scholarly journals Natural Compounds as Regulators of the Cancer Cell Metabolism

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Cerella ◽  
Flavia Radogna ◽  
Mario Dicato ◽  
Marc Diederich

Even though altered metabolism is an “old” physiological mechanism, only recently its targeting became a therapeutically interesting strategy and by now it is considered an emerging hallmark of cancer. Nevertheless, a very poor number of compounds are under investigation as potential modulators of cell metabolism. Candidate agents should display selectivity of action towards cancer cells without side effects. This ideal favorable profile would perfectly overlap the requisites of new anticancer therapies and chemopreventive strategies as well. Nature represents a still largely unexplored source of bioactive molecules with a therapeutic potential. Many of these compounds have already been characterized for their multiple anticancer activities. Many of them are absorbed with the diet and therefore possess a known profile in terms of tolerability and bioavailability compared to newly synthetized chemical compounds. The discovery of important cross-talks between mediators of the most therapeutically targeted aberrancies in cancer (i.e., cell proliferation, survival, and migration) and the metabolic machinery allows to predict the possibility that many anticancer activities ascribed to a number of natural compounds may be due, in part, to their ability of modulating metabolic pathways. In this review, we attempt an overview of what is currently known about the potential of natural compounds as modulators of cancer cell metabolism.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moataz Dowaidar

PRMT5 modulates gene expression, increases cancer cell proliferation and migration, activates or suppresses signal transmission, regulates cancer cell metabolism, and promotes cancer stem cell self-renewal and differentiation by methylating histone or non-histone proteins. PRMT5 inhibitors may be useful in immunotherapy. However, it is still unknown why PRMT5 overexpression has different effects on different kinds of tumors. More PRMT5 substrates, as well as other rodent or cell line models demonstrating PRMT5 up-or downregulation, need to be studied. Because PRMT5 expression is regulated in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm, utilizing it as a biomarker to predict cancer status prior to obtaining tumor tissue is difficult. Exploratory research on specific PRMT5 inhibitors is progressing, and technical tools for drug development are becoming more readily available. Mechanistic studies of the processes behind the therapeutic potential of PRMT5 inhibitors will also be useful. In animal models, many PRMT5 inhibitors have shown promise, and clinical trials are already beginning. PRMT5 inhibitors have the potential to treat cancer on their own or in combination with other current or future treatment methods. Finally, PRMT5 inhibitors may be useful in the treatment of cancers that have become resistant to checkpoint inhibitors. Because of their coordinated actions on tumor cells and tumor microenvironmental components, PRMT5 inhibitors may prove to be particularly effective in cancer treatment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 2918
Author(s):  
Eleni Papakonstantinou ◽  
Dimitrios Vlachakis ◽  
Trias Thireou ◽  
Panayiotis G. Vlachoyiannopoulos ◽  
Elias Eliopoulos

Monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) are of great research interest for their role in cancer cell metabolism and their potential ability to transport pharmacologically relevant compounds across the membrane. Each member of the MCT family could potentially provide novel therapeutic approaches to various diseases. The major differences among MCTs are related to each of their specific metabolic roles, their relative substrate and inhibitor affinities, the regulation of their expression, their intracellular localization, and their tissue distribution. MCT4 is the main mediator for the efflux of L-lactate produced in the cell. Thus, MCT4 maintains the glycolytic phenotype of the cancer cell by supplying the molecular resources for tumor cell proliferation and promotes the acidification of the extracellular microenvironment from the co-transport of protons. A promising therapeutic strategy in anti-cancer drug design is the selective inhibition of MCT4 for the glycolytic suppression of solid tumors. A small number of studies indicate molecules for dual inhibition of MCT1 and MCT4; however, no selective inhibitor with high-affinity for MCT4 has been identified. In this study, we attempt to approach the structural characteristics of MCT4 through an in silico pipeline for molecular modelling and pharmacophore elucidation towards the identification of specific inhibitors as a novel anti-cancer strategy.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 939
Author(s):  
Marcelo Ehrlich ◽  
Eran Bacharach

Cell autonomous immunity genes mediate the multiple stages of anti-viral defenses, including recognition of invading pathogens, inhibition of viral replication, reprogramming of cellular metabolism, programmed-cell-death, paracrine induction of antiviral state, and activation of immunostimulatory inflammation. In tumor development and/or immunotherapy settings, selective pressure applied by the immune system results in tumor immunoediting, a reduction in the immunostimulatory potential of the cancer cell. This editing process comprises the reduced expression and/or function of cell autonomous immunity genes, allowing for immune-evasion of the tumor while concomitantly attenuating anti-viral defenses. Combined with the oncogene-enhanced anabolic nature of cancer-cell metabolism, this attenuation of antiviral defenses contributes to viral replication and to the selectivity of oncolytic viruses (OVs) towards malignant cells. Here, we review the manners by which oncogene-mediated transformation and tumor immunoediting combine to alter the intracellular milieu of tumor cells, for the benefit of OV replication. We also explore the functional connection between oncogenic signaling and epigenetic silencing, and the way by which restriction of such silencing results in immune activation. Together, the picture that emerges is one in which OVs and epigenetic modifiers are part of a growing therapeutic toolbox that employs activation of anti-tumor immunity for cancer therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. S97
Author(s):  
Shaina Bruce ◽  
Kevin Cho ◽  
Elena Lomonosova ◽  
Hollie Noia ◽  
Elizabeth Stock ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma J. Mah ◽  
Austin E. Y. T. Lefebvre ◽  
Gabrielle E. McGahey ◽  
Albert F. Yee ◽  
Michelle A. Digman

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 3707-3722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Wu ◽  
Siyuan Liu ◽  
Jianyu Su ◽  
Jianping Chen ◽  
Lin Li ◽  
...  

Our findings provide comprehensive evidence that isoquercitrin (ISO) influenced T24 bladder cancer cell metabolism by activating the AMPK pathway as identified by combination with metabolomics and immunoblotting assay.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 397-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Awais Anwar ◽  
Emma Gould ◽  
Ryan Tinson ◽  
Javaid Iqbal ◽  
Chris Hamilton

Abstract Purpose of review This article provides a brief overview of natural phytoprotective products of allium with a special focus on the therapeutic potential of diallyl polysulfanes from garlic, their molecular targets and their fate in the living organisms. A comprehensive overview of antimicrobial and anticancer properties of published literature is presented for the reader to understand the effective concentrations of polysulfanes and their sensitivity towards different human pathogenic microbes, fungi, and cancer cell lines. Recent findings The article finds polysulfanes potentials as new generation novel antibiotics and chemo preventive agent. The effective dose rates of polysulfanes for antimicrobial properties are in the range of 0.5–40 mg/L and for anticancer 20–100 μM. The molecular targets for these redox modulators are mainly cellular thiols as well as inhibition and/or activation of certain cellular proteins in cancer cell lines. Summary Antimicrobial and anticancer activities of polysulfanes published in the literature indicate that with further development, they could be promising candidates for cancer prevention due to their selectivity towards abnormal cells.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yali Chen ◽  
Yuanyuan Zhao ◽  
Pei Jiang ◽  
Wei Tan ◽  
Jia Yu ◽  
...  

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