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Chunarkar-Patil P, Kaleem M, Mishra R, Ray S, Ahmad A, Verma D, Bhayye S, Dubey R, Singh HN, Kumar S. Anticancer Drug Discovery Based on Natural Products: From Computational Approaches to Clinical Studies. Biomedicines 2024; 12:201. [PMID: 38255306 PMCID: PMC10813144 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12010201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2023] [Revised: 01/01/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Globally, malignancies cause one out of six mortalities, which is a serious health problem. Cancer therapy has always been challenging, apart from major advances in immunotherapies, stem cell transplantation, targeted therapies, hormonal therapies, precision medicine, and palliative care, and traditional therapies such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Natural products are integral to the development of innovative anticancer drugs in cancer research, offering the scientific community the possibility of exploring novel natural compounds against cancers. The role of natural products like Vincristine and Vinblastine has been thoroughly implicated in the management of leukemia and Hodgkin's disease. The computational method is the initial key approach in drug discovery, among various approaches. This review investigates the synergy between natural products and computational techniques, and highlights their significance in the drug discovery process. The transition from computational to experimental validation has been highlighted through in vitro and in vivo studies, with examples such as betulinic acid and withaferin A. The path toward therapeutic applications have been demonstrated through clinical studies of compounds such as silvestrol and artemisinin, from preclinical investigations to clinical trials. This article also addresses the challenges and limitations in the development of natural products as potential anti-cancer drugs. Moreover, the integration of deep learning and artificial intelligence with traditional computational drug discovery methods may be useful for enhancing the anticancer potential of natural products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pritee Chunarkar-Patil
- Department of Bioinformatics, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of IT and Biotechnology, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pune 411046, Maharashtra, India
| | - Mohammed Kaleem
- Department of Pharmacology, Dadasaheb Balpande, College of Pharmacy, Nagpur 440037, Maharashtra, India;
| | - Richa Mishra
- Department of Computer Engineering, Parul University, Ta. Waghodia, Vadodara 391760, Gujarat, India;
| | - Subhasree Ray
- Department of Life Science, Sharda School of Basic Sciences and Research, Greater Noida 201310, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Aftab Ahmad
- Health Information Technology Department, The Applied College, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
- Pharmacovigilance and Medication Safety Unit, Center of Research Excellence for Drug Research and Pharmaceutical Industries, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Devvret Verma
- Department of Biotechnology, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun 248002, Uttarkhand, India;
| | - Sagar Bhayye
- Department of Bioinformatics, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of IT and Biotechnology, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Pune 411046, Maharashtra, India
| | - Rajni Dubey
- Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 11031, Taiwan
| | - Himanshu Narayan Singh
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Sanjay Kumar
- Biological and Bio-Computational Lab, Department of Life Science, Sharda School of Basic Sciences and Research, Sharda University, Greater Noida 201310, Uttar Pradesh, India
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Anticancer effects of veratramine via the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/serine-threonine kinase/mechanistic target of rapamycin and its downstream signaling pathways in human glioblastoma cell lines. Life Sci 2022; 288:120170. [PMID: 34826438 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2021.120170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2021] [Revised: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
AIMS Antitumor effects of veratramine in prostate and liver cancers has been investigated, but it is still unclear whether veratramine can be used as an effective therapeutic agent for glioma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential pharmacological mechanism of veratramine in glioma. MAIN METHODS Using four types of human glioblastoma cell lines, including A172, HS-683, T98G, and U-373-MG the dose-dependent antitumor effect of veratramine was evaluated. The cytotoxicity and cell proliferation were examined by CCK-8, and cell proliferation was further confirmed by anchorage-independent colony formation assay. The cell cycle distribution and apoptotic rate was assessed by flow cytometry, and apoptosis was further evaluated by apoptosis assay. The migration and invasiveness capacity were analyzed by using transwell. Protein and mRNA levels of related factors were determined by western blotting and RT-qPCR, respectively. KEY FINDINGS Veratramine markedly induced apoptosis, suppressed the cell proliferation via the cell cycle G0/G1 phase arrest, and reduced the capacity for the migration and invasion in human glioblastoma multiforme cell lines. Moreover, veratramine was sufficient to affect the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/serine-threonine kinase/mechanistic target of rapamycin signaling pathway and its downstream Mdm2/p53/p21 pathway in human glioblastoma cell lines. SIGNIFICANCE Antitumor effects of veratramine in suppression of glioma progression was mediated by the regulation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR and Mdm2/p53/p21 signaling pathway.
