DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acph-2026-0033
Article ID: 260033 (19 pages)
Short communication
Integrating network pharmacology and experimental validation reveals PI3K/AKT as a critical pathway in pachymic acid induced inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma
JUN Liang, HONGYU Zhang, SHIXIN Pan, TAO SI, MINZHONG TANG, ZHENG PENG
Abstract
Pachymic acid (PA), a natural lanost-8-ene-type triterpenoid isolated from Poria cocos, exhibits diverse pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and hypnotic effects. Emerging evidence has highlighted its potential anticancer properties, particularly its ability to suppress the proliferation of various cancer cell lines, though the underlying mechanisms remain largely undefined. In this study, we employed a network pharmacology approach to explore the anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) effects of PA. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses identified the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway as a key candidate mediating PA's activity in liver cancer cells. This prediction was subsequently validated by Western blotting, which confirmed that PA markedly inhibited the growth of HepG2 HCC cells, an effect mediated predominantly through suppression of the PI3K/AKT pathway. Collectively, our findings provide new insights into the anticancer mechanisms of PA and support its potential as a promising candidate for novel anti-HCC therapies.
Keywords
network pharmacology, pachymic acid, liver cancer, PI3K/Akt signalling pathway
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