Antitumor mechanism research of cryptotanshinone by module-based network analysis

Cryptotanshinone (CPT) is one of the major liposoluble ingredients in Salvia miltiorrhiza which exerts antitumor activity on several types of cancers. However, the action mechanism of CPT remained to be clarified. The current study aimed to elucidate the antitumor mechanism of CPT based on the protein interaction network (PIN) analysis. A PIN of CPT was constructed with 244 nodes and 778 interactions, and was analyzed by Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis based on Markov Cluster algorithm (MCL). Two modules were found to be intimately associated with antitumor. Still further, the antitumor effect of CPT may be partly attributable to inhibiting the activation of the c-Src pathway and overexpression of EGFR, to mediating overexpression of PIAS and activation of EIF2AK3. Therefore, this study may shed new light on the antitumor mechanism and treatment of CPT.