BACKGROUND:Liushen Pil is a traditional Chinese herbal formula, has the effects of heat-clearing and detoxicating, eliminating stagnation, detumescence and al eviating pain. Modern pharmacology verifies that Liushen Pil has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, cardiac, anti-viral, anti-tumor effects, and has been extensively used in the treatment of various infectious diseases and malignant cancer. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the inhibitory effects of Liushen Pil on esophageal cancer xenografts, and effects on microvessel density and vascular endothelial growth factor expression. METHODS:After reproducing nude mouse models of human esophageal cancer, 48 nude mice were randomly divided into high-dose Liushen Pil group, moderate-dose Liushen Pil group, low-dose Liushen Pil group, cisplatin group, model group and blank group. According to medication regimen, drugs were given. The growth of transplanted tumor of nude mice was dynamical y observed in each group. The nude mice were sacrificed after 20 days of treatment. Neoplasm weight was taken and the tumor-suppressing rate was calculated. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect microvessel density and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The weight of transplanted tumor was significantly lower in the high-dose Liushen Pil group, moderate-dose Liushen Pil group, low-dose Liushen Pil group, and cisplatin group than in the model group (P<0.05). Microvessel density and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor were obviously lower in the each Liushen Pil group than in the model group, but not as apparent as that in the cisplatin group. Results suggested that Liushen Pil can inhibit the growth of the esophageal cancer xenografts. Liushen Pil can down-regulate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and reduce microvessel density, which is one of the tumor-inhibiting mechanism of Liushen Pil .

Objective Calculus Bovis(CB)is a kind of valuable traditional Chinese medicine,which has been used in clinic for a long time.It has been shown to have significant anti-stroke,anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects.But its mechanism for treating Prostate cancer(PCa)remains unclear.The purpose of this study was to explore the target and mechanism of its action in the treatment of prostate cancer throμgh network pharmacology and in vitro and in vivo experiments.Methods The effective compounds of Calculus Bovis were collected by TCM pharmacology database and analysis platform(TCMSP).Search for potential compound targets in TCMSP.Search the Drμgbank,GeneCards,OMIM,PharmGkb,and TTD databases for disease targets associated with prost cancer.Disease and compound targets were integrated in the STRING database to construct their interaction network(PPI)to reveal the key targets of compound treatment for prostate cancer.In order to elucidate the mechanism of Calculus Bovis in the treatment of prostate cancer,GO functional enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were conducted using Cytoscape software.The mechanism of treating prostate cancer with Calculus Bovis was studied in vitro and in vivo.Results A total of 11 compounds with anti-prostate cancer activity were identified.Oleanolic acid,ursolic acid,ergosterol,deoxycorticosterone,methylcholine and cholverdin were potential effective components.A total of 367 targets of Calculus Bovis compounds and 2152 targets of prostate cancer were found.The core targets of Calculus Bovis in the treatment of prostate cancer included TP53,STAT3,AKT1,HSP90AA1,ESR1,SRC,JUN,RELA,CCND1,CDKN1A,EGFR,AR,etc.The biological functions of Calculus Bovis mainly involve oxidative stress response,response to steroid hormones,cell response to chemical stress,peptide-serine modification and phosphorylation,and protein serine/threonine kinase activity.Calculus Bovis treatment of prostate cancer mainly involves PI3K-AKT signaling pathway,TNF signaling pathway,MAPK signaling pathway,etc.In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that Calculus Bovis promoted apoptosis of PC3 cells of prostate cancer by inhibiting PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.Conclusion Calculus Bovis has a therapeutic effect on prostate cancer,and its function is related to inhibiting PI3K-AKT signaling pathway and promoting apoptosis of cancer cells.