Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
3.7
4.7
Journals
Biomedicines
Special Issues
Anticancer Activity and Metabolic Pathways of Natural Products 2.0
share announcement

Anticancer Activity and Metabolic Pathways of Natural Products 2.0

A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Discovery, Development and Delivery".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 8767

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Seungho Baek

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pathology, College of Korean Medicine, Dongguk University, Goyang-si 10326, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Interests: cancer; hyperthermia; heat shock response; ROS; natural product
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Cancer is a multifactorial disease which is caused by uncontrolled cell growth and the development of metastatic characteristics. Many compounds derived from natural products have recently been used in remarkable advances in anticancer therapy. Natural-product-based anticancer medications are garnering a lot of interest as next-generation anticancer treatments since they have low toxicity to normal cells and only kill cancer cells. As an alternative cancer treatment strategy, natural compounds can have a wide range of effects on carcinogenesis, interact with anticancer medications, and protect normal tissues of the host organism from the deleterious effects of anticancer therapies. Additionally, natural products induce metabolic changes in cancer cells, such as an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, which can directly result in cancer cell death and improve the anticancer effect of other conventional cancer treatments.

We kindly invite researchers to submit original research articles as well as review articles on the subject covered in this Special Issue of Biomedicines, entitled " Anticancer Activity and Metabolic Pathways of Natural Products Plant-Derived Targeted Strategies in Cancer", which aims to address the following objectives:

  • To investigate the molecular mechanisms of new anticancer medicines based on natural product;
  • To explore natural substances (with defined molecular compound) which may improve conventional anticancer therapy efficacy and its metabolism;
  • To compare the metabolic effects of natural compounds with anticancer properties on normal tissues and cancer cells.

Dr. Seungho Baek
Guest Editor

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. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • anticancer therapy
  • natural product
  • reactive oxygen speices
  • molecular mechanism
  • combination therapy
  • chemotherapy
  • radiotherapy
  • hyperthermia
  • cancer metastasis

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 3013 KiB  
Article
Antitumor Effect of Berberine Analogs in a Canine Mammary Tumor Cell Line and in Zebrafish Reporters via Wnt/β-Catenin and Hippo Pathways
by Alessandro Sammarco, Giorgia Beffagna, Roberta Sacchetto, Andrea Vettori, Federico Bonsembiante, Giulia Scarin, Maria Elena Gelain, Laura Cavicchioli, Silvia Ferro, Cristina Geroni, Paolo Lombardi and Valentina Zappulli
Biomedicines 2023, 11(12), 3317; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11123317 - 15 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1193
Abstract
The heterogeneous nature of human breast cancer (HBC) can still lead to therapy inefficacy and high lethality, and new therapeutics as well as new spontaneous animal models are needed to benefit translational HBC research. Dogs are primarily investigated since they spontaneously develop tumors [...] Read more.
The heterogeneous nature of human breast cancer (HBC) can still lead to therapy inefficacy and high lethality, and new therapeutics as well as new spontaneous animal models are needed to benefit translational HBC research. Dogs are primarily investigated since they spontaneously develop tumors that share many features with human cancers. In recent years, different natural phytochemicals including berberine, a plant alkaloid, have been reported to have antiproliferative activity in vitro in human cancers and rodent animal models. In this study, we report the antiproliferative activity and mechanism of action of berberine, its active metabolite berberrubine, and eight analogs, on a canine mammary carcinoma cell line and in transgenic zebrafish models. We demonstrate both in vitro and in vivo the significant effects of specific analogs on cell viability via the induction of apoptosis, also identifying their role in inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and activating the Hippo signals with a downstream reduction in CTGF expression. In particular, the berberine analogs NAX035 and NAX057 show the highest therapeutic efficacy, deserving further analyses to elucidate their mechanism of action more in detail, and in vivo studies on spontaneous neoplastic diseases are needed, aiming at improving veterinary treatments of cancer as well as translational cancer research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anticancer Activity and Metabolic Pathways of Natural Products 2.0)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

