Network Pharmacology Prediction and Experimental Validation of <em>Trichosanthes</em>-<em>Fritillaria thunbergii</em> Action Mechanism Against Lung Adenocarcinoma

We aimed to study the mechanism of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii in treating lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) based on network pharmacology and experimental verification. The effective components and potential targets of Trichosanthis and Fritillaria thunbergii were collected by high-throughput experiment and reference-guided (HERB) database of traditional Chinese medicine and a similarity ensemble approach (SEA) database, and the LUAD-related targets were queried by the GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) databases. A drug-component-disease-target network was constructed by Cytoscape software. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, gene ontology (GO) function, and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were conducted to obtain core targets and key pathways. An aqueous extract of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii and A549 cells were used for the subsequent experimental validation. Through the HERB database and literature search, 31 effective compounds and 157 potential target genes of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii were screened, of which 144 were regulatory targets of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii in the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. The GO functional enrichment analysis showed that the mechanism of action of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii against lung adenocarcinoma is mainly protein phosphorylation. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis suggested that the treatment of lung adenocarcinoma by Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii mainly involves the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. The experimental validation showed that an aqueous extract of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii could inhibit the proliferation of A549 cells and the phosphorylation of AKT. Through network pharmacology and experimental validation, it was verified that the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway plays a vital role in the action of Trichosanthes-Fritillaria thunbergii in treating lung adenocarcinoma.