Misaponin B Induces G2/M Arrest, Cytokinesis Failure and Impairs Autophagy

Blockage of Autophagy for Cancer Therapy: A Comprehensive Review

The incidence and mortality of cancer are increasing, making it a leading cause of death worldwide. Conventional treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy face significant limitations due to therapeutic resistance. Autophagy, a cellular self-degradation mechanism, plays a crucial role in cancer development, drug resistance, and treatment. This review investigates the potential of autophagy inhibition as a therapeutic strategy for cancer. A systematic search was conducted on Embase, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases from 1967 to 2024 to identify studies on autophagy inhibitors and their mechanisms in cancer therapy. The review includes original articles utilizing in vitro and in vivo experimental methods, literature reviews, and clinical trials. Key terms used were "Autophagy", "Inhibitors", "Molecular mechanism", "Cancer therapy", and "Clinical trials". Autophagy inhibitors such as chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) have shown promise in preclinical studies by inhibiting lysosomal acidification and preventing autophagosome degradation. Other inhibitors like wortmannin and SAR405 target specific components of the autophagy pathway. Combining these inhibitors with chemotherapy has demonstrated enhanced efficacy, making cancer cells more susceptible to cytotoxic agents. Clinical trials involving CQ and HCQ have shown encouraging results, although further investigation is needed to optimize their use in cancer therapy. Autophagy exhibits a dual role in cancer, functioning as both a survival mechanism and a cell death pathway. Targeting autophagy presents a viable strategy for cancer therapy, particularly when integrated with existing treatments. However, the complexity of autophagy regulation and the potential side effects necessitate further research to develop precise and context-specific therapeutic approaches.

A link between chemical structure and biological activity in triterpenoids

BACKGROUND

Plants with triterpenoid compounds in nature have various biological activities and are reported in many scientific works of literature. Triterpenoids are compounds that draw the attention of scientists because of their wide source, wide variety, high medicinal value, and anti-tumor properties. However, a lack of approach to understand their chemical structures has limited the fundamental comprehension of these compounds in cancer cell therapy.

OBJECTIVE

To seek anti-cancer activity of the structures of triterpenoid compounds and their derivatives, we summarized a number of plants and their derivatives that are a source of potential novel therapeutic anti-cancer agents.

METHODS

This work focuses on relevant 1036 patents and references that detail the structure of organic compounds and derivatives for the treatment of tumors.

RESULT

Compared to tetracyclic triterpenoid, pentacyclic triterpenoid has contributed more to improve the autophagic signaling pathways of cancer cells.

CONCLUSION

The heterogenous skeleton structure of triterpenoids impaired the programmed cell death signaling pathway in various cancers.

Targeting autophagy using saponins as a therapeutic and preventive strategy against human diseases

Autophagy is a ubiquitous mechanism for maintaining cellular homeostasis through the degradation of long-lived proteins, insoluble protein aggregates, and superfluous or damaged organelles. Dysfunctional autophagy is observed in a variety of human diseases. With advanced research into the role that autophagy plays in physiological and pathological conditions, targeting autophagy is becoming a novel tactic for disease management. Saponins are naturally occurring glycosides containing triterpenoids or steroidal sapogenins as aglycones, and some saponins are reported to modulate autophagy. Research suggests that saponins may have therapeutic and preventive efficacy against many autophagy-related diseases. Therefore, this review comprehensively summarizes and discusses the reported saponins that exhibit autophagy regulating activities. In addition, the relevant signaling pathways that the mechanisms involved in regulating autophagy and the targeted diseases were also discussed. By regulating autophagy and related pathways, saponins exhibit bioactivities against cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, atherosclerosis and other cardiac diseases, kidney diseases, liver diseases, acute pancreatitis, and osteoporosis. This review provides an overview of the autophagy-regulating activity of saponins, the underlying mechanisms and potential applications for managing various diseases.