Network pharmacology and in silico analysis of Cucumis melo phytochemicals targeting ER stress in diabetic nephropathy.

Abstract

Abstract: This study aims to identify the molecular mechanism of Cucumis melo (CM) in regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress) associated with diabetic nephropathy (DN) by using network pharmacology and bioinformatic studies. The targets of CM and target of ER stress and DN were obtained from various online databases. Top targets for CM regulating ER stress in DN were identified using PPI network. KEGG and GO analysis were used to examine the hub genes from a macro viewpoint. The present study identified 41 potential active phytochemicals, 212 potential therapeutic targets and 15 hub genes (targets). The primary targets which were closely associated with the pathways that are primarily involved in DN and ER stress were AKT1, EGFR and SRC. Furthermore, top 2 phytochemicals (eriodictyol and curcumin) and top 3 targets (AKT1, EGFR and SRC) were selected based on their degree score for molecular docking studies. It was observed that eriodictyol and curcumin had significant binding affinity potential against these targets (- 9.8 kcal/mol and - 9.5 kcal/mol against AKT-1, - 8.2 kcal/mol and - 7.6 kcal/mol against EGFR and - 8.8 kcal/mol and - 8.8 kcal/mol against SRC, respectively), along with the good binding interactions with key residues. Further, validation of docking results in molecular dynamic simulations was elucidated that eriodictyol and curcumin were had significant stability and binding ability against these targets (AKT1, EGFR and SRC) as compared to standard drug, but need to be tested experimentally. This research reveals the potential targets and pathways which can be targeted in DN treatment by regulating ER stress using CM.

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Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40203-025-00406-5.