Predict the anti-cancer mechanism of astragalus membranaceus based on network pharmacology

Objective: To explore the anti-cancer mechanism of active ingredients of Astragalus membranaceus (AM) through network pharmacology. Methods: TCMSP, PubChem, STICTH and GeneCards databases were used to predict and screen the main active ingredients and anti-cancer targets of AM. Active ingredient-target-disease network was constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.0 software, and protein interaction network was constructed by STRING platform. KEGG signaling pathway and GO biological process of targets were analyzed by Bioconductor database. Results: Twenty-four active ingredients were screened from AM, which acted on 106 cancer targets such as PTGS, NCOA2, ADRB2, PRSS1, NOS2, NOS3, GABRA1. Through these targets, the anti-cancer effect of AM mainly acts on small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, gastric cancer, endometrial cancer, enriched in chemical carcinogenesis, Platinum drug resistance, Epstein-Barr virus infection, TNF signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, and PI3K - Akt signaling pathway. Conclusion: This study found that the main anti-cancer compounds of AM are kaempferol, quercetin, 7-O-methylisomucronulatol, formononetin, isorhamnetin, Calycosin, 3,9-di-O-methylnissolin. The main targets include PTGS, PTGS1, NCOA2, ADRB2, PRSS1, NOS2, NOS3, GABRA1, F2. The mechanisms involved in anticancer could be summarized as following: blocking the chemical carcinogenesis, reversing the platinum drug resistance, anti - Epstein - Barrvirus infection, and inhibiting cell proliferation related signaling pathways, such as TNF signaling pathway, Tolllike receptor signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, PI3K - AKT signaling pathway.