Effect and mechanisms of kaempferol against endometriosis based on network pharmacology and in vitro experiments

Junde Zhao, Juntao Wang, Jinxing Liu, Shuling Li, Pengfei Liu, Xiaodan Zhang
BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2022 · vol. 22(1) , pp. 254 · doi:10.1186/s12906-022-03729-4 · PMID:36184634 · PMC9528065 · W4300003295
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 3 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

Kaempferol suppressed endometrial cell migration and invasion, likely by modulating the PI3K pathway, PTEN, and MMP9, potentially offering a therapeutic strategy against endometriosis.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This paper used network pharmacology to identify potential targets of kaempferol in endometriosis, integrating predicted kaempferol targets (via TCMSP/SwissTargetPrediction) with endometriosis-related genes from GeneCards, DisGeNET, OMIM, and differentially expressed mRNAs from GEO datasets, followed by STRING-based PPI hub-gene analysis and GO/KEGG enrichment. The network analyses suggested kaempferol suppresses endometriosis cell migration and invasion by modulating the PI3K pathway and its downstream matrix metalloproteinase MMP9, with PTEN highlighted as part of the mechanism. In vitro experiments in Ishikawa endometrial cells showed that kaempferol reduced migration, invasion, and related behaviors in parallel with changes consistent with PI3K-associated regulation of PTEN and MMP9. A key caveat is that mechanistic validation is limited to in vitro assays using one cell line, and the work does not include in vivo confirmation of ectopic lesion formation. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it evaluates kaempferol’s effects and proposed mechanisms (PI3K/PTEN/MMP9) on endometrial cell migration and invasion in an endometriosis-focused framework.

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Abstract

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease, and its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Patients are at a higher risk of recurrence after surgery or drug withdrawal. In this study, to identify a potentially effective and safe therapy for endometriosis, we screened potential target genes of kaempferol on endometriosis using network pharmacology and further validation. Network pharmacology showed kaempferol may suppress migratory and invasive properties by modulating the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway and its downstream target matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)9. Furthermore, in vitro experiments showed that kaempferol repressed the migration and invasion of endometrial cells, and this effect may be involved in mediating the PI3K-related genes, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) and MMP9. Network pharmacology and in vitro experiments showed that kaempferol, repressed the implantation of endometrial cells and formation of ectopic lesions by inhibiting migration and invasion and regulating PTEN and MMP9, which may be associated with the PI3K pathway.

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Cell Movement Cell Movement Cell Movement Cell Movement

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Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

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