Evidence mapPaperPMID 41807627Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Mechanism of action of Astragalus membranaceus for treating diabetic foot ulcers based on single-cell RNA sequencing data and network pharmacology.

Xia Li, Yan Dong, Chong Huang, Guozhong Zhou, Yanjie Ning, Yuru Liu, Ruqin Zhang, Ying Yang, Nan Chen

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In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Xia Li *Faculty of Life Science and Technology & The Affiliated Anning First People's Hospital, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Yan Dong *School of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Chong HuangFaculty of Life Science and Technology & The Affiliated Anning First People's Hospital, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Guozhong ZhouSchool of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Yanjie NingDepartment of Dermatology, Anning Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Yuru LiuDepartment of Dermatology, Anning Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Ruqin ZhangDepartment of Dermatology, Anning Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Ying YangDepartment of Endocrinology, Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, China. Chinayangying2072@126.com.
Nan ChenDepartment of Endocrinology, The Affiliated Anning First People's Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, China. saint0728@163.com.

Funding

Yunnan Provincial Science and Technology Department 202301BE070001-039
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Diabetic foot ulcer is a severe complication of diabetes, characterized by impaired wound healing and immune dysregulation. Although Astragalus membranaceus (AM) has been widely used and reported to exert beneficial effects in diabetic complications, its underlying mechanisms of action in DFU remain incompletely understood. This study integrated single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from a public bioinformatic cohort (GSE245703; 4 non-diabetic foot ulcer (NFU) and 5 diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) samples) with network pharmacology to explore potential molecular mechanisms by which AM may be involved in DFU pathology. scRNA-seq analysis identified ten major cell types within the DFU microenvironment and revealed significant macrophage heterogeneity. Network pharmacology identified 14 active compounds in AM and their predicted targets, some of which overlapped with macrophage-associated differentially expressed genes. Molecular docking suggested strong binding affinities between selected AM compounds and macrophage-associated hub genes. qPCR validation in a clinical cohort (6 NFU and 9 DFU patients) confirmed differential expression of several candidate hub genes overlapping with predicted AM targets. Collectively, these results provide a single-cell-resolved, systems-level framework that links AM components to macrophage-associated molecular processes in DFU, offering a hypothesis-generating basis for future functional and translational studies.

Indexed as

Astragalus propinquusDiabetic FootDrugs, Chinese HerbalHumansMacrophagesMolecular Docking SimulationNetwork PharmacologySequence Analysis, RNASingle-Cell AnalysisSingle-Cell Gene Expression AnalysisDrugs, Chinese HerbalAstragalus membranaceusDiabetic foot ulcerimmune microenvironmentmacrophagessingle-cell RNA sequencing

Identifiers

PMID41807627
PMCPMC13096405

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.