Exploration in the mechanism of fucosterol for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 1;11(1):4901. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-84380-w.

Abstract

Fucosterol, a sterol isolated from brown algae, has been demonstrated to have anti-cancer properties. However, the effects and underlying molecular mechanism of fucosterol on non-small cell lung cancer remain to be elucidated. In this study, the corresponding targets of fucosterol were obtained from PharmMapper, and NSCLC related targets were gathered from the GeneCards database, and the candidate targets of fucosterol-treated NSCLC were predicted. The mechanism of fucosterol against NSCLC was identified in DAVID6.8 by enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG, and protein-protein interaction data were collected from STRING database. The hub gene GRB2 was further screened out and verified by molecular docking. Moreover, the relationship of GRB2 expression and immune infiltrates were analyzed by the TIMER database. The results of network pharmacology suggest that fucosterol acts against candidate targets, such as MAPK1, EGFR, GRB2, IGF2, MAPK8, and SRC, which regulate biological processes including negative regulation of the apoptotic process, peptidyl-tyrosine phosphorylation, positive regulation of cell proliferation. The Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway initiated by GRB2 showed to be significant in treating NSCLC. In conclusion, our study indicates that fucosterol may suppress NSCLC progression by targeting GRB2 activated the Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway, which laying a theoretical foundation for further research and providing scientific support for the development of new drugs.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / drug therapy*
  • GRB2 Adaptor Protein / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System / drug effects
  • Molecular Docking Simulation / methods
  • Network Pharmacology / methods
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Stigmasterol / analogs & derivatives*
  • Stigmasterol / pharmacology

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • GRB2 Adaptor Protein
  • GRB2 protein, human
  • fucosterol
  • Stigmasterol