Luteolin as a Multitarget Agent against Colorectal Cancer Explored Through Integrative Network Pharmacology,...

Area of Science:

• Computational biology and pharmacology
• Network pharmacology
• Molecular modeling

Background:

• Colorectal cancer (CRC) presents a significant global health challenge with limited therapeutic outcomes.
• Existing treatments for CRC are associated with adverse effects, driving the search for novel therapeutic agents.
• Luteolin, a bioactive compound, has demonstrated potential anticancer properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the therapeutic potential of Luteolin against colorectal cancer (CRC).
• To employ a network pharmacological approach combined with molecular docking and dynamics simulations.
• To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying Luteolin's anticancer effects in CRC.

Main Methods:

• Identified CRC and Luteolin targets from multiple biological databases.
• Performed gene ontology analysis and constructed a protein-protein interaction network to identify hub genes.
• Utilized molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations to assess Luteolin's binding stability with target proteins.

Main Results:

• Luteolin was found to modulate apoptosis, transcription, translation, and protein kinase activity.
• Key pathways affected include estrogen signaling and microRNAs; TOP1 was linked to immune cell infiltration.
• Molecular docking and dynamics confirmed stable interactions between Luteolin and identified hub genes.

Conclusions:

• Luteolin exhibits multi-target anticancer effects in CRC through modulation of signaling pathways and stable protein interactions.
• Molecular simulations validate the binding affinity and stability of Luteolin with its targets.
• Luteolin represents a promising candidate for future preclinical and clinical investigations in CRC therapy.