Interpreting the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Sho-saiko-to on Thyroid Carcinoma through Combining Network Pharmacology and Experimental Evaluation

Kun Wang; Ruijie Qian; Hongyan Li; Chenyang Wang; Ying Ding; Zairong Gao

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c07335

Interpreting the Pharmacological Mechanisms of Sho-saiko-to on Thyroid Carcinoma through Combining Network Pharmacology and Experimental Evaluation

ACS Omega. 2022 Mar 25;7(13):11166-11176. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c07335. eCollection 2022 Apr 5.

Authors

Kun Wang^{1

2}, Ruijie Qian^{1

2}, Hongyan Li^{1

2}, Chenyang Wang^{1

2}, Ying Ding^{1

2}, Zairong Gao^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nuclear Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, China.
² Hubei Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Wuhan 430022, China.

Abstract

Sho-saiko-to is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine compound and is considered to have therapeutic effects against many diseases, including thyroid cancer (TC). However, the mechanisms and therapeutic targets of Sho-saiko-to against TC remain unclear. In this study, network pharmacology, molecular docking, and cell experiments were combined to predict and verify the targets and mechanisms of the active ingredients of Sho-saiko-to against TC. The results demonstrated that the main chemical ingredients of Sho-saiko-to could suppress the viability and proliferation of TC cells, promote apoptosis through the caspase3 pathway, and induce autophagy through the PI3K-AKT pathway. In addition, Sho-saiko-to could also induce the redifferentiation of anaplastic thyroid cancer. Our study provides a novel approach for treating differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) or radioactive iodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAIR-DTC).