Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Integrated Strategy to the Screening of Active Components and Mechanisms of Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix on Breast Cancer

Abstract

Stephaniae Tetrandrae Radix (STR) is a commonly used herb with a history of thousands of years. Accumulating evidence shows the therapeutic effect on breast cancer (BC) of STR. Here, we aimed to elucidate the active components and mechanisms of STR against BC. The active components and targets were retrieved and screened from the corresponding databases. A target protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was built and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) used to analyze and screen key targets and pathways. Subsequently, molecular docking was performed to visualize the patterns of interactions between components and targets. Finally, the main active components of STR in treating BC were confirmed by in vitro experiments, and 34 common targets were obtained. The PPI network and IPA showed that the key targets were TP53, JUN, CASP3, and so on. Additionally, signaling pathways were enriched. Docking verified that the active components have good binding potential with the key targets, especially tetrandrine (Tet) and fangchinoline (Fang). In vitro studies confirmed that they significantly inhibited the viability of MDA-MB-231 cells and increased LDH leakage rate compared to MCF-10A cells. STR participates in many cell processes and regulate multiple targets, thereby playing an anti-breast cancer role. Tet and Fang may be the main active components.