Therapeutic Mechanism of Lapatinib Combined with Sulforaphane on Gastric Cancer

HER-2 positive gastric cancer: Current targeted treatments

Gastric cancer (GC) is highly metastatic and characterized by HER2 amplification. Aberrant HER2 expression drives metastasis, therapy resistance, and tumor recurrence. HER2 amplification contributes to drug resistance by upregulating DNA repair enzymes and drug afflux proteins, reducing drug efficacy. HER2 modulates transcription factors critical for cancer stem cell properties, further impacting drug resistance. HER2 activity is influenced by HER-family ligands, promoting oncogenic signaling. These features point to HER2 as a targetable driver in GC. This review outlines recent advances in HER2-mediated mechanisms and their upstream and downstream signaling pathways in GC. Additionally, it discusses preclinical research investigation that comprehends trastuzumab-sensitizing phytochemicals, chemotherapeutics, and nanoparticles as adjunct therapies. These developments hold promise for improving outcomes and enhancing the management of HER2-positive GC.

Selenochemical modification of low molecular weight polysaccharides from Grifola frondosa and the mechanism of their inhibitory effects on gastric cancer cells

An important micronutrient involved in immune response and antitumor is selenium. LMW-GFP, a polysaccharide extracted from Grifola frondosa seed bodies, has a relatively weak antitumor effect on BGC-823 and MFC cells in vitro, whereas selenium binding to LMW-GFP can significantly increase the in vitro antitumor activity of LMW-GFP. In this study, Se-LMW-GFP was prepared by the HNO3-Na2SeO3 method, and the structures of LMW-GFP and Se-LMW-GFP were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy of absorption, FTIR spectroscopy, and electron scanning microscopy, and these structural analyses showed that selenium was successfully complexed to LMW-GFP. The selenium content of Se-LMW-GFP was measured to be 2.08 % ± 0.08 % by ICP-MS. The anti-tumor activity of LMW-GFP before and after selenium modification was compared by cellular experiments, and the findings indicated that the anti-tumor activity of Se-LMW-GFP was considerably improved over that of LMW-GFP, and inhibited the proliferation of BGC-823 cells and MFC cells through a combination of the Fas/FasL-mediated exogenous death receptor pathway as well as the endogenous mitochondrial pathway. Our results suggest that Se-LMW-GFP not only has great potential for natural health food and anti-gastric cancer drug development but is also a good selenium supplement.

Harnessing Sulforaphane Potential as a Chemosensitizing Agent: A Comprehensive Review

Recent advances in oncological research have highlighted the potential of naturally derived compounds in cancer prevention and treatment. Notably, sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate derived from cruciferous vegetables including broccoli and cabbage, has exhibited potent chemosensitizing capabilities across diverse cancer types of bone, brain, breast, lung, skin, etc. Chemosensitization refers to the enhancement of cancer cell sensitivity to chemotherapy agents, counteracting the chemoresistance often developed by tumor cells. Mechanistically, SFN orchestrates this sensitization by modulating an array of cellular signaling pathways (e.g., Akt/mTOR, NF-κB, Wnt/β-catenin), and regulating the expression and activity of pivotal genes, proteins, and enzymes (e.g., p53, p21, survivin, Bcl-2, caspases). When combined with conventional chemotherapeutic agents, SFN synergistically inhibits cancer cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and metastasis while potentiating drug-induced apoptosis. This positions SFN as a potential adjunct in cancer therapy to augment the efficacy of standard treatments. Ongoing preclinical and clinical investigations aim to further delineate the therapeutic potential of SFN in oncology. This review illuminates the multifaceted role of this phytochemical, emphasizing its potential to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of anti-cancer agents, suggesting its prospective contributions to cancer chemosensitization and management.

Recent developments on natural polysaccharides as potential anti-gastric cancer substance: Structural feature and bioactivity

Gastric cancer (GC) is being a serious threat to human health. Seeking safer and more effective ingredients for anti-GC is of significance. Increasing natural polysaccharides (NPs) have been demonstrated to possess anti-GC activity. However, the information on anti-GC NPs is scattered. For well-understanding the potential of NPs as anti-GC substances, the recent developments on structure, bioactivity and mechanism of anti-GC NPs were comprehensively reviewed in this article. Meanwhile, the structure-activity relationship was discussed. Recent studies indicated that anti-GC NPs could be mainly divided into glucan and heteropolysaccharide, whose structures affected by sources and protocols of extraction and purification. NPs exhibited anti-GC activities in cell and animal experiments as well as clinical trials, and the mechanisms might be anti-proliferation, inducing apoptosis, anti-metastasis and anti-invasion, inducing autophagy, boosting immunity, anti-angiogenesis, reducing drug resistance, anti-angiogenesis, improving antioxidant level and changing metabolites. Moreover, structural features included molecular weight, functional groups, uronic acid and monosaccharide composition, glycosidic linkage type, and degree of branching and conformation might influence the activities. Otherwise, modifications could enhance the anti-GC activity of NPs, and anti-GC NPs could be combinedly used with chemotherapeutic drugs. This review supports the applications of NPs in anti-GC and provides theoretical basis for future study.

