Title:Exploration of the Potential Mechanism of Calculus Bovis in Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer by Network Pharmacology
VOLUME: 24 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Zhen Zhang, Puhua Zeng, Wenhui Gao, Ruoxia Wu, Tianhao Deng, Siqin Chen and Xuefei Tian*
Affiliation:Hunan Key Laboratory of TCM Prescription and Syndromes Translational Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410006, School of Chinese Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, Hunan Key Laboratory of TCM Prescription and Syndromes Translational Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410006, Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410006, Hunan Key Laboratory of TCM Prescription and Syndromes Translational Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208
Keywords:Network pharmacology, calculus bovis, primary liver cancer, Chinese medicine, chemotherapy, antitumor activity.
Abstract:
Aim and Objective: Calculus Bovis (CB) has been employed to treat diseases for a long
time. It has been identified to play significant anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor roles. However,
the mechanism of treating primary liver cancer (PLC) remains to be revealed. This study aims to
clarify the molecules and mechanisms of CB in treating PLC.
Materials and Methods: After oral bioavailability (OB) and drug-likeness (DL) screening, 15
small molecules were identified as the potential ingredients against PLC. Following this, related
targets network constructions and pathways were applied to clarify the mechanism of CB in treating
PLC. An in vitro experiment was carried out to identify the function of CB in treating PLC.
Results: Eleven compounds of CB were identified that play an anti-PLC role, including oleanolic
acid, ergosterol, ursolic acid, etc. The potential targets which were observed include IL6, MAPK-8,
VEGFA, Caspase-3, etc. Further analysis showed that the mechanism of CB in the treatment of
PLC involved apoptosis-related pathways and immune-related pathways.
Conclusion: In summary, the current study combines network pharmacology and in vitro
experiments to reveal the mechanism of CB against PLC. We concluded that 11 ingredients of CB
have an anti-PLC effect. Furthermore, CB plays a key role in treating PLC mainly by apoptosisrelated
pathways and immune-related pathways. Our experiment verifies that CB promotes the
apoptosis of SMMC-7721.
