ArticlePeerJ2022
Exploring the mechanism of cordycepin combined with doxorubicin in treating glioblastoma based on network pharmacology and biological verification.
Article in PeerJ, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- FungalInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Pleiotropic Bioactivity of Caterpillar Fungus, Orange Cordyceps, and Cordycepin: Insight from Integrated Network Pharmacology and Food and Drug Regulatory Framework.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Role of matrix metalloproteinases in the invasion of glioblastoma and drug interventions (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Application and research progress of cordycepin in the treatment of tumours (Review).Molecular medicine reports · 2024Review
- The role and mechanisms of cordycepin in inhibiting cancer cells.Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologica · 2024Review
- The therapeutic potential of natural products for treating pancreatic cancer.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGlioblastoma is the most common and fatal primary malignant tumor in the central nervous system, and the prognosis is poor. Currently, there are no effective treatments for glioblastoma. Cordycepin is a natural active substance with significant anticancer activity and doxorubicin is a broad-spectrum anticancer drug. Cordycepin administered with doxorubicin is a potential drug combination for the treatment of glioblastoma. However, the mechanism of action for this drug combination has not yet been elucidated. AIM OF THE STUDY: To explore the complex mechanism of cordycepin combined with doxorubicin against glioblastoma using network pharmacology and biological verification. MATERIALS AND
methodsWe used an MTT assay, colony formation assay, and scratch healing to detect the growth, proliferation, and migration of LN-229, U251 and T98G cells. Putative targets and the potential mechanism of action for the drug combination in glioblastoma were obtained through online databases, network construction, and enrichment analyses. We verified the expression of EMT-related genes and identified important therapeutic targets by western blot.
resultsIn this study, the combination of doxorubicin and cordycepin was found to significantly inhibit cell proliferation and migration and can induce apoptosis. These effects are better together than with either drug alone. The drug combination inhibited EMT by upregulating the expression of E-cadherin protein and downregulating the expression of N-cadherin, ZEB1, and Twist1 proteins. There were 71 potential targets for the drug combination in glioblastoma, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome analysis suggested that the anticancer process may be mediated by proteoglycans in cancer, the tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway, microRNA in cancer, pathways in cancer, and other pathways. To study the molecular mechanism of anticancer activity, we detected the expression of target proteins with downregulated expression of NFKB1, MAPK8, MYC, and MMP-9 proteins and upregulated expression of cleaved caspase 3 that promoted the apoptosis of LN-229 cells.
conclusionsThis study shows that the drug combination of doxorubicin and cordycepin effectively inhibits the growth and proliferation of LN-229 cells through multiple targets and multiple pathways, and the combination inhibits cell invasion and migration by regulating the EMT switch of tumor cells. Our findings provide new ideas about, and a theoretical basis for, the treatment of glioblastoma.
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