Flavonoid calycopterin triggers apoptosis in triple-negative and ER-positive human breast cancer cells through activating different patterns of gene expression

Promoting Apoptosis, a Promising Way to Treat Breast Cancer With Natural Products: A Comprehensive Review

Breast cancer is one of the top-ranked malignant carcinomas associated with morbidity and mortality in women worldwide. Chemotherapy is one of the main approaches to breast cancer treatment. Breast cancer initially responds to traditional first- and second-line drugs (aromatase inhibitor, tamoxifen, and carboplatin), but eventually acquires resistance, and certain patients relapse within 5 years. Chemotherapeutic drugs also have obvious toxic effects. In recent years, natural products have been widely used in breast cancer research because of their low side effects, low toxicity, and good efficacy based on their multitarget therapy. Apoptosis, a programmed cell death, occurs as a normal and controlled process that promotes cell growth and death. Inducing apoptosis is an important strategy to control excessive breast cancer cell proliferation. Accumulating evidence has revealed that natural products become increasingly important in breast cancer treatment by suppressing cell apoptosis. In this study, we reviewed current studies on natural product–induced breast cancer cell apoptosis and summarized the proapoptosis mechanisms including mitochondrial, FasL/Fas, PI3K/AKT, reactive oxygen species, and mitogen-activated protein kinase–mediated pathway. We hope that our review can provide direction in the search for candidate drugs derived from natural products to treat breast cancer by promoting cell apoptosis.

Regulation of reactive oxygen species by phytochemicals for the management of cancer and diabetes

Cancer and diabetes mellitus are served as typical life-threatening diseases with common risk factors. Developing therapeutic measures in cancers and diabetes have aroused attention for a long time. However, the problems with conventional treatments are in challenge, including side effects, economic burdens, and patient compliance. It is essential to secure safe and efficient therapeutic methods to overcome these issues. As an alternative method, antioxidant and pro-oxidant properties of phytochemicals from edible plants have come to the fore. Phytochemicals are naturally occurring compounds, considered promising agent applicable in treatment of various diseases with beneficial effects. Either antioxidative or pro-oxidative activity of various phytochemicals were found to contribute to regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis, which can exert preventive and therapeutic effects against cancer and diabetes. In this article, the antioxidant or pro-oxidant effects and underlying mechanisms of flavonoids, alkaloids, and saponins in cancer or diabetic models demonstrated by the recent studies are summarized.

Differences of Key Proteins between Apoptosis and Necroptosis

Many different types of programmed cell death (PCD) have been identified, including apoptosis and necroptosis. Apoptosis is a type of cell death that is controlled by various genes. It is in charge of eliminating aberrant cells such as cancer cells, replenishing normal cells, and molding the body as it develops. Necroptosis is a type of programmed cell death that combines necrosis and apoptosis. In other words, it takes on a necrotic appearance, although cells die in a controlled manner. Various investigations of these two pathways have revealed that caspase-8, receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase 1 (RIPK1), and RIPK3 are crucial proteins in charge of the switching between these two pathways, resulting in the activation or inhibition of necroptosis. In this review, we have summarized the key proteins between apoptosis and necroptosis.

Cytotoxic activity of flavonoid from local plant Eriocaulon cinereum R.B against MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Eriocaulon cinereum R. Br is used as traditional medicine by the local community in Bangka Belitung Island, Indonesia. The plant is processed as an infusion for fever, boosts the immune system, and treats tumor cells. However, scientific research on this species is still limited. The aims of this study were to determine the cytotoxic of E. cinereum against MCF-7 cells. The results suggested that one of the compounds has a good cytotoxic activity. Therefore, it is quite promising in the effort of cancer drug discovery. The active compound has a flavonoid, which plays a role in several anticancer mechanisms. This study provided scientific evidence regarding the utilization of E. cinereum by the local community for cancer therapy. The plant can be further developed as an alternative agent to treat cancer or as cancer adjuvant therapy.

A Scientometric Visualization Analysis for Natural Products on Cancer Research from 2008 to 2020

Background: An increasing number of studies have shown that natural products have anti-tumor effects, and it has become a hotspot in cancer research. However, few bibliometric analyses have been examined in this field systematically. The current study aimed to explore the status and provide the developing trends in the natural products on cancer research.

Methods: Publications on natural products in cancer research were extracted from the Web of Science core collection database. CiteSpace (5.6.R3) software and GraphPad prism 6 were used to analyze and plot the references.

Results: On February 1, 2021, 34,611 records of natural products in cancer research published from 2008 to 2020 were collected. The United States was the driving force, with a strong academic reputation in this area. The top-contributing institution was the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Most publications were published in Molecules. Efferth Thomas was the most prolific author, while Newman DJ was the most cited and frequently co-cited author. Flavonoid, curcumin, and polyphenol were the most widely studied natural products. Oleanolic acid and rosmarinic acid have gradually become research hotspots recently. Breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer were the most common types of cancer in this field. “Natural killer cell” was the leading research hotspot. The keywords of “leaf extract,” “molecular docking” and “gold nanoparticle” appeared most recently as research frontiers.

Conclusion: Our results provided a general overview of the major research directions of natural products research in cancer. The mechanisms of natural products, especially those related to molecular docking, gold nanoparticle, gut microbiota, and immune checkpoints may soon become hotspots and should be closely monitored.

