Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41465766›Full record

ArticleLife (Basel, Switzerland)2025

Computational Investigation Identifies mTOR as a Primary Binding Target of Medicarpin in Cholangiocarcinoma: Insights from Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking.

Sirinya Sitthirak, Aman Tedasen, Yanisa Rattanapan, Thitinat Duangchan, Hasaya Dokduang, Nawanwat C Pattaranggoon, Krittamate Saisuwan, Watcharin Loilome, Nisana Namwat

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Life (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Sirinya SitthirakDepartment of Medical Technology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0003-2939-1706
Aman TedasenDepartment of Medical Technology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.
Yanisa RattanapanDepartment of Medical Technology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0002-5413-6937
Thitinat DuangchanDepartment of Medical Technology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0002-7404-6664
Hasaya DokduangFaculty of Medicine, Mahasarakham University, Mahasarakham 44000, Thailand.ORCID 0009-0004-4765-333X
Nawanwat C PattaranggoonFaculty of Medical Technology, Rangsit University, Muang Pathumthani, Pathumthani 12000, Thailand.
Krittamate SaisuwanDepartment of Immunopharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan.ORCID 0009-0009-0928-2909
Watcharin LoilomeCholangiocarcinoma Research Institute, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0001-8572-5577
Nisana NamwatCholangiocarcinoma Research Institute, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.ORCID 0000-0002-6743-5047

Funding

Research Program from Research Department of Khon Kaen UniversityWalailak University under the New Researcher Development scheme WU68280
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive cancer of biliary tract with poor prognosis and limited therapeutic alternatives. While targeted medicines only benefit a small subset of patients with specific genetic modifications, conventional chemotherapy offers negligible survival advantages. There is an urgent need for novel medicines with multi-target action to combat the diverse and treatment-resistant characteristics of CCA.

methodsAn integrative computational strategy combining drug-likeness evaluation, target prediction, network pharmacology, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses, and molecular docking was employed to elucidate the pharmacological profile of medicarpin, a natural pterocarpan derived from

resultsForty-four overlapping targets were identified, with mTOR, SRC, PIK3CA, and CCND1 emerging as central nodes within the network. Enrichment analyses revealed significant involvement in carcinogenic pathways, including PI3K-Akt/mTOR, ErbB signalling, apoptosis regulation, and drug resistance. Molecular docking demonstrated a stable binding of medicarpin within the catalytic pocket of mTOR (binding energy -9.6 kcal/mol), supported by multiple hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with key residues essential for kinase activation.

conclusionsThis study provides systems-level evidence that medicarpin exerts polypharmacological activity against CCA, with mTOR indicated as a possible mechanistic hub. These findings highlight medicarpin's potential as a promising multi-target therapeutic candidate and underscore the value of natural compounds in expanding treatment strategies for cholangiocarcinoma.

Indexed as

ADMEcholangiocarcinomamedicarpinmolecular dockingnetwork pharmacologysignaling pathways

Identifiers

PMID41465766
PMCPMC12734118

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.