Anti-lung Cancer Mechanism of Quercetin Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation

Objective: To investigate the potential mechanisms of quercetin in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and validate them through molecular biology experiments. Methods: Target prediction for quercetin was performed using the SwissTargetPrediction and DrugBank databases, while NSCLC d...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yi WANG, Xiaofang PU
Format: Article
Language:zho
Published: The editorial department of Science and Technology of Food Industry 2025-01-01
Series:Shipin gongye ke-ji
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.spgykj.com/cn/article/doi/10.13386/j.issn1002-0306.2024010236
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1841550165785182208
author Yi WANG
Xiaofang PU
author_facet Yi WANG
Xiaofang PU
author_sort Yi WANG
collection DOAJ
description Objective: To investigate the potential mechanisms of quercetin in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and validate them through molecular biology experiments. Methods: Target prediction for quercetin was performed using the SwissTargetPrediction and DrugBank databases, while NSCLC disease targets were collected from GeneCards and TTD databases. Target mapping was performed to identify the targets of quercetin in treating NSCLC. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was obtained from the STRING database and analyzed using Cytoscape 3.7.2 for visualization. Target enrichment analysis was carried out using the DAVID database, along with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Additionally, this study employed molecular docking to validate core targets and utilized the PLIP platform for combined analysis of binding site mechanics data. The impact of quercetin on the proliferation of A549 cells was assessed through cell experiments, and core targets were validated using qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results: Network pharmacology analysis revealed that quercetin could regulate 126 targets, with 49 potential targets for NSCLC treatment. The core pathway identified was the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, with core targets being PI3K, Akt, and GSK-3β. Molecular docking experiments preliminarily demonstrated strong binding affinity between quercetin and the three core targets. Cellular experiments indicated that quercetin intervention in low, medium, and high doses significantly inhibited the proliferative activity of A549 cells after 72 hours (P<0.01) and downregulated the mRNA expression levels of PI3K, Akt, and GSK-3β (P<0.05), as well as protein expression trends. Conclusion: This study analyzed and predicted the potential active mechanisms of quercetin in treating NSCLC. Experimental validation suggested that quercetin might exert its anticancer effects by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway.
format Article
id doaj-art-28e7fea623204d41b441a5e605e4b7e1
institution Kabale University
issn 1002-0306
language zho
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher The editorial department of Science and Technology of Food Industry
record_format Article
series Shipin gongye ke-ji
spelling doaj-art-28e7fea623204d41b441a5e605e4b7e12025-01-10T06:49:31ZzhoThe editorial department of Science and Technology of Food IndustryShipin gongye ke-ji1002-03062025-01-0146233434210.13386/j.issn1002-0306.20240102362024010236-2Anti-lung Cancer Mechanism of Quercetin Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental ValidationYi WANG0Xiaofang PU1School of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Chinese Medicine, Ji'nan 250355, ChinaSchool of Pharmacy, Shandong University of Chinese Medicine, Ji'nan 250355, ChinaObjective: To investigate the potential mechanisms of quercetin in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and validate them through molecular biology experiments. Methods: Target prediction for quercetin was performed using the SwissTargetPrediction and DrugBank databases, while NSCLC disease targets were collected from GeneCards and TTD databases. Target mapping was performed to identify the targets of quercetin in treating NSCLC. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was obtained from the STRING database and analyzed using Cytoscape 3.7.2 for visualization. Target enrichment analysis was carried out using the DAVID database, along with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Additionally, this study employed molecular docking to validate core targets and utilized the PLIP platform for combined analysis of binding site mechanics data. The impact of quercetin on the proliferation of A549 cells was assessed through cell experiments, and core targets were validated using qRT-PCR and Western blot. Results: Network pharmacology analysis revealed that quercetin could regulate 126 targets, with 49 potential targets for NSCLC treatment. The core pathway identified was the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, with core targets being PI3K, Akt, and GSK-3β. Molecular docking experiments preliminarily demonstrated strong binding affinity between quercetin and the three core targets. Cellular experiments indicated that quercetin intervention in low, medium, and high doses significantly inhibited the proliferative activity of A549 cells after 72 hours (P<0.01) and downregulated the mRNA expression levels of PI3K, Akt, and GSK-3β (P<0.05), as well as protein expression trends. Conclusion: This study analyzed and predicted the potential active mechanisms of quercetin in treating NSCLC. Experimental validation suggested that quercetin might exert its anticancer effects by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway.http://www.spgykj.com/cn/article/doi/10.13386/j.issn1002-0306.2024010236quercetinnon-small cell lung cancernetwork pharmacologymolecular dockingpi3k/akt/gsk-3β signaling pathway
spellingShingle Yi WANG
Xiaofang PU
Anti-lung Cancer Mechanism of Quercetin Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation
Shipin gongye ke-ji
quercetin
non-small cell lung cancer
network pharmacology
molecular docking
pi3k/akt/gsk-3β signaling pathway
title Anti-lung Cancer Mechanism of Quercetin Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation
title_full Anti-lung Cancer Mechanism of Quercetin Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation
title_fullStr Anti-lung Cancer Mechanism of Quercetin Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation
title_full_unstemmed Anti-lung Cancer Mechanism of Quercetin Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation
title_short Anti-lung Cancer Mechanism of Quercetin Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation
title_sort anti lung cancer mechanism of quercetin based on network pharmacology and experimental validation
topic quercetin
non-small cell lung cancer
network pharmacology
molecular docking
pi3k/akt/gsk-3β signaling pathway
url http://www.spgykj.com/cn/article/doi/10.13386/j.issn1002-0306.2024010236
work_keys_str_mv AT yiwang antilungcancermechanismofquercetinbasedonnetworkpharmacologyandexperimentalvalidation
AT xiaofangpu antilungcancermechanismofquercetinbasedonnetworkpharmacologyandexperimentalvalidation