Flavonoid Calycopterin Induces Apoptosis in Human Prostate Cancer Cells In-vitro

Prostate cancer is enumerated as one of the most prevalent cancers in men, with a mortality rate of 18%. Chemotherapy is considered as a common strategy for cancer treatment; however, toxic side effects and drug resistance associated with chemotherapy are major drawbacks with this approach. It is well known that a diet rich in flavonoids can reduce the incidence of many types of cancer in a significant manner, and it was proved that methoxy flavones have greater bioavailability compared to the nonmethylated ones. Calycopterin is a tetramethoxy flavone which was demonstrated to have anti-proliferative effects on colon, gastric, and osteosarcoma cancer cells. Therefore, in the current study, we have evaluated the apoptotic effects of this flavonoid on two prostate cancer cell lines in-vitro. The MTT assay revealed that after 48 h treatment with this flavonoid, cell viability reduced to 50% compared to the control group. However, calycopterin treatment of healthy HUVEC did not cause any significant reduction in cell viability. Moreover, the clonogenic assay demonstrated that after 14 days, colony size and numbers reduced significantly in calycopterin treated cells. In addition, the percentage of the sub-G1 population in calycopterin-treated cells augmented significantly compared to untreated group. Also, calycopterin-treated cells demonstrated shiny condensed nuclei with fragmented DNA indicative of apoptosis. Finally, a significant reduction in the migration ability was observed in both lines subjected to calycopterin after 48 h. To conclude, our results demonstrated the apoptotic and anti-metastatic effects of calycopterin in both hormone-dependent and independent prostate cancer cell lines.

Treatment of breast cancer in vivo by dual photodynamic and photothermal approaches with the aid of curcumin photosensitizer and magnetic nanoparticles

Breast cancer is a neoplastic disease with a high mortality rate among women. Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) attracted considerable attention because of their minimal invasiveness. The PTT approach works based on hyperthermia generation, and PDT approach employs laser irradiation to activate a reagent named photosensitizer. Therefore, in the current paper, a dual-functioned nanocomposite (NC) was designed for the treatment of breast cancer model in Balb/c mice with the combination of photodynamic and photothermal approaches. Transmission electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, FTIR, and XRD were employed to validate the nanostructure and silica coating and curcumin (CUR) immobilization on the Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The effect of Fe3O4/SiO2-CUR combined with PDT and PTT was assessed in vivo on the breast tumor mice model, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) was employed to evaluate the expression of apoptotic Bax and Caspase3 proteins. The TEM images, UV-visible absorption, and FTIR spectra demonstrated the successful immobilization of curcumin molecules on the surface of Fe3O4/SiO2. Also, MTT assay confirmed the nontoxic nature of Fe3O4/SiO2 nanoparticles in vitro. In the breast tumor mice model, we have assessed six treatment groups, including control, CUR + PDT, Blue + NIR (near-infrared) lasers, NC, NC + PTT, and NC + PDT + PTT. The tumor volume in the NC + PDT + PTT group showed a significant reduction compared to other groups (p < 0.05). More interestingly, the tumor volume of NC + PDT + PTT group showed a 27% decrease compared to its initial amount. It should be noted that no detectable weight loss or adverse effects on the vital organs was observed due to the treatments. Additionally, the IHC data represented that the expression of proapoptotic Bax and Caspase3 proteins were significantly higher in the NC + PDT + PTT group compared to the control group, indicative of apoptosis. To conclude, our data supported the fact that the NC + PDT + PTT strategy might hold a promising substitute for chemotherapy for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancers.

Inhibitory effect of flavonoid xanthomicrol on triple-negative breast tumor via regulation of cancer-associated microRNAs

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Due to the side effects of current chemo-reagents on healthy tissues, it is essential to search for alternative compounds with less toxicity and better efficacy. In the present study, we have investigated the anticancer effects of flavonoid xanthomicrol on the mice breast cancer model using MTT assay, cell cycle and Annexin/PI analysis, colony formation assay, H&E staining, immunohistochemistry, and miRNA analysis. Our results demonstrated that xanthomicrol decreased the cell viability and clonogenic capability, induced G1-arrest and apoptosis in the breast cancer cells in vitro, and caused a significant reduction in the volume and weight of mice tumors in vivo. In addition, xanthomicrol reduced the expression of TNFα, VEGF, MMP9, and Ki67, while upregulating the expression of apoptotic markers such as Bax, caspase3, and caspase9. Finally, the expression of miR21, miR27, and miR125, known as oncomirs, decreased significantly after xanthomicrol administration, while the expression of miR29 and miR34, functioning as tumor suppressors, increased significantly (p < .001). Our data demonstrated that xanthomicrol can induce apoptosis and suppress angiogenesis in breast cancer cells due to its inhibitory effect on oncomirs and its stimulatory effect on tumor suppressor miRNAs.

Novel Treatments against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Based on Drug Repurposing

Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death, worldwide, due to a bacterial pathogen. This respiratory disease is caused by the intracellular pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis and produces 1.5 million deaths every year. The incidence of tuberculosis has decreased during the last decade, but the emergence of MultiDrug-Resistant (MDR-TB) and Extensively Drug-Resistant (XDR-TB) strains of M. tuberculosis is generating a new health alarm. Therefore, the development of novel therapies based on repurposed drugs against MDR-TB and XDR-TB have recently gathered significant interest. Recent evidence, focused on the role of host molecular factors on M. tuberculosis intracellular survival, allowed the identification of new host-directed therapies. Interestingly, the mechanism of action of many of these therapies is linked to the activation of autophagy (e.g., nitazoxanide or imatinib) and other well-known molecular pathways such as apoptosis (e.g., cisplatin and calycopterin). Here, we review the latest developments on the identification of novel antimicrobials against tuberculosis (including avermectins, eltrombopag, or fluvastatin), new host-targeting therapies (e.g., corticoids, fosfamatinib or carfilzomib) and the host molecular factors required for a mycobacterial infection that could be promising targets for future drug development.