Therapeutic effects of Crataegus monogyna inhibitors against breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer is a silent killer disorder among women and a serious economic burden in healthcare management. Every 19 s, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, and every 74 s, a woman worldwide passes away from the disease. Despite the increase in progressive research, advanced treatment approaches, and preventive measures, breast cancer rates continue to increase. This study provides a combination of data mining, network pharmacology, and docking analysis that surely could revolutionize cancer treatment by exploiting prestigious phytochemicals. Crataegus monogyna is a small, rounded deciduous tree with glossy, deeply lobed leaves and flat sprays of cream flowers, followed by dark red berries in autumn. Various studies demonstrated that C. monogyna is therapeutically effective against breast cancer. However, the particular molecular mechanism is still unknown. This study is credited for locating bioactive substances, metabolic pathways, and target genes for breast cancer treatment. According to the current investigation, which examined compound–target genes–pathway networks, it was found that the bioactive compounds of C. monogyna may operate as a viable solution against breast cancer by altering the target genes implicated in the disease pathogenesis. The expression level of target genes was analyzed using GSE36295 microarray data. Docking analysis and molecular dynamic simulation studies further strengthened the current findings by validating the effective activity of the bioactive compounds against putative target genes. In summary, we propose that six key compounds, luteolin, apigenin, quercetin, kaempferol, ursolic acid, and oleanolic acid, contributed to the development of breast cancer by affecting the MMP9 and PPARG proteins. Integration of network pharmacology and bioinformatics revealed C. monogyna’s multitarget pharmacological mechanisms against breast cancer. This study provides convincing evidence that C. monogyna might partially alleviate breast cancer and ultimately lays a foundation for further experimental research on the anti-breast cancer activity of C. monogyna.

Network pharmacology based virtual screening of Flavonoids from Dodonea angustifolia and the molecular mechanism against inflammation

“…Each of the ten distinct compounds investigated generated a set of 100 target predictions, resulting in a total of 1000 potential targets. To prioritize biologically significant targets for further scrutiny, we employed a stringent probability threshold of greater than 0.4 ( Basavarajappa et al, 2023 ). This threshold ensured that only targets with a greater probability of interaction with the compounds of interest were selected for subsequent analysis, enhancing the biological relevance of our findings.…”

Phenolic Composition of Crataegus monogyna Jacq. Extract and Its Anti-Inflammatory, Hepatoprotective, and Antileukemia Effects

“…C. monogyna is well known for its beneficial properties for human health. Various parts of the plant have been reported to exert antispasmodic, astringent, cardiotonic, hypotensive, anti-atherosclerotic diuretic, and hepatoprotective activities [ 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

Hawthorn with “homology of medicine and food”: a review of anticancer effects and mechanisms

“…The screening criteria of oral bioavailability ≥15% and drug-likeness ≥0.18 were applied to obtain the active ingredients and their targets. Additionally, information from literature and the SwissTargetPrediction database ( http://swisstargetprediction.ch/ ) was incorporated to further supplement the active ingredients of hawthorn and the corresponding gene targets ( Basavarajappa et al, 2023 ). The collected data was visually analyzed using Cytoscape 3.9.1 software, and the connectivity centrality was calculated with the assistance of the CytoNCA plug-in.…”