Curcumin Inhibits the Growth and Metastasis of Melanoma via miR-222-3p/SOX10/Notch Axis

p300 KAT regulates SOX10 stability and function in human melanoma

SOX10 is a lineage-specific transcription factor critical for melanoma tumor growth, while SOX10 loss-of-function drives the emergence of therapy-resistant, invasive melanoma phenotypes. A major challenge has been developing therapeutic strategies targeting SOX10's role in melanoma proliferation, while preventing a concomitant increase in tumor cell invasion. Here, we report that the lysine acetyltransferase (KAT) EP300 and SOX10 gene loci on Chromosome 22 are frequently co-amplified in melanomas, including UV-associated and acral tumors. We further show that p300 KAT activity mediates SOX10 protein stability and that the p300 inhibitor, A-485, downregulates SOX10 protein levels in melanoma cells via proteasome-mediated degradation. Additionally, A-485 potently inhibits proliferation of SOX10+ melanoma cells while decreasing invasion in AXLhigh/MITFlow melanoma cells through downregulation of metastasis-related genes. We conclude that the SOX10/p300 axis is critical to melanoma growth and invasion, and that inhibition of p300 KAT activity through A-485 may be a worthwhile therapeutic approach for SOX10-reliant tumors.

Role of a Polyphenol-Enriched Blueberry Preparation on Inhibition of Melanoma Cancer Stem Cells and Modulation of MicroRNAs

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer known for its high mortality rate. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of cancer cells that significantly contribute to tumour recurrence and differentiation. Epigenetic-specific changes involving miRNAs maintain CSCs. Plant polyphenols have been reported to be involved in cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy, with miRNAs being the novel effectors in their biological activities. A polyphenol-enriched blueberry preparation (PEBP) derived from fermented blueberries has demonstrated promising chemopreventative properties on breast cancer stem cells by influencing inflammatory pathways and miRNAs. In our current investigation, we seek to unveil the impact of PEBP on inhibiting melanoma development and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Our study employs various human cell lines, including an ex vivo cell line derived from a patient's metastatic tumour. We found that it elevates miR-200c, increasing E-cadherin expression and inhibiting miR-210-3p through NF-κB signalling, impacting Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), a critical process in cancer progression. PEBP increases the SOCS1 expression, potentially contributing to miR-210-3p inhibition. Experiments involving miRNA manipulation confirm their functional roles. The study suggests that PEBP's anti-inflammatory effects involve regulating miR-200c and miR-210 expression and their targets in EMT-related pathways. The overall aim is to provide evidence-based supportive care and preclinical evaluation of PEBP, offering a promising strategy for skin cancer chemoprevention.

Dietary Epigenetic Modulators: Unravelling the Still-Controversial Benefits of miRNAs in Nutrition and Disease

In the context of nutrient-driven epigenetic alterations, food-derived miRNAs can be absorbed into the circulatory system and organs of recipients, especially humans, and potentially contribute to modulating health and diseases. Evidence suggests that food uptake, by carrying exogenous miRNAs (xenomiRNAs), regulates the individual miRNA profile, modifying the redox homeostasis and inflammatory conditions underlying pathological processes, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. The capacity of diet to control miRNA levels and the comprehension of the unique characteristics of dietary miRNAs in terms of gene expression regulation show important perspectives as a strategy to control disease susceptibility via epigenetic modifications and refine the clinical outcomes. However, the absorption, stability, availability, and epigenetic roles of dietary miRNAs are intriguing and currently the subject of intense debate; additionally, there is restricted knowledge of their physiological and potential side effects. Within this framework, we provided up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on dietary miRNAs' potential, discussing the latest advances and controversial issues related to the role of miRNAs in human health and disease as modulators of chronic syndromes.

Regulation of the Notch signaling pathway by natural products for cancer therapy

The Notch signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that modulates normal biological processes involved in cellular differentiation, apoptosis, and stem cell self-renewal in a context-dependent fashion. Attributed to its pleiotropic physiological roles, both overexpression and silencing of the pathway are associated with the emergence, progression, and poorer prognosis in various types of cancer. To decrease disease incidence and promote survival, targeting Notch may have chemopreventive and anti-cancer effects. Natural products with profound historical origins have distinguished themselves from other therapies due to their easy access, high biological compatibility, low toxicity, and reliable effects at specific physiological sites in vivo. This review describes the Notch signaling pathway, particularly its normal activation process, and some main illnesses related to Notch signaling pathway dysregulation. Emphasis is placed on the effects and mechanisms of natural products targeting the Notch signaling pathway in diverse cancer types, including curcumin, ellagic acid (EA), resveratrol, genistein, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), quercetin, and xanthohumol and so on. Existing evidence indicates that natural products are feasible solution to fight against cancer by targeting Notch signaling, either alone or in combination with current therapeutic agents.

