Objective
To use network pharmacology and molecular docking technology to explore material basis and molecular mechanism of Coix lacryma-jobi, Hedyotis diffusa, Curcuma zedoaria, and Salvia chinensis on the treatment of pre-cancerous stomach diseases. Our findings provide a theoretical foundation for further clinical research.
Methods
We searched and screened the targets of four pharmaceutical components for activity against precancerous lesions of gastric cancer (PLGC) using the GeneCards and OMIM network databases. The Chinese medicine composition-target network was constructed using Cytoscape3.7.2 software, and the protein interoperability network of the four drugs for PLGC treatment was constructed using the string data platform. The core target was found by topological analysis. Finally, biopathic and enrichment analyses were carried out on the drug-disease intersection target.
Results
A total of 19 active ingredients and 123 component targets were collected for four enterolytic drugs. For PLGC, 1487 targets were identified, and 64 targets were collected for pharmaceutical components and diseases. A topological analysis was performed with a value greater than the mean degree (29.0), and 64 key core targets were obtained (including TP53, EGFR, TNF, and VEGFA), and the key targets were screened for TP53, EGFR, TNF, and VEGFA, among others, through network topology and protein interoperability network analyses. GO functional enrichment analysis resulted in 1337 bio-process entries, 46 cell composition entries, and 74 molecular function entries. KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway enrichment analysis and screening resulted in 254 signaling pathways, including stomach cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and colon cancer.
Conclusion
The four enterolysis drugs may be used to prevent and control PLGC by acting on TP53, EGFR, TNF, and VEGFA targets and relevant gastric cancer, inflammatory, and immune pathways.