16 pages, 8448 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Gastric Cancer Therapeutic Efficacy through Synergistic Cotreatment of Linderae Radix and Hyperthermia in AGS Cells
by Chae-Ryeong Ahn and Seung-Ho Baek
Biomedicines 2023, 11(10), 2710; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11102710 - 5 Oct 2023
Viewed by 965
Abstract
Gastric cancer remains a global health threat, particularly in Asian countries. Current treatment methods include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. However, they all have limitations, such as adverse side effects, tumor resistance, and patient tolerance. Hyperthermia therapy uses heat to selectively target and [...] Read more.
Gastric cancer remains a global health threat, particularly in Asian countries. Current treatment methods include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. However, they all have limitations, such as adverse side effects, tumor resistance, and patient tolerance. Hyperthermia therapy uses heat to selectively target and destroy cancer cells, but it has limited efficacy when used alone. Linderae Radix (LR), a natural compound with thermogenic effects, has the potential to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of hyperthermia treatment. In this study, we investigated the synergistic anticancer effects of cotreatment with LR and 43 °C hyperthermia in AGS gastric cancer cells. The cotreatment inhibited AGS cell proliferation, induced apoptosis, caused cell cycle arrest, suppressed heat-induced heat shock responses, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and promoted mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation. N-acetylcysteine pretreatment abolished the apoptotic effect of LR and hyperthermia cotreatment, indicating the crucial role of ROS in mediating the observed anticancer effects. These findings highlight the potential of LR as an adjuvant to hyperthermia therapy for gastric cancer. Further research is needed to validate these findings in vivo, explore the underlying molecular pathways, and optimize treatment protocols for the development of novel and effective therapeutic strategies for patients with gastric cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anticancer Activity and Metabolic Pathways of Natural Products 2.0)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

61 pages, 17993 KiB  
Review
Bioactive Steroids Bearing Oxirane Ring
by Valery M. Dembitsky
Biomedicines 2023, 11(8), 2237; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11082237 - 9 Aug 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1264
Abstract
This review explores the biological activity and structural diversity of steroids and related isoprenoid lipids, with a particular focus on compounds containing an oxirane ring. These natural compounds are derived from fungi, fungal endophytes, as well as extracts of plants, algae, and marine [...] Read more.
This review explores the biological activity and structural diversity of steroids and related isoprenoid lipids, with a particular focus on compounds containing an oxirane ring. These natural compounds are derived from fungi, fungal endophytes, as well as extracts of plants, algae, and marine invertebrates. To evaluate their biological activity, an extensive examination of refereed literature sources was conducted, including in vivo and in vitro studies and the utilization of the QSAR method. Notable properties observed among these compounds include strong anti-inflammatory, antineoplastic, antiproliferative, anti-hypercholesterolemic, antiparkinsonian, diuretic, anti-eczematic, anti-psoriatic, and various other activities. Throughout this review, 3D graphs illustrating the activity of individual steroids are presented, accompanied by images of selected terrestrial or marine organisms. Furthermore, this review provides explanations for specific types of biological activity associated with these compounds. The data presented in this review are of scientific interest to the academic community and carry practical implications in the fields of pharmacology and medicine. By analyzing the biological activity and structural diversity of steroids and related isoprenoid lipids, this review offers valuable insights that contribute to both theoretical understanding and applied research. This review draws upon data from various authors to compile information on the biological activity of natural steroids containing an oxirane ring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anticancer Activity and Metabolic Pathways of Natural Products 2.0)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

18 pages, 2528 KiB  
Review
Glutathione: Lights and Shadows in Cancer Patients
by Herbert Ryan Marini, Bianca Arianna Facchini, Raffaele di Francia, José Freni, Domenico Puzzolo, Liliana Montella, Gaetano Facchini, Alessandro Ottaiano, Massimiliano Berretta and Letteria Minutoli
Biomedicines 2023, 11(8), 2226; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11082226 - 8 Aug 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4638
Abstract
In cases of cellular injury, there is an observed increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). When this production becomes excessive, it can result in various conditions, including cancerogenesis. Glutathione (GSH), the most abundant thiol-containing antioxidant, is fundamental to re-establishing redox [...] Read more.
In cases of cellular injury, there is an observed increase in the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). When this production becomes excessive, it can result in various conditions, including cancerogenesis. Glutathione (GSH), the most abundant thiol-containing antioxidant, is fundamental to re-establishing redox homeostasis. In order to evaluate the role of GSH and its antioxi-dant effects in patients affected by cancer, we performed a thorough search on Medline and EMBASE databases for relevant clinical and/or preclinical studies, with particular regard to diet, toxicities, and pharmacological processes. The conjugation of GSH with xenobiotics, including anti-cancer drugs, can result in either of two effects: xenobiotics may lose their harmful effects, or GSH conjugation may enhance their toxicity by inducing bioactivation. While being an interesting weapon against chemotherapy-induced toxicities, GSH may also have a potential protective role for cancer cells. New studies are necessary to better explain the relationship between GSH and cancer. Although self-prescribed glutathione (GSH) implementation is prevalent among cancer patients with the intention of reducing the toxic effects of anticancer treatments and potentially preventing damage to normal tissues, this belief lacks substantial scientific evidence for its efficacy in reducing toxicity, except in the case of cisplatin-related neurotoxicity. Therefore, the use of GSH should only be considered under medical supervision, taking into account the appropriate timing and setting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anticancer Activity and Metabolic Pathways of Natural Products 2.0)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop