# Discovery of key biomarkers in tourette syndrome by network pharmacology

## TL;DR

This study identifies key biomarkers and pathways involved in Tourette Syndrome using network pharmacology and YXD, a traditional Chinese medicine.

## Contribution

The study discovers OPRM1 and VIM as core genes and highlights immune infiltration in the therapeutic mechanism of YXD for TS.

## Key findings

- 127 active ingredients and 255 targets of YXD were identified.
- TNF and IL-17 signaling pathways were found to be central in TS.
- OPRM1 and VIM were identified as core genes linked to immune infiltration.

## Abstract

Yangxue Xifeng Decoction (YXD) has been utilized in clinical settings for the treatment of Tourette Syndrome (TS). However, the action mechanism of YXD needs further research.

The ingredients and targets of YXD were identified via database searches and then constructed an active ingredient-target network using Cytoscape. Pathway enrichment analysis was performed via Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). The core genes were determined by LASSO regression and SVM algorithm. Additionally, we analyzed the immune infiltration. The signaling pathways associated with core genes were investigated through KEGG and GO. We predicted the transcription factors using “RcisTarge”.

127 active ingredients of YXD and 255 targets were obtained. TNF and the IL-17 signaling pathway were the main pathways. OPRM1 and VIM were screened out as core genes, which were associated with the immune infiltration. The signaling pathways involved in OPRM1 and VIM were enriched. Furthermore, remarkable correlation was found between OPRM1 and VIM levels and other TS-related genes such as MAPT and MAPT.

OPRM1 and MAPT, and the signaling pathways are associated with TS. YXD exerts its therapeutic TS through multi-component and multi-targets including immune infiltration.