scholarly journals Pharmacological mechanisms on the anti-breast cancer property of Coix lacryma-jobi: A network-based analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelu Mae A Ferrer ◽  
Janella Rayne A David ◽  
Arvin A Taquiqui ◽  
Arci A Bautista ◽  
Custer C Deocaris ◽  
...  

Breast cancer is considered as one of the three most common cancers around the world and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women. Coix lachrymal jobi, commonly known as Jobs tears or adlay has been reported to possess anti-cancer properties. Despite evidences provided by clinical data, the usage of Coix lacryma-jobi in treating cancer, particularly breast cancer, has been scarce. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the pharmacological mechanisms underlying its anti-breast cancer property using various network pathway analyses. Bioactive compounds from Coix lacryma-jobi and its potential target genes were obtained from SymMap. Breast cancer-related target genes were collected from CTD. Protein-protein interaction network was analyzed using the STRING database. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed using DAVID to further explore the mechanisms of Coix lacryma-jobi in treating breast cancer. PPI and compound-target-pathway were visualized using Cytoscape. A total of 26 bioactive compounds, 201 corresponding targets, 36625 breast cancer-associated targets were obtained, and 200 common targets were considered potential therapeutic targets. The 9 bioactive compounds identified were berberine, oleic acid, beta-sitosterol, sitosterol, linoleic acid, berberrubine, jatrorrhizine, thalifendine, and stigmasterol. The identified 5 core targets were ESR1, JUN, MAPK14, and RXRA. Coix lacryma-jobi targets enriched in GO terms were mostly involved in regulation of transcription from RNA polymerase II promoter, drug response, steroid hormone receptor activity, and protein binding. This study elucidates on the pharmacological underpinnings on the potency of adlay against breast cancer. Its subsequent drug development will be worth a step forward for a breast cancer-free society.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arvin A Tanquiqui ◽  
Angelu Mae A Ferrer ◽  
Janella Rayne A David ◽  
Custer C Deocaris ◽  
Malona Velasco Alinsug

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common endocrine disorder and among the top 10 leading diseases causing death worldwide. Coicis semen [CS] (Coix lachryma-jobi L.), also known as adlay have been reported to display anti-diabetic properties. Unfortunately, studies on the pharmacological mechanisms involving adlay for the treatment of diabetes are nil. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the interactions and mechanisms of the bioactive compound targets of adlay in the treatment of diabetes using network analysis. Adlay bioactive compounds and potential target genes were obtained from SymMap. Diabetes related target genes were collected from CTD. Protein-Protein Interaction Network was analyzed using the STRING database. GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed using DAVID to further explore the mechanisms of adlay in treating diabetes. PPI and compound-target-pathway were visualized using Cytoscape. A total of 25 bioactive compounds, 201 corresponding targets, and 35839 diabetes mellitus associated targets were obtained while 200 were considered potential therapeutic targets. The 9 bioactive compounds studied were berberine, oleic acid, beta-sitosterol, sitosterol, linoleic acid, berberrubine, jatrorrhizine, thalifendine, and stigmasterol. The identified 5 core targets were ESR1, JUN, MAPK14, and RXRA. Adlai targets enriched in GO terms were mostly involved with positive regulation of transcription, response to drugs, and negative regulation of apoptosis. This study provides novel research insights into the clinical properties of adlay in diabetes melitus treatment.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaying Lin ◽  
Guangman Cui ◽  
Wenwei Jiang ◽  
Zhousheng Lin ◽  
Xinyue Lan ◽  
...  

Abstract Depression contributes to enhanced initiation, development and metastasis of breast cancer. Despite epidemiological studies and experimental data suggest that depression and breast cancer may share a common biological mechanism, the results from these studies remain inconsistent. Here, we fully focus on the underlying biological mechanism behind the adverse effects of depression against breast cancer patients, and highlight the practical therapeutic intervention and improving quality of life. Publicly available datasets deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were downloaded. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were extracted by using R tools, were performed. The protein-protein interaction network of the target DEGs was constructed using Cytoscape software and the hub genes were identified. In our study, we found that genes encoding proinflammatory cytokine, such as IL-1β and TNF, had significantly increased expression in depression. Following chronically stimulated by TNFα and IL-1β (usually for 14-18 days), inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) had elevated expression of inflammatory genes. Furthermore, the TNF/TNFRSF1β and LEP/LEPR regulatory axes were proven to be hub pathways of the crosstalk between depression and breast cancer. Our findings demonstrate that inflammatory factors are messengers linking depression and breast cancer, and provided further guidance in clinical medication.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 927-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Peng ◽  
Yuewu Liu ◽  
Xinbo Chen

