, a natural flavonoid glycoside, exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-lipid, and vasodilatory effects. However, whether diosmin has a protective effect on obesity-related kidney injury remains unclear. Methods: The molecular formula of diosmin was obtained, and diosmin and target genes related to obesity-related kidney injury were screened. The interaction between overlapping target genes was analyzed. GO functional enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed on overlapping target genes. Molecular docking was employed to assess the binding strength between overlapping target genes. Palmitic acid induced damage to HK2 cells, which were then treated with diosmin. Subsequently, the expression levels of relevant mRNAs were measured. Results:Network analysis identified 219 potential diosmin target genes, 6800 potential target genes related to obesity-related kidney injury, and 93 potential overlapping target genes. Protein-protein interaction networks and molecular docking results revealed that AKT1, TNF-α, SRC, EGFR, ESR1, CASP3, MMP9, PPARG, GSK3B, and MMP2 were identified as key therapeutic targets, and they exhibited stable binding with diosmin. GO analysis indicated that these key targets may participate in inflammation, chemical stress, and protein phosphorylation. KEGG revealed that pathways in cancer, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, PPAR signaling pathway, and insulin resistance as crucial in treating obesity-related kidney injury. In vitro experiments confirmed that diosmin treatment inhibited the mRNA levels of AKT1, TNF-α, EGFR, ESR1, CASP3, MMP9, GSK3B, and MMP2, while promoting the mRNA level of PPARG. Conclusion:Diosmin exhibits a potential multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway molecular mechanism in treating obesity-related kidney injury. AKT1, TNF-α, EGFR, ESR1, CASP3, MMP9, PPARG, GSK3B, MMP2 may be the crucial direct targets of diosmin.