Modulation of Notch Signaling by Small-Molecular Compounds and Its Potential in Anticancer Studies

Notch signaling is responsible for conveying messages between cells through direct contact, playing a pivotal role in tissue development and homeostasis. The modulation of Notch-related processes, such as cell growth, differentiation, viability, and cell fate, offer opportunities to better understand and prevent disease progression, including cancer. Currently, research efforts are mainly focused on attempts to inhibit Notch signaling in tumors with strong oncogenic, gain-of-function (GoF) or hyperactivation of Notch signaling. The goal is to reduce the growth and proliferation of cancer cells, interfere with neo-angiogenesis, increase chemosensitivity, potentially target cancer stem cells, tumor dormancy, and invasion, and induce apoptosis. Attempts to pharmacologically enhance or restore disturbed Notch signaling for anticancer therapies are less frequent. However, in some cancer types, such as squamous cell carcinomas, preferentially, loss-of-function (LoF) mutations have been confirmed, and restoring but not blocking Notch functions may be beneficial for therapy. The modulation of Notch signaling can be performed at several key levels related to NOTCH receptor expression, translation, posttranslational (proteolytic) processing, glycosylation, transport, and activation. This further includes blocking the interaction with Notch-related nuclear DNA transcription. Examples of small-molecular chemical compounds, that modulate individual elements of Notch signaling at the mentioned levels, have been described in the recent literature.

Spice-Derived Phenolic Compounds: Potential for Skin Cancer Prevention and Therapy

Skin cancer is a condition characterized by the abnormal growth of skin cells, primarily caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or artificial sources like tanning beds. Different types of skin cancer include melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. Despite the advancements in targeted therapies, there is still a need for a safer, highly efficient approach to preventing and treating cutaneous malignancies. Spices have a rich history dating back thousands of years and are renowned for their ability to enhance the flavor, taste, and color of food. Derived from various plant parts like seeds, fruits, bark, roots, or flowers, spices are important culinary ingredients. However, their value extends beyond the culinary realm. Some spices contain bioactive compounds, including phenolic compounds, which are known for their significant biological effects. These compounds have attracted attention in scientific research due to their potential health benefits, including their possible role in disease prevention and treatment, such as cancer. This review focuses on examining the potential of spice-derived phenolic compounds as preventive or therapeutic agents for managing skin cancers. By compiling and analyzing the available knowledge, this review aims to provide insights that can guide future research in identifying new anticancer phytochemicals and uncovering additional mechanisms for combating skin cancer.

Tumor microenvironment responded naturally extracted FOF1-ATPase loaded chromatophores for antitumor therapy

Tumor microenvironment (TME) plays an important role in the growth, invasion, and metastasis of tumor cells. The pH of TME is more acidic in solid tumors than in normal tissues. Although targeted delivery in TME has progressed, the complex and expensive construction of delivery systems has limited their application. F_OF1-ATP synthase (F_OF1-ATPase) is a rotation molecular motor found in bacteria, chloroplasts, and mitochondria. Here, F_OF1-ATPase loaded chromatophores (chroma) isolated from thermophilic bacteria were extracted and utilized as a new delivery system targeting TME for the first time. Curcumin as model drug was successfully loaded by a filming-rehydration ultrasonic dispersion method to prepare a curcumin-loaded chroma delivery system (Cur-Chroma). The mobility and propensity distributions of Cur-Chroma reveal its specific pH-sensitive targeting driven by the transmembrane proton kinetic potential, demonstrating its distinct distribution in the TME and more favorable targeting delivery. Cellular uptake experiments indicated that Cur-Chroma entered cells through grid pathway-mediated endocytosis. In vivo studies have shown that Cur-Chroma can specifically target tumor tissue and effectively inhibit tumor growth with good safety. Curcumin's bioavailability and anti-tumor effects were significantly improved. These studies demonstrate that ATPase-loaded chromatophores are potentially ideal vehicles for anti-tumor drug delivery and have promising applications.

Melanoma Cellular Signaling Transduction Pathways Targeted by Polyphenols Action Mechanisms

Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer. Although different anti-melanoma treatments are available, their efficacy is still improvable, and the number of deaths continues to increase worldwide. A promising source of antitumor agents could be presented by polyphenols-natural plant-based compounds. Over the past decades, many studies have described multiple anticancer effects of polyphenols in melanoma, presenting their potential interactions with targeted molecules from different signaling pathways. However, to our knowledge, there is no comprehensive review on polyphenols-regulated mechanisms in melanoma cells available in the literature. To fulfill this gap, this article aims to summarize the current knowledge of molecular mechanisms of action regulated by polyphenols involved in melanoma initiation and progression. Here, we focus on in vitro and in vivo effects of polyphenol treatments on tumor-essential cellular pathways, such as cell proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy, inflammation, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Moreover, emerging studies regarding the well-marked role of polyphenols in the regulation of microRNAs (miRNAs), highlighting their contribution to melanoma development, are also epitomized. Finally, we hope this review will provide a firm basis for developing polyphenol-based therapeutic agents in melanoma treatment.

