scholarly journals Molecular Targets of Genistein and Its Related Flavonoids to Exert Anticancer Effects

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 2420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hee-Sung Chae ◽  
Rong Xu ◽  
Jae-Yeon Won ◽  
Young-Won Chin ◽  
Hyungshin Yim

Increased health awareness among the public has highlighted the health benefits of dietary supplements including flavonoids. As flavonoids target several critical factors to exert a variety of biological effects, studies to identify their target-specific effects have been conducted. Herein, we discuss the basic structures of flavonoids and their anticancer activities in relation to the specific biological targets acted upon by these flavonoids. Flavonoids target several signaling pathways involved in apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT kinase, and metastasis. Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) has been recognized as a valuable target in cancer treatment due to the prognostic implication of PLK1 in cancer patients and its clinical relevance between the overexpression of PLK1 and the reduced survival rates of several carcinoma patients. Recent studies suggest that several flavonoids, including genistein directly inhibit PLK1 inhibitory activity. Later, we focus on the anticancer effects of genistein through inhibition of PLK1.

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmuda Akter ◽  
Anshika Jangra ◽  
Seung Ah Choi ◽  
Eun Ha Choi ◽  
Ihn Han

Nonthermal plasma is a promising novel therapy for the alteration of biological and clinical functions of cells and tissues, including apoptosis and inhibition of tumor progression. This therapy generates reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), which play a major role in anticancer effects. Previous research has verified that plasma jets can selectively induce apoptosis in various cancer cells, suggesting that it could be a potentially effective novel therapy in combination with or as an alternative to conventional therapeutic methods. In this study, we determined the effects of nonthermal air soft plasma jets on a U87 MG brain cancer cell line, including the dose- and time-dependent effects and the physicochemical and biological correlation between the RONS cascade and p38/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, which contribute to apoptosis. The results indicated that soft plasma jets efficiently inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in U87 MG cells but have minimal effects on astrocytes. These findings revealed that soft plasma jets produce a potent cytotoxic effect via the initiation of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells was tested, and an intracellular ROS scavenger, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), was examined. Our results suggested that soft plasma jets could potentially be used as an effective approach for anticancer therapy.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ji Hoon Jung ◽  
Tae-Rin Kwon ◽  
Soo-Jin Jeong ◽  
Eun-Ok Kim ◽  
Eun Jung Sohn ◽  
...  

Though tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone possess a variety of biological effects such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antimetabolic, and anticancer effects, the precise molecular targets or pathways responsible for anticancer activities of tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) still remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effect of tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone on the Janus activated kinase (JAK)/signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling during apoptotic process. We found that both tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone induced apoptosis by activation of caspase-9/3 and Sub-G1 accumulation in K562 cells. However, they have the distinct JAK/STAT pathway, in which tanshinone IIA inhibits JAK2/STAT5 signaling, whereas cryptotanshinone targets the JAK2/STAT3. In addition, tanshinone IIA enhanced the expression of both SHP-1 and -2, while cryptotanshinone regulated the expression of only SHP-1. Both tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone attenuated the expression of bcl-xL, survivin, and cyclin D1. Furthermore, tanshinone IIA augmented synergy with imatinib, a CML chemotherapeutic drug, better than cryptotanshinone in K562 cells. Overall, our findings suggest that the anticancer activity of tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone is mediated by the distinct the JAK/STAT3/5 and SHP1/2 signaling, and tanshinone IIA has the potential for combination therapy with imatinib in K562 CML cells.


2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 1309-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iwona Migdal ◽  
Yulia Ilina ◽  
Markus J. Tamás ◽  
Robert Wysocki

ABSTRACT Cells slow down cell cycle progression in order to adapt to unfavorable stress conditions. Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) responds to osmotic stress by triggering G1 and G2 checkpoint delays that are dependent on the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) Hog1. The high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway is also activated by arsenite, and the hog1Δ mutant is highly sensitive to arsenite, partly due to increased arsenite influx into hog1Δ cells. Yeast cell cycle regulation in response to arsenite and the role of Hog1 in this process have not yet been analyzed. Here, we found that long-term exposure to arsenite led to transient G1 and G2 delays in wild-type cells, whereas cells that lack the HOG1 gene or are defective in Hog1 kinase activity displayed persistent G1 cell cycle arrest. Elevated levels of intracellular arsenite and “cross talk” between the HOG and pheromone response pathways, observed in arsenite-treated hog1Δ cells, prolonged the G1 delay but did not cause a persistent G1 arrest. In contrast, deletion of the SIC1 gene encoding a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor fully suppressed the observed block of G1 exit in hog1Δ cells. Moreover, the Sic1 protein was stabilized in arsenite-treated hog1Δ cells. Interestingly, Sic1-dependent persistent G1 arrest was also observed in hog1Δ cells during hyperosmotic stress. Taken together, our data point to an important role of the Hog1 kinase in adaptation to stress-induced G1 cell cycle arrest.


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