Abstract Description

The prevalence of breast cancer is a serious concern for women and nations’ economies. Loss of biodiversity because of the bioexploration of natural products from medicinal plants poses a greater danger. The current treatment regimen is either expensive or insufficient; hence, the current study utilises network pharmacology to systematically explore the pharmacological mechanisms underlying the potential anti-breast cancer effects of secondary metabolites produced by Bacillus subtilis residing in Kigelia africana. The methodology involved the identification of secondary metabolites of B. subtilis via GC-MS. Also, the compilation of established breast cancer-related molecular targets from comprehensive databases, viz, GEPIA2, and the construction of protein-protein interactions (PPI) networks were done. Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis on predicted target proteins were done in Cytoscape. There were 60 potential common target genes for breast cancer and 15 metabolites of B. subtilis. The integrated network analysis revealed that the microbial metabolites interact with a multitude of key proteins implicated in breast cancer progression and survival.  The core targets were CCND1, AKT1, EGFR, ESR1, ERBB2, MMP9, PTGS2, MMP2, AR, and CASP8, based on MCC categorization. Enrichment analysis indicated significant modulation of critical signalling pathways. The findings strongly suggest that secondary metabolites exert their activities through a multi-target, multi-pathway strategy, simultaneously disrupting several hallmark biological processes essential for cancer cells. The study highlights the potential of network pharmacology in elucidating the complex actions of natural products; however, further research is needed to investigate the in vivo activities of B. subtilis.