Potential mechanism of Babao Dan in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma based on network pharmacology / 药学实践与服务

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the potential mechanism of Babao Dan on primary liver cancer based on network pharmacology. Methods First, the diethylnitrosamine-induced hepatocellular carcinoma rat（HCC）model was used to observe the effects of Babao Dan. Then, the effective components in Babao Dan were detected by UPLC-MS, and the potential target sites of these effective components were predicted in the Swiss Target Prediction databases, etc. The corresponding target sites for HCC were screened using GeneCards, OMIM and Therapeutic Target Database, and the common target sites between Babao Dan and HCC were obtained after getting the intersection. The protein-protein interaction network was drawn by Cytoscape software and the STRING database, and the key molecules regulating HCC by Babao Dan were screened out. The effective target sites were subjected to GO analysis in the DAVID database and enrichment analysis in the Pathway’s KEGG. Finally, the clinical relevance of key molecules to liver cancer patients was verified by the TCGA database. Results Babao Dan could slow down the tumor development. 851 chemical components were detected in BaBao Dan by UPLC-MS , 9 major active components and 285 target sites were identified. 637 hepatocellular carcinoma-related targets were screened out, and 16 targets of Babao Dan regulating HCC were identified. GO enrichment analysis showed 802 biological processes, 11 cell compositions, and 43 molecular functions, while KEGG pathway enrichment analysis identified a total of 90 pathways. Correlation analysis of TCGA identified three key molecules associated with the survival of liver cancer patients. Conclusion In the primary rat liver cancer model, Babao Dan was found to significantly prolong the survival of cancer-induced rats and reduce tumor burden. The initial prediction of the mechanism by which Babao Dan regulating liver cancer was made through UPLC-MS analysis and network pharmacology methods, indicating that Babao Dan has the characteristics of multi-component, multi-pathway, and multi-target regulation of primary liver cancer, which could provide a reference for further relevant experimental research.