目前，肝细胞癌（HCC）与预后不良有关。此外，治疗 HCC 的策略有限。白头翁汤（PD）是一种传统中药配方，已用于治疗炎症性肠病和多种癌症。因此，我们通过网络药理学和体外实验探索PD在HCC治疗中的作用机制。在在线数据库中搜索与HCC发展相关的基因数据、活性成分和潜在靶基因。随后，利用蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用和网络构建以及京都基因和基因组百科全书（KEGG）进行生物信息学分析，筛选PD的潜在抗癌成分和治疗靶点。最后，通过体外实验进一步验证了PD对HCC的作用。网络药理学分析显示，65个化合物和180个可能的靶基因与PD对HCC的作用相关。其中包括 PI3K、AKT、NF-κB、FOS 和 NFKBIA。 KEGG分析表明PD主要通过PI3K-AKT、IL-17和TNF信号通路发挥对HCC的作用。细胞活力和细胞周期实验表明，PD能够显着抑制癌细胞增殖，并通过诱导细胞凋亡来杀死HCC细胞。此外，蛋白质印迹证实细胞凋亡主要通过PI3K-AKT、IL-17和TNF信号通路介导。据我们所知，这是第一个阐明PD治疗中分子机制和潜在靶点的研究使用网络药理学研究 HCC。© 2023。作者。

Currently, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with a poor prognosis. Moreover, there exist limited strategies for treating HCC. Pulsatilla decoction (PD), a traditional Chinese medicine formula, has been used to treat inflammatory bowel disease and several cancer types. Accordingly, we explored the mechanism of PD in HCC treatment via network pharmacology and in vitro experiments.Online databases were searched for gene data, active components, and potential target genes associated with HCC development. Subsequently, bioinformatics analysis was performed using protein-protein interaction and Network Construction and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) to screen for potential anticancer components and therapeutic targets of PD. Finally, the effect of PD on HCC was further verified by in vitro experiments.Network pharmacological analysis revealed that 65 compounds and 180 possible target genes were associated with the effect of PD on HCC. These included PI3K, AKT, NF-κB, FOS, and NFKBIA. KEGG analysis demonstrated that PD exerted its effect on HCC mainly via the PI3K-AKT, IL-17, and TNF signaling pathways. Cell viability and cell cycle experiments revealed that PD could significantly inhibit cancer cell proliferation and kill HCC cells by inducing apoptosis. Furthermore, western blotting confirmed that apoptosis was mediated primarily via the PI3K-AKT, IL-17, and TNF signaling pathways.To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to elucidate the molecular mechanism and potential targets of PD in the treatment of HCC using network pharmacology.© 2023. The Author(s).