Identification of Pathways and Genes Associated with Cold and Hot Properties of Chinese Materia Medica Based on Bioinformatics Analysis

Abstract The Chinese Materia Medica can be divided into four classes: cold, cool, warm, and hot, which mainly exhibits two opposite properties: cold and hot. This study aimed to explore the scientific essence involved in the cold and hot features of Chinese Materia Medica. The microarray data of twelve cold/hot herbs with typical cold and hot properties (six for each group) were analyzed on the Gene-Cloud of Biotechnology Information. First, we compared the differences in total gene expression profiles and identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two classes of herbs. Subsequently, gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, pathway analysis, and gene signal network analysis were performed to screen out related pathways and core genes. This study reveals that the upregulated genes in cold herbs are downregulated in hot herbs, and the genes downregulated in cold herbs were upregulated in hot herbs. The gene expression of the two types of herbs has apparent differences, and the DEGs enrich in six systems, including metabolism, immune system, nervous system, endocrine system, cell proliferation and apoptosis, and hemorheology. PRKACA, PRKACB, PRKCA, ADCY7, PIK3R1, and MAPK1 are the core genes. These results elucidated the objectivity of the differences between cold and hot herbs at a genetic level, and identified related pathways and core genes, which may be a feasible approach for solving the qualitative and even quantitative problems of the cold and hot properties of herbs.