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Innovative Experimental Approaches Targeting Gastrointestinal Tumors with Phytochemicals and Anticancer Drugs

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2022) | Viewed by 5145

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Emanuele-Salvatore Scarpa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino “Carlo Bo”, 61029 Urbino, Italy
Interests: cancer prevention; dietary phytochemicals; molecular biology and cell biology of cancer
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Marco Giammanco

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences (DICHIRONS), University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
Interests: nutrition; endocrinology; food science thyroid hormones; vitamins; micronutrients; antioxidant activity of foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is focused on the use of molecular biology techniques to increase the efficacy of phytochemicals and anticancer drugs utilized against gastrointestinal tumors, like gastric cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, and pancreatic cancer. These tumors represent an important health problem, because they cause high rates of mortality in oncological patients.

The main targets of antitumor therapies are represented by the described hallmarks of cancer: self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to anti-growth signals, evasion of apoptosis, limitless replicative potential, sustained angiogenesis, tissue invasion and metastasis, deregulated metabolic pathways, evasion of the immune system, chromosomal instability, pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment, and resistance to anticancer drugs (exerted through P-glycoprotein 1). Targeting several oncogenes and oncoproteins of these molecular pathways with the same drug or a combination of natural and synthetic molecules can increase the efficacy of antitumor therapies.

The use of high concentrations of anticancer drugs may lead to the development of toxic side effects in oncological patients. On the other hand, the utilization of natural extracts and new molecular techniques can both increase the efficacy of the antitumor drug and reduce its required therapeutic dose, diminishing the harmful side effects. The interdisciplinary teamwork with colleagues of both basic and translational cancer research fields will lead to the development of new experimental approaches against gastrointestinal cancers, based on innovative molecular strategies.

In this Special Issue, we invite your contributions, either in the form of original research manuscripts or reviews, on the theme of “Innovative Experimental Approaches Targeting Gastrointestinal Tumors with Phytochemicals and Anticancer Drugs".

Dr. Emanuele-Salvatore Scarpa
Prof. Dr. Marco Giammanco
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hallmarks of cancer
  • gastrointestinal cancers
  • oncogenes
  • anticancer drugs
  • phytochemicals

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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9 pages, 972 KiB  
Article
Azima tetracantha Leaf Methanol Extract Inhibits Gastric Cancer Cell Proliferation through Induction of Redox Imbalance and Cytochrome C Release
by Young Ock Kim, Arunaksharan Narayanankutty, Aswathi Moothakoottil Kuttithodi, Hak-Jae Kim, Sae Won Na, Krishnaprasad Kunnath, Rajakrishnan Rajagopal and Ahmed Alfarhan
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(1), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12010120 - 23 Dec 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2318
Abstract
Azima tetracantha is a traditionally used medicinal plant in the Ayurvedic system and folk medicines. The plant has been used for various purposes including inflammatory ailments, arthritis, and various types of toxicities. There are no available reports on its anticancer activity; hence, the [...] Read more.
Azima tetracantha is a traditionally used medicinal plant in the Ayurvedic system and folk medicines. The plant has been used for various purposes including inflammatory ailments, arthritis, and various types of toxicities. There are no available reports on its anticancer activity; hence, the study aimed to evaluate its anti-proliferative potential in gastric cancer cells (AGS and KATO III). We observed a dose-dependent decrease in cell proliferation in both the gastric cancer cells; furthermore, a concomitant reduction in the cellular antioxidant status was observed. Pre-treatment with A. tetracantha methanol extract showed a significant reduction in intracellular glutathione levels, and subsequently raised thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Together with this, a significant increase in the cytochrome c release was noted in A. tetracantha treated cells, alongwith an increase in the expression of pro-apoptotic genes such as BAX, CASP3, CASP7 and APAF1. Furthermore, RTqPCR analysis indicated an increased expression of the anti-apoptotic gene BCL2 in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, to confirm the role of reactive oxygen species in the proliferation inhibition, DCFH-DA-based analysis was carried out, where a dose-dependent increase in ROS levels was observed in these cells. Overall, the study confirms the anticancer efficacy of A. tetracantha leaf methanol extract mediated through the induction of redox imbalance and cytochrome c release. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Experimental Approaches Targeting Gastrointestinal Tumors with Phytochemicals and Anticancer Drugs)
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Review

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21 pages, 1040 KiB  
Review
Gastrointestinal Tumors: Phytochemical and Drug Combinations Targeting the Hallmarks of Cancer
by Emanuele Salvatore Scarpa, Marco Giammanco and Mauro Magnani
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(21), 10077; https://doi.org/10.3390/app112110077 - 27 Oct 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2033
Abstract
Cancer is a worldwide burden resulting in millions of deaths each year. In particular, gastrointestinal tumors are life-threatening malignancies and one of the leading reasons for death in developed countries. Phytochemicals can be found in grains, vegetables, fruits and several foods. Many phytochemicals, [...] Read more.
Cancer is a worldwide burden resulting in millions of deaths each year. In particular, gastrointestinal tumors are life-threatening malignancies and one of the leading reasons for death in developed countries. Phytochemicals can be found in grains, vegetables, fruits and several foods. Many phytochemicals, such as curcumin, genistein, luteolin, vitexin-2-O-xyloside, avenanthramides, quercetin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), resveratrol, sulforaphane, piperine and thymoquinone have been used in combination with different chemotherapeutic agents for their synergistic anticancer effects against various forms of cancer. In this review, we describe the antitumor properties and biological effects of combinations of phytochemicals and anticancer drugs against gastrointestinal tumors: colon cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer. We focus on the molecular pathways, oncoproteins and tumor suppressors modulated by the combination of phytochemicals with antitumor drugs and on the biomarkers of the hallmarks of cancer influenced by these therapeutic strategies in cancer cell lines, xenograft models and clinical trials. The increased knowledge of biomarkers and molecular pathways regulated by the combination of phytochemicals and conventional anticancer drugs in both in vitro and in vivo models will remarkably improve the efficacy of these therapeutic strategies against gastrointestinal tumors in future innovative clinical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Experimental Approaches Targeting Gastrointestinal Tumors with Phytochemicals and Anticancer Drugs)
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