Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Anti-Cancer Drugs
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1449143

Roburic acid inhibits lung cancer metastasis and triggers autophagy as verified by network pharmacology, molecular docking techniques and experiments

Provisionally accepted
Luyao Wang Luyao Wang 1Huili Chen Huili Chen 1Lili Deng Lili Deng 2Mengling Hu Mengling Hu 1Ziqiang Wang Ziqiang Wang 1Kai Zhang Kai Zhang 1Chaoqun Lian Chaoqun Lian 1Xiaojing Wang Xiaojing Wang 2Jing Zhang Jing Zhang 1*
  • 1 Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical University, Bengbu City, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Roburic acid (ROB) is a newly discovered tetracyclic triterpene acid extracted from oak galls, which has anti-inflammatory effects, but the mechanism of its anticancer effect is not clear. Our study focuses on exploring the potential mechanism of action of ROB in the treatment of lung cancer using a combination of network pharmacological prediction, molecular docking technique and experimental validation.Methods: A network pharmacology approach was used to screen the protein targets of ROB and lung cancer, and PPI network analysis and enrichment analysis were performed on the intersecting genes. The tissue and organ distribution of the targets was also evaluated based on the BioGPS database. To ensure the reliability of the network pharmacology prediction results, we proceeded to use molecular docking technique to determine the relationship between drugs and targets. Finally, in vitro experiments with cell lines were performed to further reveal the potential mechanism of ROB for the treatment of lung cancer.Results: A total of 83 potential targets of ROB in lung cancer were collected and further screened by using Cytoscape 9.0 software, and 7 targets of PTGS2, CYP19A1, PTGS1, AR, CYP17A1, PTGES and SRD5A1 were obtained as hub genes and 7 hub targets had good binding energy with ROB. GO and KEGG analysis showed that ROB treatment of lung cancer mainly involves Arachidonic acid metabolism, Notch signaling pathway, cancer pathway and PPAR signaling pathway. The results of in vitro experiments indicated that ROB may inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of lung cancer cells and activate the PPARγ signaling pathway, as well as induce cellular autophagy.The results of this study comprehensively elucidated the potential targets and molecular mechanisms of ROB for the treatment of lung cancer, providing new ideas for further lung cancer therapy.

    Keywords: Network Pharmacology, roburic acid, lung cancer, Autophagy, metastasis

    Received: 22 Jun 2024; Accepted: 23 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Chen, Deng, Hu, Wang, Zhang, Lian, Wang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jing Zhang, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.