Uncovering the Anti-Lung-Cancer Mechanisms of the Herbal Drug FDY2004 by Network Pharmacology

With growing evidence on the therapeutic efficacy and safety of herbal drugs, there has been a substantial increase in their application in the lung cancer treatment. Meanwhile, their action mechanisms at the system level have not been comprehensively uncovered. To this end, we employed a network pharmacology methodology to elucidate the systematic action mechanisms of FDY2004, an anticancer herbal drug composed of Moutan Radicis Cortex, Persicae Semen, and Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, in lung cancer treatment. By evaluating the pharmacokinetic properties of the chemical compounds present in FDY2004 using herbal medicine-associated databases, we identified its 29 active chemical components interacting with 141 lung cancer-associated therapeutic targets in humans. The functional enrichment analysis of the lung cancer-related targets of FDY2004 revealed the enriched Gene Ontology terms, involving the regulation of cell proliferation and growth, cell survival and death, and oxidative stress responses. Moreover, we identified key FDY2004-targeted oncogenic and tumor-suppressive pathways associated with lung cancer, including the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt, mitogen-activated protein kinase, tumor necrosis factor, Ras, focal adhesion, and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 signaling pathways. Overall, our study provides novel evidence and basis for research on the comprehensive anticancer mechanisms of herbal medicines in lung cancer treatment.