Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 6, 2023; 11(31): 7593-7609
Published online Nov 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i31.7593
Network pharmacological and molecular docking study of the effect of Liu-Wei-Bu-Qi capsule on lung cancer
Qing Yang, Li-Yuan Li
Qing Yang, Li-Yuan Li, The Second Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Hefei 230031, Anhui Province, China
Author contributions: Yang Q and Li LY contributed equally to this work; Yang Q and Li LY designed the study; Yang Q contributed to the analysis of the manuscript; Yang Q and Li LY were involved in the data and writing of this article; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study adopts network pharmacology and molecular docking simulation methods without requiring hospital ethical approval.
Informed consent statement: This study did not involve human experiments and does not require the signing of an informed consent form.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Yang Q and Li LY Declaration that there is no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Qing Yang, MMed, Doctor, The Second Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, No. 117 Meishan Road, Hefei 230031, Anhui Province, China. cbdcnmyy929@sina.com
Received: August 23, 2023
Peer-review started: August 23, 2023
First decision: September 13, 2023
Revised: October 9, 2023
Accepted: October 23, 2023
Article in press: October 23, 2023
Published online: November 6, 2023
Processing time: 74 Days and 23.9 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Although Liu-Wei-Bu-Qi capsule (LBC) inhibits tumor progression by improving the physical condition and immunity of patients with lung cancer (LC), its exact mechanism of action is unknown.

AIM

To through compound multi-dimensional network of chemical ingredient-target-disease-target- protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, the principle of action of Chinese medicine prescription was explained from molecular level.

METHODS

Network pharmacology and molecular docking simulations were used to analyze the relationship among the main components, targets, and signaling pathways of LBC in treatment of LC.

RESULTS

From the analysis, 360 LBC active ingredient-related targets and 908 LC-related targets were identified. PPI network analysis of the LBC and LC overlapping targets identified 16 hub genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis suggested that LBC can target the vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, prolactin signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and HIF-1 signaling pathway in the treatment of LC. Molecular docking simulations showed that quercetin had the best affinity for MAPK3, suggesting that quercetin in LBC may play an important role in the treatment of LC.

CONCLUSION

The results showed that the active ingredients in LBC can play a crucial role in the treatment of LC by regulating multiple signaling pathways. These results provide insights into further studies on the mechanism of action of LBC in the treatment of LC.

Keywords: Liu-Wei-Bu-Qi capsule; Lung cancer; Network pharmacology; Molecular docking; Active ingredients; Signaling pathways

Core Tip: The network pharmacological and molecular docking study of Liu-Wei-Bu-Qi capsule (LBC) on lung cancer revealed that LBC’s active ingredients target multiple signaling pathways, including the endothelial growth factor, toll-like receptor, prolactin, FoxO, PI3K-Akt, and HIF-1 pathways. Quercetin, found in LBC, showed promising affinity for MAPK3, highlighting its potential role in lung cancer treatment. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of action of LBC and pave the way for further investigations into its therapeutic effects on lung cancer.