Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Perspectives into Lignans for Alzheimer's Disease Treatment

Abstract

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative condition with limited treatment options. Lignans, a class of naturally occurring polyphenols found in various plants, have been shown to have the potential to modulate pathways associated with AD pathology. In this study, we used network pharmacology and molecular docking to investigate the therapeutic potential of lignans against AD by targeting specific proteins involved in disease progression. Our established interaction network includes key proteins such as EGFR, HSP90AA1, BCL2, HSP90AB1, IL6, JUN, ESR1, PIK3CA, ERBB2, and PIK3R1. Molecular docking studies have revealed how lignans interact with these proteins and highlighted their potential to influence AD through mechanisms such as inflammation modulation, apoptosis regulation, and signal transduction pathways. The results suggest that lignans have significant binding abilities to these targets, potentially inhibiting their activity and thus alleviating AD symptoms by reducing amyloid-beta accumulation and tau phosphorylation. These findings support the viability of lignans as a basis for the development of new AD therapies and call for further in vivo studies to confirm their efficacy and safety. This integrated approach underscores the value of combining network pharmacology and molecular docking in the search for new therapeutic agents against complex diseases such as AD.