To explore the effect of kaempferol on non-small cell lung cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Front Pharmacol. 2023 Jul 18:14:1148171. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1148171. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a common pathological type of lung cancer, which has a serious impact on human life, health, psychology and life. At present, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and other methods commonly used in clinic are prone to drug resistance and toxic side effects. Natural extracts of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have attracted wide attention in cancer treatment because of their small toxic and side effects. Kaempferol is a flavonoid from natural plants, which has been proved to have anticancer properties in many cancers such as lung cancer, but the exact molecular mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, on the basis of in vitro experiments, we used network pharmacology and molecular docking methods to study the potential mechanism of kaempferol in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. The target of kaempferol was obtained from the public database (PharmMapper, Swiss target prediction), and the target of non-small cell lung cancer was obtained from the disease database (Genecards and TTD). At the same time, we collected gene chips GSE32863 and GSE75037 in conjunction with GEO database to obtain differential genes. By drawing Venn diagram, we get the intersection target of kaempferol and NSCLC. Through enrichment analysis, PI3K/AKT is identified as the possible key signal pathway. PIK3R1, AKT1, EGFR and IGF1R were selected as key targets by topological analysis and molecular docking, and the four key genes were further verified by analyzing the gene and protein expression of key targets. These findings provide a direction for further research of kaempferol in the treatment of NSCLC.

Keywords: NSCLC; in vitro experiments; kaempferol (compound CID 5280863); molecular docking; network pharmacology.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82170085, 81970064, 81870001, 81670064, and 31670365), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2020MH009 and ZR2020MH010), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Nos. 81874419, 81673719, and 81303074), National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (Nos 2017ZX09301064 and 2017ZX09301064002), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Nos ZR2020MB108 and ZR2019MH063), Central Government Guided Local Science and Technology Development Project (22-1-3-11-zyyd-nsh-3), Shandong Major Innovation Project (2022CXGC020514) and the Youth Research and Innovation Team of TCM-Based Neuroimmune Pharmacology, University of Shandong Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. 22202112).