A Network Pharmacology Approach for the Identification of Common Mechanisms of Drug-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Drug-induced peripheral neuropathy is a side effect of a variety of therapeutic agents that can affect therapeutic adherence and lead to regimen modifications, impacting patient quality of life. The molecular mechanisms involved in the development of this condition have yet to be completely described in the literature. We used a computational network pharmacology approach to explore the Connectivity Map, a large collection of transcriptional profiles from drug perturbation experiments to identify common genes affected by peripheral neuropathy-inducing drugs. Consensus profiles for 98 of these drugs were used to construct a drug–gene perturbation network. We identified 27 genes significantly associated with neuropathy-inducing drugs. These genes may have a potential role in the action of neuropathy-inducing drugs. Our results suggest that molecular mechanisms, including alterations in mitochondrial function, microtubule and cytoskeleton function, ion channels, transcriptional regulation including epigenetic mechanisms, signal transduction, and wound healing, may play a critical role in drug-induced peripheral neuropathy.