Background: Drought is one of the most damaging and widespread abiotic stresses that can severely limit the rice production. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) act as a promising tool for improving the drought tolerance of rice and have become a hot spot in recent years. Objective: In order to further extend the understanding of miRNAs, the functions of miRNAs in rice under drought stress are analyzed by bioinformatics. Method: In this study, we integrated miRNAs and genes transcriptome data of rice under the drought stress. Some bioinformatics methods were used to reveal the functions of miRNAs in rice under drought stress. These methods included target genes identification, differentially expressed miRNAs screening, enrichment analysis of DEGs, network constructions for miRNA-target and target-target proteins interaction. Results: (1) A total of 229 miRNAs with differential expression in rice under the drought stress, corresponding to 73 rice miRNAs families, were identified. (2) 1035 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, which included 357 up-regulated genes, 542 down-regulated genes and 136 up/down-regulated genes. (3) The network of regulatory relationships between 73 rice miRNAs families and 1035 DEGs was constructed. (4) 25 UP_KEYWORDS terms of DEGs, 125 GO terms and 7 pathways were obtained. (5) The protein-protein interaction network of 1035 DEGs was constructed. Conclusion: (1) MiRNA-regulated targets in rice might mainly involve in a series of basic biological processes and pathways under drought conditions. (2) MiRNAs in rice might play critical roles in Lignin degradation and ABA biosynthesis. (3) MiRNAs in rice might play an important role in drought signal perceiving and transduction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suthanthiram Backiyarani ◽  
Rajendran Sasikala ◽  
Simeon Sharmiladevi ◽  
Subbaraya Uma

AbstractBanana, one of the most important staple fruit among global consumers is highly sterile owing to natural parthenocarpy. Identification of genetic factors responsible for parthenocarpy would facilitate the conventional breeders to improve the seeded accessions. We have constructed Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network through mining differentially expressed genes and the genes used for transgenic studies with respect to parthenocarpy. Based on the topological and pathway enrichment analysis of proteins in PPI network, 12 candidate genes were shortlisted. By further validating these candidate genes in seeded and seedless accession of Musa spp. we put forward MaAGL8, MaMADS16, MaGH3.8, MaMADS29, MaRGA1, MaEXPA1, MaGID1C, MaHK2 and MaBAM1 as possible target genes in the study of natural parthenocarpy. In contrary, expression profile of MaACLB-2 and MaZEP is anticipated to highlight the difference in artificially induced and natural parthenocarpy. By exploring the PPI of validated genes from the network, we postulated a putative pathway that bring insights into the significance of cytokinin mediated CLAVATA(CLV)–WUSHEL(WUS) signaling pathway in addition to gibberellin mediated auxin signaling in parthenocarpy. Our analysis is the first attempt to identify candidate genes and to hypothesize a putative mechanism that bridges the gaps in understanding natural parthenocarpy through PPI network.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Yi Zhu ◽  
Ming Qiao ◽  
Jianhua Yang ◽  
Junping Hu

