Study on the molecular mechanism of Qifang Weitong granules in treating gastric cancer based on network pharmacology / 国际中医中药杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the potential mechanism of Qifang Weitong granules in the treatment of gastric cancer based on network pharmacology and molecular docking method.Methods:TCMSP, TCMID, and Swiss Target Prediction databases were used to screen out the chemical components and related targets of Qifang Weitong Granules. GeneCards and OMIM databases were used to screen out the gastric cancer targets to obtain common targets of this disease and Qifang Weitong Granules and upload them to STRING database to form a PPI network, and obtain the key targets and analyze the correlation between the key targets and gastric cancer in Oncomine tumor database. In addition, the regulatory network of gastric cancer and Qifang Weitong Granules was constructed by using Cytoscape software, and the CluoGO plug-in and R language of Cytoscape software were used to perform GO and KEGG enrichment analysis on the key targets. The possibility of the binding between the molecules of this medicine and targeted molecules is verified by molecular docking.Results:There were 168 medicinal chemical components obtained in Qifang Weitong Granules, 2 803 gastric cancer targets, and 49 common targets. In the regulatory network of gastric cancer and Qifang Weitong Granules, β-sitosterol, formononet, stigmasterol have higher values of chemical composition. The key targets in the PPI network are MAPK8, FOS, AR, etc. The GO enrichment analysis focused on the positive regulation of mitochondrial outer membrane permeability in the apoptosis signaling pathway, while the KEGG enrichment analysis is significantly enriched in apoptosis access. The result of molecular docking showed good binding and stable conformation.Conclusion:Qifang Weitong Granules can induce the expression of genes and proteins related to gastric cancer, show its effect by affecting the level of hormones, cell apoptosis and other biological processes, and activating the apoptosis signal pathway.