Chaihu-Shugan-San, a traditional Chinese medicine, shows potential in treating breast cancer through a multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway interaction process.
The research utilized network pharmacology for the exploration of Chaihu-Shugan-San's impact on breast cancer. Initially, a total of 157 active ingredients and 8074 potential drug targets were identified from the traditional Chinese medicine system pharmacology (TCMSP) database based on set screening conditions. Additionally, 2384 disease targets were collected from different disease databases. Using the Bisogenet plug-in in software Cytoscape 3.7.1, 451 core targets were obtained. The biological process of gene ontology discovery involved several catabolic processes, and cellular components correlated with breast cancer were identified.
In the discussion of results, it was found that the treatment mechanism of Chaihu-Shugan-San is due to multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway action. The active ingredients interact with multiple targets, influencing several biological processes and cellular components associated with breast cancer. Furthermore, pathways central to apoptosis, cell cycle, transcriptional dysregulation, endocrine resistance, and viral infection were majorly implicated. This elucidates the potential theoretical basis of Chaihu-Shugan-San for breast cancer therapy.
