Unveiling Potential Mechanisms of Spatholobi Caulis against Lung Metastasis of Malignant Tumor by Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Feiyu Xie; Mina Wang; Yixin Su; Kunmin Xiao; Xuelei Chu; Sidan Long; Linlu Li; Xin Zhang; Peng Xue; Shijie Zhu

doi:10.1155/2022/1620539

Unveiling Potential Mechanisms of Spatholobi Caulis against Lung Metastasis of Malignant Tumor by Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Mar 21:2022:1620539. doi: 10.1155/2022/1620539. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Feiyu Xie^{1

2}, Mina Wang^{1

3}, Yixin Su², Kunmin Xiao^{1

2

4}, Xuelei Chu², Sidan Long^{1

2}, Linlu Li^{1

2}, Xin Zhang^{1

2}, Peng Xue², Shijie Zhu²

Affiliations

¹ School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, China.
² Oncology Department, Wangjing Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100102, China.
³ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing Key Laboratory of Acupuncture Neuromodulation, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100010, China.
⁴ School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551.

Abstract

Background: Lung metastasis of malignant tumor signifies worse prognosis and immensely deteriorates patients' life quality. Spatholobi Caulis (SC) has been reported to reduce lung metastasis, but the mechanism remains elusive.

Methods: The active components and corresponding targets of SC were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) database and the SwissTargetPrediction database. The disease targets were acquired from DisGeNET and GeneCards databases. Venn map was composed to figure out intersection targets by using R. The PPI network was constructed through STRING and Cytoscape, and MCODE plug-in was used to sift hub targets. Gene Ontology (GO)-Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis was carried out by utilizing clusterProfiler package (R3.6.1) with adjusted P value <0.05. Network of SC-active components-intersection targets-KEGG pathway was accomplished with Cytoscape. Molecular docking between hub targets and active components was performed, analyzed, and visualized by AutoDockTools, AutoDock Vina, PLIP Web tool, and PYMOL.

Results: 24 active components and 123 corresponding targets were screened, and the number of disease targets and intersection targets was 1074 and 47, respectively. RELA, JUN, MAPK1, MAPK14, STAT3, IL-4, ESR1, and TP53 were the 8 hub targets. GO analysis and KEGG analysis elucidated that SC could ameliorate lung metastasis mainly by intervening oxidative stress, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, and microRNAs in cancer. All 8 hub targets were proven to combine successfully with active components of SC.

Conclusion: Inflammation is the core factor that integrates all these targets, biological process, and signaling pathways, which indicates that SC prevents or reduces lung metastasis mainly by dispelling inflammation.