Network-based discovery of resveratrol’s key regulators in lung squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Background Resveratrol, a polyphenol primarily found in grapes, mulberries, and peanuts, has been studied for its anticancer properties, but the bioinformatics approach to this compound against the major subtype of non-small lung cancer type, lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), had focused primarily on ferroptosis. This study evaluates the hypothesis that resveratrol exerts its effect against LUSC by simultaneously targeting multiple oncogenic pathways, thereby identifying genes of high clinical relevance, useful for future experimental validation. Methods The approach of this study is combining data mining from several databases to obtain potential key regulators of resveratrol against LUSC. The hub genes were then analyzed for clinical relevancy and studied for binding with molecular docking. Results This study revealed that resveratrol affected proteins prognostically linked to poor patient survival when overexpressed, namely TP53, AKT1, IL6, and CCND1. However, only AKT1, IL6, and CCND1 showed a better binding score to resveratrol compared to the native ligand counterparts. This might demonstrate the potency of resveratrol in physically binding to the four protein targets to exert an inhibitory effect. Conclusion This study suggested that resveratrol had potential targets against LUSC through cell proliferation regulation, PI3K/AKT, and inflammatory pathways.