Exploring the mechanism of daphne-type diterpenes against gastric cancer cells.

Gastric cancer is one of the common malignant tumors. It is reported that daphne-type diterpenes have inhibitory effects on gastric cancer cells, but the mechanism is still unknown. To explore the detailed mechanism of the anticancer effect of daphne-type diterpenes, we carried out an integrated network pharmacology prediction study and selected an effective component (yuanhuacine, YHC) for the following validation in silico and in vitro . The result showed that daphne-type diterpenes exerted an anti-tumor effect by targeting proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase SRC as well as regulating the Ras/MAPK signaling pathway, which caused the apoptosis and mitochondrial damage in gastric cancer cells.