ABSTRACT
Objective:
To investigate the targets and possible mechanism of Didangtang in the
treatment of
bladder cancer.
Method:
Based on multiple
traditional Chinese medicine and
disease databases, the
network pharmacology was used to screen potential targets, analyze the
biological functions of potential targets, and construct a network of "
Chinese medicine-target-path-
disease".
Bioinformatics analysis was applied in
population and
gene databases, in order to explore the differential expressions of core targets in
tissues, distribution in the
population and the correlation with
prognosis. The
in vitro experiment was used to verify the
biological function of Didangtang. The underlying mechanism of Didangtang on the candidate target was detected.
Result:
A total of 21 core target
genes and 16 highly enriched pathways were screened out. A functional network of Didangtang was constructed systematically. At the same
time, six targets, namely
cadherin 1 (CDH1), CAMP responsive
element binding protein 1 (CREB1),
colony stimulating factor 2 (CSF2),
AP-1 transcription factor (JUN),
matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), and
prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase (
PTGS2), were differentially expressed in
bladder cancer tissues (P<0.05). Furthermore, JUN and MMP2 were also differentially distributed in
population (P<0.05). At the same
time, the expression level of JUN was correlated with the
prognosis of
patients with
bladder cancer (P<0.05). The
in vitro experiment revealed that Didangtang inhibited the proliferation of
bladder cancer cells and decreased the expression of candidate target JUN (P<0.01).
Conclusion:
Didangtang has the characteristics of multiple targets and multiple pathways in
treatment of
bladder cancer. It is initially confirmed that Didangtang can
affect the expression of target JUN and inhibit the proliferation of
bladder cancer, which lays a good
foundation for further studies on mechanism.