Bioinformatics and in-silico findings reveal medical features and pharmacological targets of biochanin A against colorectal cancer and COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Severe mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted from the lack of effective treatment. Although COVID-19 vaccines are available, their side effects have become a challenge for clinical use in patients with chronic diseases, especially cancer patients. In the current report, we applied network pharmacology and systematic bioinformatics to explore the use of biochanin A in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and COVID-19 infection. Using the network pharmacology approach, we identified two clusters of genes involved in immune response (IL1A, IL2, and IL6R) and cell proliferation (CCND1, PPARG, and EGFR) mediated by biochanin A in CRC/COVID-19 condition. The functional analysis of these two gene clusters further illustrated the effects of biochanin A on interleukin-6 production and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction in CRC/COVID-19 pathology. In addition, pathway analysis demonstrated the control of PI3K-Akt and JAK-STAT signaling pathways by biochanin A in the treatment of CRC/COVID-19. The findings of this study provide a therapeutic option for combination therapy against COVID-19 infection in CRC patients.

KEYWORDS:

• Colorectal cancer
• COVID-19
• biochanin a
• bioinformatics
• biological function
• pharmaceutical target

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Consent for publication

All authors have consented to publish this manuscript.

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Authors’ contributions

Aijun Jiao, Keng Po Lai, and Bin Yang contributed to the conception and design of the manuscript. Qin, Liang, Yang, Liang, Xu, and Luo contributed to the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data. Aijun Jiao and Keng Po Lai drafted the manuscript. Keng Po Lai and Bin Yang revised the manuscript. All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring integrity and accuracy.

Abbreviations

CRC, colorectal cancer; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; TCGA, The Cancer Genome Atlas; GO, Gene Ontology; BP, Biological process; KEGG, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; TCMSP: Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82160282), Guigang City Scientific Research and Technology Development Plan Project (Gui Ke Gong No. 1908029) and the National Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province (No. 2020GXNSFAA259044).