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Molecular Targets of Natural Compounds with Anti-Cancer Properties

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in humans. Despite rapid developments in diagnostic methods and therapies, metastasis and resistance to administrated drugs are the main obstacles to successful treatment. Therefore, the main challenge should be the diagnosis and design of optimal therapeu...

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Autores principales: Kubczak, Małgorzata, Szustka, Aleksandra, Rogalińska, Małgorzata
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8708931/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34948455
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms222413659
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author Kubczak, Małgorzata
Szustka, Aleksandra
Rogalińska, Małgorzata
author_facet Kubczak, Małgorzata
Szustka, Aleksandra
Rogalińska, Małgorzata
author_sort Kubczak, Małgorzata
collection PubMed
description Cancer is the second leading cause of death in humans. Despite rapid developments in diagnostic methods and therapies, metastasis and resistance to administrated drugs are the main obstacles to successful treatment. Therefore, the main challenge should be the diagnosis and design of optimal therapeutic strategies for patients to increase their chances of responding positively to treatment and increase their life expectancy. In many types of cancer, a deregulation of multiple pathways has been found. This includes disturbances in cellular metabolism, cell cycle, apoptosis, angiogenesis, or epigenetic modifications. Additionally, signals received from the microenvironment may significantly contribute to cancer development. Chemical agents obtained from natural sources seem to be very attractive alternatives to synthetic compounds. They can exhibit similar anti-cancer potential, usually with reduced side effects. It was reported that natural compounds obtained from fruits and vegetables, e.g., polyphenols, flavonoids, stilbenes, carotenoids and acetogenins, might be effective against cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Several published results indicate the activity of natural compounds on protein expression by its influence on transcription factors. They could also be involved in alterations in cellular response, cell signaling and epigenetic modifications. Such natural components could be used in our diet for anti-cancer protection. In this review, the activities of natural compounds, including anti-cancer properties, are described. The influence of natural agents on cancer cell metabolism, proliferation, signal transduction and epigenetic modifications is highlighted.
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spelling pubmed-87089312021-12-25 Molecular Targets of Natural Compounds with Anti-Cancer Properties Kubczak, Małgorzata Szustka, Aleksandra Rogalińska, Małgorzata Int J Mol Sci Review Cancer is the second leading cause of death in humans. Despite rapid developments in diagnostic methods and therapies, metastasis and resistance to administrated drugs are the main obstacles to successful treatment. Therefore, the main challenge should be the diagnosis and design of optimal therapeutic strategies for patients to increase their chances of responding positively to treatment and increase their life expectancy. In many types of cancer, a deregulation of multiple pathways has been found. This includes disturbances in cellular metabolism, cell cycle, apoptosis, angiogenesis, or epigenetic modifications. Additionally, signals received from the microenvironment may significantly contribute to cancer development. Chemical agents obtained from natural sources seem to be very attractive alternatives to synthetic compounds. They can exhibit similar anti-cancer potential, usually with reduced side effects. It was reported that natural compounds obtained from fruits and vegetables, e.g., polyphenols, flavonoids, stilbenes, carotenoids and acetogenins, might be effective against cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Several published results indicate the activity of natural compounds on protein expression by its influence on transcription factors. They could also be involved in alterations in cellular response, cell signaling and epigenetic modifications. Such natural components could be used in our diet for anti-cancer protection. In this review, the activities of natural compounds, including anti-cancer properties, are described. The influence of natural agents on cancer cell metabolism, proliferation, signal transduction and epigenetic modifications is highlighted. MDPI 2021-12-20 /pmc/articles/PMC8708931/ /pubmed/34948455 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms222413659 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Kubczak, Małgorzata
Szustka, Aleksandra
Rogalińska, Małgorzata
Molecular Targets of Natural Compounds with Anti-Cancer Properties
title Molecular Targets of Natural Compounds with Anti-Cancer Properties
title_full Molecular Targets of Natural Compounds with Anti-Cancer Properties
title_fullStr Molecular Targets of Natural Compounds with Anti-Cancer Properties
title_full_unstemmed Molecular Targets of Natural Compounds with Anti-Cancer Properties
title_short Molecular Targets of Natural Compounds with Anti-Cancer Properties
title_sort molecular targets of natural compounds with anti-cancer properties
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8708931/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34948455
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms222413659
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