Lin Jie, Zhou Jiale, Ye Kailin, Xie Fei
Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Neijiang First People's Hospital, Neijiang, Sichuan, China.
Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2025 Apr 25;104(17):e42267. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000042267.
Prunella vulgaris (PV) is widely used in treating various diseases, but its relationship with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. This study systematically evaluates PV's therapeutic potential in HCC and explores its molecular mechanisms. Active compounds and molecular targets of PV were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform database, and HCC-related targets were identified using the Gene Expression Omnibus database. A drug-disease target network was built to identify key hub genes, which were further investigated through immune analysis, single-cell RNA sequencing, molecular docking, and in vitro experiments. We identified 185 drug targets and 635 HCC-related targets, with 15 potential PV targets linked to HCC progression. In vitro validation confirmed significant expression of these targets in HCC cells. Mechanistic analysis indicated that these hub genes may influence HCC progression through pathways like tumor protein 53 signaling and are associated with immune cell subsets, including CD8+ T cells and natural killer cells. This study identifies key bioactive components of PV for HCC treatment and reveals their molecular mechanisms. Dysregulation of these targets correlates with HCC pathogenesis, suggesting their potential as novel biomarkers. Future research will focus on further validation in vitro and in vivo to explore the clinical applicability of these targets and the synergistic potential of PV in combination with other treatments.
夏枯草（PV）被广泛用于治疗各种疾病，但其与肝细胞癌（HCC）的关系仍不清楚。本研究系统评估了夏枯草在肝癌治疗中的潜力，并探讨其分子机制。从中药系统药理学数据库和分析平台数据库中获取夏枯草的活性成分和分子靶点，并使用基因表达综合数据库鉴定与肝癌相关的靶点。构建药物-疾病靶点网络以识别关键枢纽基因，并通过免疫分析、单细胞RNA测序、分子对接和体外实验对其进行进一步研究。我们鉴定出185个药物靶点和635个与肝癌相关的靶点，其中15个潜在的夏枯草靶点与肝癌进展相关。体外验证证实了这些靶点在肝癌细胞中的显著表达。机制分析表明，这些枢纽基因可能通过肿瘤蛋白53信号通路等途径影响肝癌进展，并与包括CD8 + T细胞和自然杀伤细胞在内的免疫细胞亚群相关。本研究确定了用于肝癌治疗的夏枯草关键生物活性成分，并揭示了其分子机制。这些靶点的失调与肝癌发病机制相关，表明它们作为新型生物标志物的潜力。未来的研究将集中在进一步的体外和体内验证，以探索这些靶点的临床适用性以及夏枯草与其他治疗方法联合使用的协同潜力。
