Network pharmacology and molecular docking reveal the potential mechanisms of edible Fritillariae cirrhosae bulbus in alleviating asthma-related symptoms: A transcriptomics-supported study

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by airway inflammation, hyperresponsiveness, and remodeling. The existing therapies have a limited effect on refractory asthma. In this study, Fritillaria Cirrhosae Bulbus (BFC), a traditional Chinese medicine, was taken as the object, and the data of network pharmacology, molecular docking, and clinical transcriptomics were integrated to systematically analyze its multi-component synergistic anti-asthma mechanism. By screening 55 active components (mainly alkaloids) of BFC, 172 cross-targets related to asthma were predicted, a protein interaction network was constructed, and 20 core targets, such as STAT3, TNF, EGFR, and HSP90AA1/HSP90AB1, were identified. Functional enrichment analysis showed that BFC affected inflammatory response, immune activation, and hormone sensitivity by regulating NF-κB signal, arachidonic acid metabolism, and calcium ion pathway. Molecular docking test showed that alkaloids such as Korseveramine and Peimisine had a high affinity with HSP90, EGFR, and SRC (binding energy < −9 kcal/mol). Based on the differential gene analysis of GSE27876 and GSE74986 datasets, HSP90AA1/HSP90AB1 downregulation in severe asthma was identified, suggesting that BFC may alleviate glucocorticoid resistance by regulating HSP90 function. This study extends the known alkaloid pharmacology of BFC and provides novel mechanistic insights into its complex anti-asthma effects. To our knowledge, this is the first study integrating network pharmacology, molecular docking, and clinical transcriptomics to systematically characterize the anti-asthma mechanism of BFC.