Thymoquinone regulates osteosarcoma cell proliferation through the P53 signaling pathway: A network pharmacology and molecular docking based health technology study.

This article focuses on investigating the molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential of thymoquinone (TQ), a natural compound, against osteosarcoma (OS), an aggressive malignant bone cancer. Using systems bioinformatics approaches—including network pharmacology and molecular docking—alongside in vitro experiments on MG-63 OS cells, the study identified eight core gene targets of TQ, notably within the p53 signaling pathway, which is crucial in regulating apoptosis and cell cycle progression. Experimental results demonstrated that TQ inhibits OS cell proliferation, induces apoptosis, and causes G2/M cell cycle arrest, accompanied by downregulation of proteins such as p53, HMOX1, and Cyclin D1. These findings suggest that TQ exerts multi-target, multi-pathway anti-OS effects and highlight the utility of computational health technologies in identifying promising therapeutic targets for osteosarcoma treatment.