LINGYAN LV^1,2,#, JING ZHAO^1,2,#, XUAN WANG^1,2, LIUYAN XU^1,2, YINGYI FAN², CHUNHUI WANG³, HONGQIAO FAN^4,5,*, XIAOHUA PEI^5,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.9, pp. 1977-1994, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.030742

Abstract Background: The development and prognosis of breast cancer are intricately linked to psychological stress. In addition, depression is the most common psychological comorbidity among breast cancer survivors, and reportedly, Fang-Xia-Dihuang decoction (FXDH) can effectively manage depression in such patients. However, its pharmacological and molecular mechanisms remain obscure. Methods: Public databases were used for obtaining active components and related targets. Main active components were further verified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS). Protein–protein interaction and enrichment analyses were taken to predict potential hub targets and related pathways. Molecule docking was used to understand the interactions between main compounds and hub… More >

SHIMING YE^1,2,#, YUFENG ZHANG^3,#, TING LIU⁴, CONG WANG³, ZHENG YAN⁵, WANDONG SHE^2,*, HAIBING HUA^4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.9, pp. 1947-1964, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029333

Abstract Background: Despite its widespread therapeutic use and effectiveness, the underlying pharmacologic mechanisms of Wendan decoction (WDD) and how it works to treat sudden deafness (SD) remain unclear. In this study, the pharmacological mechanisms of WDD underlying SD were analyzed using network pharmacology and molecular docking. Methods: The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) was employed to identify the active compounds and target genes of WDD, and genes associated with SD were screened on five databases. RGUI conducted Gene Ontology (GO) functional and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. A compound-target network was… More >

FENGMEI QIAN^1,2, PEIYAO REN², LI ZHAO², DANNA ZHENG², WENFANG HE³, JUAN JIN^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.8, pp. 1853-1867, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.029353

Abstract Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious complication of diabetes with rising prevalence worldwide. We aimed to explore the anti-DN mechanisms of the compound celastrol derived from the medicinal plant Tripterygium wilfordii. Methods: Celastrol-related targets were obtained from Herbal Ingredients’ Targets (HIT) and GeneCards databases. DN-related targets were retrieved from GeneCards, DisGeNET, and Therapeutic Targets Database (TTD). A Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was established using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed using ClusterProfiler. The cytoHubba plugin was used to select… More > Graphic Abstract

DER-JEU CHEN, CHENG-HUNG LAI^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.6, pp. 1317-1327, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028883

Abstract Background: Magnolol, a bioactive extract of the Chinese herb Magnolia officinalis has a protective effect against periodontitis. This study is aimed to explore the mechanisms involved in the functioning of magnolol against periodontitis and provide a basis for further research. Methods: Network pharmacology analysis was performed based on the identification of related targets from public databases. The Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to visualize the significance between the targets of magnolol and periodontitis. Subsequently, Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were performed to predict the functions and the signal regulatory pathways involved in… More >

CHENHAO SHI¹, MAOHONG HUA², GUANHUA XU^3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.6, pp. 1329-1344, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028381

Abstract Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic disease that often presents with abdominal pain, diarrhea, hematochezia, and significant morbidity. Gancao Xiexin decoction (GXD), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been applied for the clinical treatment of UC, while its action mechanisms are unclear. Methods: The active ingredients and their targets of GXD, and UC-related targets, were derived from public databases. Protein-protein interaction, Gene Ontology (GO), and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were used to analyze the important active compounds, key targets, and signaling pathways. Then, molecular docking and animal experiments were performed to verify the findings. A total… More >

MAN REN^1,2,3,#, YUAN YANG^1,2,#, DAN LI⁴, NANNAN ZHAO⁵, YUPING WANG^2,6,*, YONGNING ZHOU^2,6,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.5, pp. 977-989, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028402

Abstract Background: 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose (PGG) is a natural polyphenolic compound derived from multiple medicinal plants with favorable anticancer activity. Methods: In this study, the mechanisms of PGG against gastric cancer were explored through network pharmacology and molecular docking. First, the targets of PGG were searched in the Herbal Ingredients’ Targets (HIT), Similarity Ensemble Approach (SEA), and Super-PRED databases. The potential targets related to gastric cancer were predicted from the Human Gene Database (GeneCards) and DisGeNET databases. The intersecting targets of PGG and gastric cancer were obtained by Venn diagram and then subjected to protein-protein interaction analysis to screen hub targets. Functional and… More >

Rong Zeng^1,#, Lin Liu^1,2,#, Jingshan Zhao^1,2,3,#, Wenmei Zhang³, Guohong Zhang¹, Yunfeng Li^1,2,*

Oncologie, Vol.24, No.3, pp. 483-498, 2022, DOI:10.32604/oncologie.2022.025148

Abstract Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent type of gynecology tumors with high morbidity and mortality. Ampelopsin, the main active compound of Ampelopsis grossedentata, exerts an anti-tumor effect on a variety of cancers. However, the anti-cancer role of ampelopsin in BC remains unclear. The aim of this study is to explore the mechanism of ampelopsin against breast cancer. Materials and Methods: The target genes of ampelopsin in the treatment of breast cancer were determined and analyzed by network pharmacology and molecular docking. Cytoscape software was used to identify the core target genes and construct a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network.… More >

HAN ZHAO¹, JING GUO¹, QINGJIA CHI², MENG FANG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.5, pp. 1245-1259, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.018117

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a worldwide malignant tumor that caused irreversible consequences. Tanshinone IIA has been shown to play a notable role in HCC treatment. However, the potential targets and associating mechanism of Tanshinone IIA against HCC remain unknown. We first screened out 105 overlapping genes by integrating the predicted targets of Tanshinone IIA from multiple databases and the differentially expressed genes of HCC from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Then, we performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) using the RNA-seq profiles of overlapping genes and HCC-related clinical information. 23 genes related to clinical tumor grade in the… More >

Xuehua Luo^1,#, Huijun Xie^2,#, Li Han¹, Qiaoming Zhong³, Meng Xu^4,*, Ling Jin^1,*

Oncologie, Vol.23, No.3, pp. 425-438, 2021, DOI:10.32604/Oncologie.2021.017267

Abstract Tetrandrine has a variety of anti-tumor effects including against or reversal of tumor chemoresistance, but its mechanism of against tumor chemoresistance is still unclear. Therefore, the analytical method of network pharmacology and molecular docking was used to investigate the mechanism by which tetrandrine acts in tumor chemoresistance. We used public databases (PubChem, SwissADEM, SwissTargetPrediction) to obtain the physicochemical information and targets of tetrandrine, and used gene databases (GeneCards and OMIM) to collected disease targets, respectively. The intersection targets of disease and drug were analyzed by RStudio. We built protein-protein interaction network through the STRING database, and used Cystoscope to screen… More >