Network Systems Pharmacology-Based Mechanism Study on the Beneficial Effects of Vitamin D against Psychosis in Alzheimer’s Disease
Network Systems Pharmacology-Based Mechanism Study on the Beneficial Effects of Vitamin D against Psychosis in Alzheimer’s Disease
AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease with significant financial costs and negative impacts on quality of life. Psychotic symptoms, i.e., the presence of delusions and/or hallucinations, is a frequent complication of AD. About 50% of AD patients will develop psychotic symptoms (AD with Psychosis, or AD + P) and these patients will experience an even more rapid cognitive decline than AD patients without psychosis (AD-P). In a previous analysis on medication records of 776 AD patients, we had shown that use of Vitamin D was associated with delayed time to psychosis in AD patients and Vitamin D was used more by AD-P than AD + P patients. To explore the potential molecular mechanism behind our findings, we applied systems pharmacology approaches to investigate the crosstalk between AD and psychosis. Specifically, we built protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks with proteins encoded by AD- and psychosis-related genes and Vitamin D-perturbed genes. Using network analysis we identified several high-impact genes, including NOTCH4, COMT, CACNA1C and DRD3 which are related to calcium homeostasis. The new findings highlight the key role of calcium-related signaling pathways in AD + P development and may provide a new direction and facilitate hypothesis generation for future drug development.
Systems Biology, Vitamins, Article, Psychotic Disorders, Alzheimer Disease, Humans, Neural Networks, Computer, Protein Interaction Maps, Vitamin D, Antipsychotic Agents
Systems Biology, Vitamins, Article, Psychotic Disorders, Alzheimer Disease, Humans, Neural Networks, Computer, Protein Interaction Maps, Vitamin D, Antipsychotic Agents
citations This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).12 popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.Top 10% influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).Average impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.Top 10%