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de Araújo RSA, da Silva-Junior EF, de Aquino TM, Scotti MT, Ishiki HM, Scotti L, Mendonça-Junior FJB. Computer-Aided Drug Design Applied to Secondary Metabolites as Anticancer Agents. Curr Top Med Chem 2021; 20:1677-1703. [PMID: 32515312 DOI: 10.2174/1568026620666200607191838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 01/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) techniques have garnered a great deal of attention in academia and industry because of their great versatility, low costs, possibilities of cost reduction in in vitro screening and in the development of synthetic steps; these techniques are compared with highthroughput screening, in particular for candidate drugs. The secondary metabolism of plants and other organisms provide substantial amounts of new chemical structures, many of which have numerous biological and pharmacological properties for virtually every existing disease, including cancer. In oncology, compounds such as vimblastine, vincristine, taxol, podophyllotoxin, captothecin and cytarabine are examples of how important natural products enhance the cancer-fighting therapeutic arsenal. In this context, this review presents an update of Ligand-Based Drug Design and Structure-Based Drug Design techniques applied to flavonoids, alkaloids and coumarins in the search of new compounds or fragments that can be used in oncology. A systematical search using various databases was performed. The search was limited to articles published in the last 10 years. The great diversity of chemical structures (coumarin, flavonoids and alkaloids) with cancer properties, associated with infinite synthetic possibilities for obtaining analogous compounds, creates a huge chemical environment with potential to be explored, and creates a major difficulty, for screening studies to select compounds with more promising activity for a selected target. CADD techniques appear to be the least expensive and most efficient alternatives to perform virtual screening studies, aiming to selected compounds with better activity profiles and better "drugability".
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thiago Mendonça de Aquino
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Nursing and Pharmacy School, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceio-AL, Brazil
| | - Marcus Tullius Scotti
- Laboratory of Medicinal Chemistry, Nursing and Pharmacy School, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceio-AL, Brazil
| | - Hamilton M Ishiki
- University of Western Sao Paulo (Unoeste), Presidente Prudente- SP, Brazil
| | - Luciana Scotti
- Postgraduate Program in Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Products, Federal University of Paraiba, Joao Pessoa-PB, Brazil
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Yerer MB, Dayan S, Han MI, Sharma A, Tuli HS, Sak K. Nanoformulations of Coumarins and the Hybrid Molecules of Coumarins with Potential Anticancer Effects. Anticancer Agents Med Chem 2021; 20:1797-1816. [PMID: 32156246 DOI: 10.2174/1871520620666200310094646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Revised: 11/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Coumarins are the secondary metabolites of some plants, fungi, and bacteria. Coumarins and the hybrid molecules of coumarins are the compounds which have been widely studied for their potential anticancer effects. They belong to benzopyrone chemical class, more precisely benzo-α-pyrones, where benzene ring is fused to pyrone ring. In nature, coumarins are found in higher plants like Rutaceae and Umbelliferae and some essential oils like cinnamon bark oil, cassia leaf oil and lavender oil are also rich in coumarins. The six main classes of coumarins are furanocoumarins, dihydrofuranocoumarins, pyrano coumarins, pyrone substituted coumarins, phenylcoumarins and bicoumarins. As well as their wide range of biological activities, coumarins and the hybrid molecules of coumarins are proven to have an important role in anticancer drug development due to the fact that many of its derivatives have shown an anticancer activity on various cell lines. Osthol, imperatorin, esculetin, scopoletin, umbelliprenin, angelicine, bergamottin, limettin, metoxhalen, aurapten and isopimpinellin are some of these coumarins. This review summarizes the anticancer effects of coumarins and their hybrid molecules including the novel pharmaceutical formulations adding further information on the topic for the last ten years and basically focusing on the structureactivity relationship of these compounds in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukerrem Betul Yerer
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.,Drug Application and Research Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
| | - Serkan Dayan
- Drug Application and Research Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
| | - M Ihsan Han
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey
| | - Ajay Sharma
- Department of Chemistry, Career Point University, Tikker-kharwarian, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh 176041, India
| | - Hardeep S Tuli
- Department of Biotechnology, Maharishi Markandeshwar (Deemed to be University), Mullana-Ambala, Haryana-133207, India
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Khan SU, Ahemad N, Chuah LH, Naidu R, Htar TT. Natural bioactive compounds as a new source of promising G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) modulators: comprehensive in silico approach. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2020; 40:1617-1628. [PMID: 33054574 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2020.1830853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Cancer ranks in second place among the cause of death worldwide. Cancer progress in multiple stages of carcinogenesis and metastasis programs through complex pathways. Sex hormones and their receptors are the major factors in promoting cancer progression. Among them, G protein-coupled estrogen receptor-1 (GPER) has shown to mediate cellular signaling pathways and cancer cell proliferation. However, the lack of GPER protein structure limited the search for new modulators. In this study, we curated an extensive database of natural products to discover new potential GPER modulators. We used a combination of virtual screening techniques to generate a homology model of GPER and subsequently used that for the screening of 30,926 natural products from a public database to identify potential active modulators of GPER. The best hits were further screened through the ADMET filter and confirmed by docking analysis. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations of best hits were also carried out to assess the stability of the ligand-GPER complex. This study predicted several potential GPER modulators with novel scaffolds that could be further investigated and used as the core for the development of novel GPER modulators.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shafi Ullah Khan
- School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Nafees Ahemad
- School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Selangor, Malaysia.,Tropical Medicine and Biology Multidisciplinary Platform, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Subang Jaya, Malaysia
| | - Lay-Hong Chuah
- School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Selangor, Malaysia.,Advanced Engineering Platform, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Rakesh Naidu
- Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Thet Thet Htar
- School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Selangor, Malaysia
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Sarker SD, Nahar L, Miron A, Guo M. Anticancer natural products. ANNUAL REPORTS IN MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.armc.2020.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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