Objective. To holistically explore the latent active ingredients, targets, and related mechanisms of Hugan buzure granule (HBG) in the treatment of liver fibrosis (LF) via network pharmacology. Methods. First, we collected the ingredients of HBG by referring the TCMSP server and literature and filtered the active ingredients though the criteria of oral bioavailability ≥30% and drug-likeness index ≥0.18. Second, herb-associated targets were predicted and screened based on the BATMAN-TCM and SwissTargetPrediction platforms. Candidate targets related to LF were collected from the GeneCards and OMIM databases. Furthermore, the overlapping target genes were used to construct the protein-protein interaction network and “drug-compound-target-disease” network. Third, GO and KEGG pathway analyses were carried out to illustrate the latent mechanisms of HBG in the treatment of LF. Finally, the combining activities of hub targets with active ingredients were further verified based on software AutoDock Vina. Results. A total of 25 active ingredients and 115 overlapping target genes of HBG and LF were collected. Besides, GO enrichment analysis exhibited that the overlapping target genes were involved in DNA-binding transcription activator activity, RNA polymerase II-specific, and oxidoreductase activity. Simultaneously, the key molecular mechanisms of HBG against LF were mainly involved in PI3K-AKT, MAPK, HIF-1, and NF-κB signaling pathways. Also, molecular docking simulation demonstrated that the key targets of HBG for antiliver fibrosis were IL6, CASP3, EGFR, VEGF, and MAPK. Conclusion. This work validated and predicted the underlying mechanisms of multicomponent and multitarget about HBG in treating LF and provided a scientific foundation for further research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Yan Peng ◽  
Xianwen Zhang ◽  
Yuewu Liu ◽  
Xinbo Chen

To explore heat response mechanisms of mircoRNAs (miRNAs) in rice post-meiosis panicle, microarray analysis was performed on RNA isolated from rice post-meiosis panicles which were treated at 40°C for 0 min, 10 min, 20 min, 60 min, and 2 h. By integrating paired differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs and mRNA expression profiles, we found that the expression levels of 29 DE-miRNA families were negatively correlated to their 178 DE-target genes. Further analysis showed that the majority of miRNAs in 29 DE-miRNA families resisted the heat stress by downregulating their target genes and a time lag existed between expression of miRNAs and their target genes. Then, GO-Slim classification and functional identification of these 178 target genes showed that (1) miRNAs were mainly involved in a series of basic biological processes even under heat conditions; (2) some miRNAs might play important roles in the heat resistance (such as osa-miR164, osa-miR166, osa-miR169, osa-miR319, osa-miR390, osa-miR395, and osa-miR399); (3) osa-miR172 might play important roles in protecting the rice panicle under the heat stress, but osa-miR437, osa-miR418, osa-miR164, miR156, and miR529 might negatively affect rice fertility and panicle flower; and (4) osa-miR414 might inhibit the flowering gene expression by downregulation of LOC_Os 05g51830 to delay the heading of rice. Finally, a heat-induced miRNA-PPI (protein-protein interaction) network was constructed, and three miRNA coregulatory modules were discovered.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Ping Yang ◽  
Haifeng He ◽  
Shangfu Xu ◽  
Ping Liu ◽  
Xinyu Bai

Objective. Hua-Feng-Dan (HFD) is a Chinese medicine for stroke. This study is to predict and verify potential molecular targets and pathways of HFD against stroke using network pharmacology. Methods. The TCMSP database and TCMID were used to search for the active ingredients of HFD, and GeneCards and DrugBank databases were used to search for stroke-related target genes to construct the “component-target-disease” by Cytoscape 3.7.1, which was further filtered by MCODE to build a core network. The STRING database was used to obtain interrelationships by topology and to construct a protein-protein interaction network. GO and KEGG were carried out through DAVID Bioinformatics. Autodock 4.2 was used for molecular docking. BaseSpace was used to correlate target genes with the GEO database. Results. Based on OB ≥ 30% and DL ≥ 0.18, 42 active ingredients were extracted from HFD, and 107 associated targets were obtained. PPI network and Cytoscape analysis identified 22 key targets. GO analysis suggested 51 cellular biological processes, and KEGG suggested that 60 pathways were related to the antistroke mechanism of HFD, with p53, PI3K-Akt, and apoptosis signaling pathways being most important for HFD effects. Molecular docking verified interactions between the core target (CASP8, CASP9, MDM2, CYCS, RELA, and CCND1) and the active ingredients (beta-sitosterol, luteolin, baicalein, and wogonin). The identified gene targets were highly correlated with the GEO biosets, and the stroke-protection effects of Xuesaitong in the database were verified by identified targets. Conclusion. HFD could regulate the symptoms of stroke through signaling pathways with core targets. This work provided a bioinformatic method to clarify the antistroke mechanism of HFD, and the identified core targets could be valuable to evaluate the antistroke effects of traditional Chinese medicines.


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