Study on the mechanism of Erzhi Pill in the treatment of breast cancer based on network pharmacology

Fahu Yuan,Tongcun Zhang,Xinghua Liao,L Duan,A.Z Abdullah

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202124503055

Fahu Yuan, Tongcun Zhang + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202124503055

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Abstract

Objective: To explore the possible mechanism of Erzhi Pill in the treatment of breast cancer based on network pharmacology. Methods: Through systematic pharmacology database and analysis platform of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCMSP) and literature review, the candidate active ingredients and corresponding targets of Erzhi Pill were retrieved and collected. The UniProt database and the Human Genome Annotation Database (Genecards) were used to compare the results, and the potential target genes were obtained for the coincidence of Erzhi Pill and breast cancer. Cytoscape was used to construct the “candidate component - action target” network of Erzhi Pill. Generate Style from Statistics tool in String database and Cytoscape software was combined to construct protein interaction network.The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomics (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis and GO classification enrichment analysis for targets of Erzhi Pill were conducted using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID ) bioinformation resource Database. Results: A total of 21 candidate active components, including Beta-sitosterol, Quercetin, Luteolin, Demethylwedelolactone, Kaempferol and so on, were screened from Erzhi Pill, corresponding to 158 target genes, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), amino-terminal kinase (C-Jun), proto-oncogene (C-MYC), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and mainly involved in TNF-α, phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein kinase B(PI3K/Akt), tumor suppressor gene p53, toll-like receptor family and other signaling pathways. Conclusion: This study predicted the possible mechanism of action of Erzhi Pill in the treatment of breast cancer based on the method of network pharmacology, and provided a direction for further research.

Highlights

The incidence of breast cancer ranks the first among female malignant tumors, and is one of the most common malignant tumors
The protein names of the candidate targets corresponding to the active components of Erzhi Pill were retrieved through the Uniport database, the species was defined as human, and the gene names corresponding to the candidate targets and the corresponding UNIPOTKB were obtained
In the human genome annotation databases (Genecards) in breast cancer for the keyword search target genes associated with breast carcinoma in Erzhi Pill main active ingredients of the candidate target genes associated with breast carcinoma, comparing the target gene screening of common target genes, as Erzhi Pill potential target for the treatment of breast carcinoma

Summary

Introduction

The incidence of breast cancer ranks the first among female malignant tumors, and is one of the most common malignant tumors. The incidence of breast cancer tends to increase year by year and reach younger age. The prognosis of most breast cancer patients is better after treatment. A study shows that the 5-year survival rate of Chinese breast cancer patients is 83.2%, which has gradually turned into a chronic disease[1]. Erzhi Pill is made of Ecliptae Herba and Fructus Ligustri Lucidi formula, has been widely used in the treatment of breast cancer in China[2]. Erzhi pill can enhance efficacy and reduce toxicity, relieve depression and improve quality of life in postoperative chemoradiotherapy for breast cancer patients. Most studies on Erzhi pills are single aspect in vitro experiments or animal experiments, which have great limitations and it is difficult to obtain the overall network of its mechanism of action in vivo[3]

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Results

Conclusion