Anticancer applications of phytochemicals in gastric cancer: Effects and molecular mechanism

Gastric cancer (GC) is the fourth most common malignant cancer and is a life-threatening disease worldwide. Phytochemicals have been shown to be a rational, safe, non-toxic, and very promising approach to the prevention and treatment of cancer. It has been found that phytochemicals have protective effects against GC through inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing apoptosis and autophagy, suppressing cell invasion and migration, anti-angiogenesis, inhibit Helicobacter pylori infection, regulating the microenvironment. In recent years, the role of phytochemicals in the occurrence, development, drug resistance and prognosis of GC has attracted more and more attention. In order to better understand the relationship between phytochemicals and gastric cancer, we briefly summarize the roles and functions of phytochemicals in GC tumorigenesis, development and prognosis. This review will probably help guide the public to prevent the occurrence and development of GC through phytochemicals, and develop functional foods or drugs for the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer.

Metal-dependent programmed cell death-related lncRNA prognostic signatures and natural drug sensitivity prediction for gastric cancer

Background: Gastric cancer is one of the most important malignancies with poor prognosis. Ferroptosis and cuproptosis are newly discovered metal-dependent types of programmed cell death, which may directly affect the outcome of gastric cancer. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can affect the prognosis of cancer with stable structures, which could be potential prognostic prediction factors for gastric cancer.

Methods: Differentially expressed metal-dependent programmed cell death (PCD)-related lncRNAs were identified with DESeq2 and Pearson’s correlation analysis. Through GO and KEGG analyses and GSEA , we identified the potential effects of metal-dependent PCD-related lncRNAs on prognosis. Using Cox regression analysis with the LASSO method, we constructed a 12-lncRNA prognostic signature model. Also, we evaluated the prognostic efficiency with Kaplan–Meier (K-M) survival curve, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) methods. The sensitivities for antitumor drugs were then predicted with the pRRophetic method. Also, we discuss Chinese patent medicines and plant extracts that could induce metal-dependent programmed cell death.

Results: We constructed a metal-dependent PCD-related lncRNA-gene co-expression network. Also, a metal-dependent PCD-related gastric cancer prognostic signature model including 12 lncRNAs was constructed. The K-M survival curve revealed a poor prognosis in the high-risk group. ROC curve analysis shows that the AUC of our model is 0.766, which is better than that of other published models. Moreover, the half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) for dasatinib, lapatinib, sunitinib, cytarabine, saracatinib, and vinorelbine was much lower among the high-risk group.

Conclusion: Our 12 metal-dependent PCD-related lncRNA prognostic signature model may improve the OS prediction for gastric cancer. The antitumor drug sensitivity analysis results may also be helpful for individualized chemotherapy regimen design.

Concomitant Use of Sulforaphane Enhances Antitumor Efficacy of Sunitinib in Renal Cell Carcinoma In Vitro

Simple Summary

Despite recent advances in treating metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), many patients develop resistance to therapy, resulting in treatment failure. Sunitinib is one drug used to treat metastasized RCC and resistance eventually develops in most patients. In the present in vitro investigation, sulforaphane, a natural compound known to possess antitumor properties without inducing severe side effects, enhanced the efficacy of sunitinib by preventing tumor growth and proliferation in sunitinib-resistant RCC. Sulforaphane, therefore, could prove beneficial as an integrative component in treating metastasized RCC with sunitinib. Further investigation is required to verify these in vitro findings and to evaluate sulforaphane’s clinical value.

Abstract

Chronic treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib (ST) inevitably induces resistance and tumor re-activation. This study investigated whether adding the natural compound sulforaphane (SFN) with its anti-cancer properties could improve ST efficacy in vitro. The RCC cell lines A498, Caki1, KTCTL26, and 786O were exposed to ST, SFN, or both (dual therapy, DT) before (short-term exposure) and during ST-resistance buildup (long-term 8-week exposure). Tumor growth, proliferation, and clone formation were evaluated, as was cell cycle progression and cell cycle regulating proteins. In nonresistant cells (short-term), DT induced a higher reduction in cell viability in three cell lines as compared to monotherapy with either ST or SFN. Long-term SFN or DT significantly reduced tumor growth and proliferation, whereas ST alone had no effect or even elevated proliferation in three cell lines. SFN or DT (but not ST alone) also blocked clonogenic growth. Both long-term SFN and DT enhanced the number of cells in the S- and/or G2/M-phase. Protein analysis in 786O cells revealed a down-regulation of cyclin dependent kinase (CDK) 1 and 2. CDK2 or Cyclin A knockdown caused reduced 786O growth activity. SFN therefore inhibits or delays resistance to chronic ST treatment.