Integrating Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking, and Experimental Validation to Investigate the Mechanism of (−)-Guaiol Against Lung Adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common type of lung cancer, which poses a serious threat to human life and health. -(−)Guaiol, an effective ingredient of many medicinal herbs, has been shown to have a high potential for tumor interference and suppression. However, knowledge of pharmacological mechanisms is still lacking adequate identification or interpretation. MATERIAL/METHODS: The genes of LUAD patients collected from TCGA were analyzed using limma and WGCNA. In addition, targets of (−)-Guaiol treating LUAD were selected through a prediction network. Venn analysis was then used to visualize the overlapping genes, which were further condensed using the PPI network. GO and KEGG analyses were performed sequentially, and the essential targets were evaluated and validated using molecular docking. In addition, cell-based verification, including the CCK-8 assay, cell death assessment, apoptosis analysis, and western blot, was performed to determine the mechanism of action of (−)-Guaiol. RESULTS: The genes included 959 differentially-expressed genes, 6075 highly-correlated genes, and 480 drug-target genes. Through multivariate analysis, 23 hub genes were identified and functional enrichment analyses revealed that the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was the most significant. Experiment results showed that -(−)Guaiol can inhibit LUAD cell growth and induce apoptosis. Additional evidence suggested that the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway established an inseparable role in the antitumor processes of -(−)Guaiol, which is consistent with network pharmacology results. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that the effect of (−)-Guaiol in LUAD treatment involves the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, providing a useful reference and medicinal value in the treatment of LUAD.