ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacology of Anti-Cancer Drugs
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1542116
The Mechanistic Study of Codonopsis pilosula on Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation
Provisionally accepted
Huina Guo1,2*
Yichen Lou1,2,3Xiaofang Hou1,2
Guan Xiaoya1,2Yujia Guo1,2
Han Qi1,2Xuting Xue1,2
Ying Wang1,2
Long He1,2Zhongxun Li1,2*Chunming Zhang1,2,4*- 1Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
- 2Shanxi Province Clinical Medical Research Center for Precision Medicine of Head and Neck Cancer, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
- 3The First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
- 4Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
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In this study, we investigated the antitumor effects and potential mechanisms of Codonopsis pilosula in LSCC through network pharmacology, experimental validation and bioinformatics analysis. Firstly, effective compounds and targets of Codonopsis pilosula were screened by TCMSP, ETCM and BATMAN-TCM databases. In addition, 22 common targets related to LSCC were screened by combining DisGeNET, GeneCards databases and Cytoscape software. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that Codonopsis pilosula-LSCC targets were mainly involved in HIF-1, TNF, IL-17 and FoxO signaling pathways. Based on TCGA and GEO database analysis, MAPK3 was identified as the core target of Codonopsis pilosula-LSCC. The molecular docking results showed that a variety of effective compounds from Codonopsis pilosula had strong binding abilities to MAPK3, among them, Caprylic Acid, Emodin and Luteolin have been confirmed by LC-MS. Subsequently, qPCR analysis indicated that MAPK3 was highly expressed in LSCC tissues. MAPK3 knockdown significantly inhibits LSCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. It also suppresses LSCC cell growth by blocking the cell cycle and inducing apoptosis. In conclusion, Codonopsis pilosula exerts antitumor effects in LSCC through the regulation of multiple signaling pathways and provides a theoretical basis for its clinical application.
Keywords: Codonopsis pilosula, Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, MAPK3, Network Pharmacology, Experimenntal validation
Received: 09 Dec 2024; Accepted: 07 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Guo, Lou, Hou, Xiaoya, Guo, Qi, Xue, Wang, He, Li 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:
Huina Guo, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
Zhongxun Li, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
Chunming Zhang, Shanxi Key Laboratory of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Cancer, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
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