Reverse Network Pharmacology–Based Identification of 20-Hydroxyecdysone and Its Inhibition of Glioblastoma Malignant Phenotypes Through the PI3K/AKT Pathway

Background:Glioblastoma is the most aggressive primary malignant brain tumor of the central nervous system and remains difficult to treat because of rapid progression, diffuse invasion, and frequent recurrence. This study aimed to identify a potential natural compound against glioblastoma using a reverse network pharmacology strategy and to investigate its anti-glioma effects and underlying mechanism.Methods:Glioblastoma-related targets were collected from public disease databases and integrated with differentially expressed genes from a public transcriptomic dataset to identify intersecting targets. Protein-protein interaction analysis, hub target screening, functional enrichment analysis, and reverse network pharmacology were performed to identify candidate compounds. Molecular docking and 100-ns molecular dynamics simulations were used to assess interactions between 20-hydroxyecdysone and pathway-related targets. Cell viability, colony formation, apoptosis, migration, and protein expression were examined in U251 and U87 glioma cells. Statistical differences were analyzed using a paired Student’s t-test for two-group comparisons or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnett’s multiple-comparisons test for multi-group comparisons, as appropriate.Results:A total of 136 intersecting targets and 18 hub targets were identified. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B signaling pathway was one of the key enriched pathways. Reverse network pharmacology identified 20-hydroxyecdysone as a candidate compound. Molecular docking showed relatively strong binding of 20-hydroxyecdysone to epidermal growth factor receptor, fms-related receptor tyrosine kinase 1, and integrin subunit alpha 5, and molecular dynamics simulations supported the stability of these complexes. In vitro experiments showed that 20-hydroxyecdysone inhibited cell viability, clonogenicity, and migration, while promoting apoptosis. It also reduced the phosphorylation levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein kinase B, and glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta at Ser9 without markedly altering total protein expression.Conclusion:Treatment with 20-Hydroxyecdysone showed anti-glioma activity in vitro and may exert its effects, at least in part, through suppression of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B signaling pathway. These findings support its further evaluation as a potential therapeutic candidate for glioblastoma.