Combined Anticancer Effect of Sulfated Laminaran from the Brown Alga Alaria angusta and Polyhydroxysteroid Glycosides from the Starfish Protoreaster lincki on 3D Colorectal Carcinoma HCT 116 Cell Line

In silico analysis and preclinical findings uncover potential targets of anti-cervical carcinoma and COVID-19 in laminarin, a promising nutraceutical

Until today, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused 6,043,094 deaths worldwide, and most of the mortality cases have been related to patients with long-term diseases, especially cancer. Autophagy is a cellular process for material degradation. Recently, studies demonstrated the association of autophagy with cancer development and immune disorder, suggesting autophagy as a possible target for cancer and immune therapy. Laminarin is a polysaccharide commonly found in brown algae and has been reported to have pharmaceutic roles in treating human diseases, including cancers. In the present report, we applied network pharmacology with systematic bioinformatic analysis, including gene ontology (GO) enrichment, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, reactome pathway analysis, and molecular docking to determine the pharmaceutic targets of laminarin against COVID-19 and cervical cancer via the autophagic process. Our results showed that the laminarin would target ten genes: CASP8, CFTR, DNMT1, HPSE, KCNH2, PIK3CA, PIK3R1, SERPINE1, TLR4, and VEGFA. The enrichment analysis suggested their involvement in cell death, immune responses, apoptosis, and viral infection. In addition, molecular docking further demonstrated the direct binding of laminarin to its target proteins, VEGFA, TLR4, CASP8, and PIK3R1. The present findings provide evidence that laminarin could be used as a combined therapy for treating patients with COVID-19 and cervical cancer.

Natural Marine Products: Anti-Colorectal Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo

Colorectal cancer, a malignant tumor with high mortality, has a poor prognosis due to drug resistance and toxicity in clinical surgery and chemotherapy. Thus, finding safer and more efficient drugs for clinical trials is vital and urgent. Natural marine compounds, with rich resources and original chemical structures, are applied widely in anticancer treatments. We provide a systematic overview of recently reported marine compounds such as alkaloids, peptides, terpenoids, polysaccharides, and carotenoids from in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies. The in vitro studies summarized the marine origins and pharmacological mechanisms, including anti-proliferation, anti-angiogenesis, anti-migration, anti-invasion, the acceleration of cycle arrest, and the promotion of tumor apoptosis, of various compounds. The in vivo studies outlined the antitumor effects of marine compounds on colorectal cancer model mice and evaluated their efficacy in terms of tumor inhibition, hepatotoxicity, and nephrotoxicity. The clinical studies summarized the major chemical classifications and targets of action of the clinical drugs that have entered clinical approval and completed approval for marine anticancer. In summary, we present the current situation regarding the application of natural anti-colorectal cancer marine compounds and prospects for their clinical application.

Application of MS-Based Metabolomic Approaches in Analysis of Starfish and Sea Cucumber Bioactive Compounds

Today, marine natural products are considered one of the main sources of compounds for drug development. Starfish and sea cucumbers are potential sources of natural products of pharmaceutical interest. Among their metabolites, polar steroids, triterpene glycosides, and polar lipids have attracted a great deal of attention; however, studying these compounds by conventional methods is challenging. The application of modern MS-based approaches can help to obtain valuable information about such compounds. This review provides an up-to-date overview of MS-based applications for starfish and sea cucumber bioactive compounds analysis. While describing most characteristic features of MS-based approaches in the context of starfish and sea cucumber metabolites, including sample preparation and MS analysis steps, the present paper mainly focuses on the application of MS-based metabolic profiling of polar steroid compounds, triterpene glycosides, and lipids. The application of MS in metabolomics studies is also outlined.