Anti-cancer components from Traditional Chinese Medicine and its mechanism

<b><i>Traditional Chinese medicine</i></b><b>（</b><b><i>TCM</i></b><b>）</b><b> was a valuable resource for discovering new medicines because of its long history and diversity. Based on the cells experiments of A549 and HepG2 <i>in vitro</i>, 31 active compounds were obtained from <i>TCM</i> through the solvent-chromatographic system. Analyzed by the key compound-target-pathway network(contained 28 compounds, 52 targets and 25 pathways), we found that <i>TCM</i> played an anti-cancer efficacy through the multi-interactions of components, targets and pathways. Furthermore, combined with the mice experiments of Lewis and H22 <i>in vivo</i>, we found that 5 compounds had the effect of inhibiting the growth of Lewis cancer, and 3 can inhibit the growth of H22 cancer, meaningfully, as an inhibitor of the estradiol-17β dehydrogenase, the ergosterol from <i>Cordyceps militaris</i> specifically inhibited the growth of A549 cells through regulating the oxidation of estradiol to estrone. Finally, that may provide an important target to treat anti lung cancer.</b>中医药（Traditional Chinese Medicine）凭借其悠久的应用历史与丰富的多样性，是发现新型药物的宝贵资源。基于针对A549与HepG2细胞的体外实验，研究人员通过溶剂色谱系统从中医药中分离得到31种活性化合物。通过对包含28种化合物、52个靶点及25条通路的核心化合物-靶点-通路网络进行分析，本研究发现中医药可通过多组分、多靶点、多通路的协同交互发挥抗癌功效。此外，结合针对Lewis与H22荷瘤小鼠的体内实验，研究人员证实5种化合物可抑制Lewis肺癌的生长，3种化合物可抑制H22肿瘤的生长；尤为重要的是，源自蛹虫草（Cordyceps militaris）的麦角甾醇（ergosterol）作为雌二醇-17β脱氢酶（estradiol-17β dehydrogenase）抑制剂，可通过调控雌二醇向雌酮的氧化反应，特异性抑制A549细胞的增殖。本研究最终可为肺癌治疗提供一个重要的潜在靶点。