Cinobufotalin is a chemical compound extracted from the skin of dried bufo toads that may have curative potential for certain malignancies through different mechanisms; however, these mechanisms remain unexplored in breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the antitumor mechanism of cinobufotalin in breast cancer by using microarray data and in silico analysis. The microarray data set GSE85871, in which cinobufotalin exerted influences on the MCF-7 breast cancer cells, was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed. Subsequently, protein interaction analysis was conducted, which clarified the clinical significance of core genes, and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were used to analyze cinobufotalin-related pathways. The Connectivity Map (CMAP) database was used to select existing compounds that exhibited curative properties similar to those of cinobufotalin. A total of 1,237 DEGs were identified from breast cancer cells that were treated with cinobufotalin. Two core genes, SRC proto-oncogene non-receptor tyrosine kinase and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A, were identified as serving a vital role in the onset and development of breast cancer, and their expression levels were markedly reduced following cinobufotalin treatment as detected by the microarray of GSE85871. It also was revealed that the ‘neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction’ and ‘calcium signaling’ pathways may be crucial for cinobufotalin to perform its functions in breast cancer. Conducting a matching search in CMAP, miconazole and cinobufotalin were indicated to possessed similar molecular mechanisms. In conclusion, cinobufotalin may serve as an effective compound for the treatment of a subtype of breast cancer that is triple positive for the presence of estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 receptors, and its mechanism may be related to different pathways. In addition, cinobufotalin is likely to exert its antitumor influences in a similar way as miconazole in MCF-7 cells.

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Objective: To explore the clinical efficacy of of Zhuang Medicine Lotus Acupuncure Cupping Stasis Therapy on patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and its action mechanism. Methods: 36 patients are randomly divided into Lotus Acupuncure Cupping Stasis Therapy group, pure cupping group and gabapentin group, with a total of five observation points of the first, fifth, tenth, fifteenth and twentieth sessions of therapy (one session every three days). At each observation point, the venous blood of the patients is taken, and the contents of and changes in WNT3a, Frizzled8, β-catenin, IL-18, TNF-α, NR2B, NK-1 and SP are tested by ELISA,RT-PCR and WesternBlot respectively. The VAS scores and safety of the patients in the three groups are compared. Results: ① with increased time spent in therapy, the VAS scores of patients in each group decreased gradually and there was a significant reduction in pain in patients in the Lotus Acupuncure Cupping Stasis Therapy group compared to the gabapentin and pure cupping groups (P<0.05). ② The levels of IL-18, TNF-α, NK-1, SP, WNT3a, Frizzled 8 and β-catenin in the serum of all patients experienced a constant decline over time (P<0.05); the levels of the foresaid factors in the serum of patients in the Lotus Acupuncture Cupping Stasis Therapy group dropped remarkably after the tenth session of therapy compared to those in gabapentin and pure cupping groups (P<0.05). Conclusions: Zhuang Medicine Lotus Acupuncture Cupping Stasis Therapy can significantly reduce the pain of PHN patients, with a good therapeutic effect, and it is worthy of clinical use.