Molecular Targets and Mechanisms of Piperine Against Breast Cancer: A Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking Analysis, and Toxicity Prediction

Breast cancer is still one of the major causes of cancer-related death worldwide, which highlights the need for cutting-edge therapeutic strategies. An alkaloid called piperine, which comes from Piper longum, has demonstrated encouraging anticancer effects. Piperine modulates different cancer signaling pathways and enzymes such as P53, apoptosis, and cell cycle regulation. Protein function and signaling pathway enrichment studies were made easier using the DAVID Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases, while the SwissTarget Prediction database was used to identify the target genes for piperine. Using STRING, Cytoscape, and the CytoHubba degree approach, protein-protein interaction networks were investigated. Ninety-three possible piperine target sites in breast cancer were found, most of which were connected to important cancer pathways. The therapeutic effect of piperine was demonstrated by analysis of KEGG pathways, molecular functions, cellular components, and biological processes. Following the identification of the top ten hub gene targets, further molecular docking and dynamic simulations (iMODS server) were performed on SRC, HSP90AA1, MTOR, and MDM2 to evaluate binding affinity, flexibility, and stability. These results were confirmed by survival, correlation, and Humane FP analyses, highlighting the function of piperine in focusing on the genes responsible with pathogenic breast cancer. This thorough investigation opens the door for more research and clinical uses by demonstrating piperine's potential as a new therapeutic agent for the treatment of breast cancer.