Centipeda minima active components and mechanisms in lung cancer

Area of Science:

• Phytochemistry
• Network Pharmacology
• Oncology

Background:

• Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) extensively uses herbs for cancer treatment.
• Centipeda minima (C. minima) exhibits anti-cancer properties in lung cancer, but active components and mechanisms are unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify active compounds and molecular mechanisms of C. minima in lung cancer using network pharmacology.
• To provide a molecular basis for the therapeutic use of C. minima in lung cancer.

Main Methods:

• Screened C. minima compounds and lung cancer targets from databases (TCMSP, Genecards, OMIM, Drugbank).
• Constructed drug-ingredients-gene symbols-disease (D-I-G-D) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks.
• Performed Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses.
• Verified findings with molecular docking, in vitro, and in vivo experiments.

Main Results:

• Identified 21 C. minima compounds and 60 overlapping targets with lung cancer.
• Top compounds: quercetin, nobiletin, beta-sitosterol; Key targets: TP53, AKT1, MYC.
• Quercetin induced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell death; C. minima extract enhanced cisplatin-induced apoptosis in vivo.
• Enrichment analyses revealed cancer-related pathways, including IL-17 signaling and apoptosis.

Conclusions:

• Revealed key active ingredients (quercetin, nobiletin, beta-sitosterol) and molecular targets (TP53, AKT1, MYC) of C. minima for lung cancer treatment.
• Established a molecular basis for C. minima's therapeutic potential in lung cancer.
• Supports further investigation of C. minima as a lung cancer therapeutic agent.