Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although Liu-Wei-Bu-Qi capsule (LBC) inhibits tumor progression by improving the physical condition and immunity of patients with lung cancer (LC), its exact mechanism of action is unknown. AIM: To through compound multi-dimensional network of chemical ingredient-target-disease-target- protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, the principle of action of Chinese medicine prescription was explained from molecular level. METHODS: Network pharmacology and molecular docking simulations were used to analyze the relationship among the main components, targets, and signaling pathways of LBC in treatment of LC. RESULTS: From the analysis, 360 LBC active ingredient-related targets and 908 LC-related targets were identified. PPI network analysis of the LBC and LC overlapping targets identified 16 hub genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis suggested that LBC can target the vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, prolactin signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and HIF-1 signaling pathway in the treatment of LC. Molecular docking simulations showed that quercetin had the best affinity for MAPK3, suggesting that quercetin in LBC may play an important role in the treatment of LC. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the active ingredients in LBC can play a crucial role in the treatment of LC by regulating multiple signaling pathways. These results provide insights into further studies on the mechanism of action of LBC in the treatment of LC.