Network Pharmacology Combined with Proteomics Reveals That 3‑Acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic Acid Inhibits the Progression of Prostate Cancer by Regulating the IL-17 Signaling Pathway.

[BACKGROUND] 3-acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (AKBA) is a monomer extracted from the traditional Chinese herbs of Boswellia that has antitumor effects. However, the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of AKBA in prostate cancer (PCa) are unclear.

[OBJECTIVE] To predict the target of AKBA treatment of PCa using network pharmacology methods and validate the predicted targets through CCK-8, flow cytometry, cell scratch test, Transwell chamber assay, and proteomics.

[METHODS] The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was established. Further analysis was performed by gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes for biological functionality and pathway enrichment. CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, wound healing assay, and Transwell chamber assay were used to detect cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and metastasis, respectively. Transcriptomics was used to detect the effects of AKBA on protein levels in PCa cells.

[RESULTS] 120 potential targets for the AKBA treatment of PCa were obtained. GO enrichment analysis revealed that the biological processes of AKBA treatment of PCa include the steroid metabolic process, drug response, and fatty acid metabolic process. The results of KEGG enrichment revealed that the IL-17 signaling pathway is the key pathway for the AKBA treatment of PCa. In addition, experimental results demonstrate that AKBA inhibits the proliferation of PCa cells, induces cell apoptosis, and suppresses cell invasion and metastasis. Proteomics identified 119 differentially expressed proteins, which were primarily enriched in pathways closely related to the phogosome, pathways in cancer, IL-17 signaling pathway, spliceosome, PPAR signaling pathway, and HIF-1 signaling pathway.

[CONCLUSION] Through the methodologies of network pharmacology and transcriptomics, AKBA may exert its therapeutic effects on PCa by modulating the expression of the IL-17 signaling pathway.