Phytochemicals as Immunomodulatory Agents in Melanoma

Cutaneous melanoma is an immunogenic highly heterogenic tumor characterized by poor outcomes when it is diagnosed late. Therefore, immunotherapy in combination with other anti-proliferative approaches is among the most effective weapons to control its growth and metastatic dissemination. Recently, a large amount of published reports indicate the interest of researchers and clinicians about plant secondary metabolites as potentially useful therapeutic tools due to their lower presence of side effects coupled with their high potency and efficacy. Published evidence was reported in most cases through in vitro studies but also, with a growing body of evidence, through in vivo investigations. Our aim was, therefore, to review the published studies focused on the most interesting phytochemicals whose immunomodulatory activities and/or mechanisms of actions were demonstrated and applied to melanoma models.

Curcumin in the treatment of urological cancers: Therapeutic targets, challenges and prospects

Urological cancers include bladder, prostate and renal cancers that can cause death in males and females. Patients with urological cancers are mainly diagnosed at an advanced disease stage when they also develop resistance to therapy or poor response. The use of natural products in the treatment of urological cancers has shown a significant increase. Curcumin has been widely used in cancer treatment due to its ability to trigger cell death and suppress metastasis. The beneficial effects of curcumin in the treatment of urological cancers is the focus of current review. Curcumin can induce apoptosis in the three types of urological cancers limiting their proliferative potential. Furthermore, curcumin can suppress invasion of urological cancers through EMT inhibition. Notably, curcumin decreases the expression of MMPs, therefore interfering with urological cancer metastasis. When used in combination with chemotherapy agents, curcumin displays synergistic effects in suppressing cancer progression. It can also be used as a chemosensitizer. Based on pre-clinical studies, curcumin administration is beneficial in the treatment of urological cancers and future clinical applications might be considered upon solving problems related to the poor bioavailability of the compound. To improve the bioavailability of curcumin and increase its therapeutic index in urological cancer suppression, nanostructures have been developed to favor targeted delivery.

Using ncRNAs as Tools in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment-The Way towards Personalized Medicine to Improve Patients' Health

Although the first discovery of a non-coding RNA (ncRNA) dates back to 1958, only in recent years has the complexity of the transcriptome started to be elucidated. However, its components are still under investigation and their identification is one of the challenges that scientists are presently facing. In addition, their function is still far from being fully understood. The non-coding portion of the genome is indeed the largest, both quantitatively and qualitatively. A large fraction of these ncRNAs have a regulatory role either in coding mRNAs or in other ncRNAs, creating an intracellular network of crossed interactions (competing endogenous RNA networks, or ceRNET) that fine-tune the gene expression in both health and disease. The alteration of the equilibrium among such interactions can be enough to cause a transition from health to disease, but the opposite is equally true, leading to the possibility of intervening based on these mechanisms to cure human conditions. In this review, we summarize the present knowledge on these mechanisms, illustrating how they can be used for disease treatment, the current challenges and pitfalls, and the roles of environmental and lifestyle-related contributing factors, in addition to the ethical, legal, and social issues arising from their (improper) use.

The Synergistic Effects of Curcumin and Chemotherapeutic Drugs in Inhibiting Metastatic, Invasive and Proliferative Pathways

Curcumin, the main phytochemical identified from the Curcuma longa L. family, is one of the spices used in alternative medicine worldwide. It has exhibited a broad range of pharmacological activities as well as promising effects in the treatment of multiple cancer types. Moreover, it has enhanced the activity of other chemotherapeutic drugs and radiotherapy by promoting synergistic effects in the regulation of various cancerous pathways. Despite all the literature addressing the molecular mechanism of curcumin on various cancers, no review has specifically addressed the molecular mechanism underlying the effect of curcumin in combination with therapeutic drugs on cancer metastasis. The current review assesses the synergistic effects of curcumin with multiple drugs and light radiation, from a molecular perspective, in the inhibition of metastasis, invasion and proliferation. A systemic review of articles published during the past five years was performed using MEDLINE/PubMed and Scopus. The assessment of these articles evidenced that the combination therapy with various drugs, including doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, paclitaxel, berberine, docetaxel, metformin, gemcitabine and light radiation therapy on various types of cancer, is capable of ameliorating different metastatic pathways that are presented and evaluated. However, due to the heterogeneity of pathways and proteins in different cell lines, more research is needed to confirm the root causes of these pathways.