Wogonin Induces Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by Activating Hippo Signalling

Natural compounds targeting YAP/TAZ axis in cancer: Current state of art and challenges

Cancer has become a burgeoning global healthcare concern marked by its exponential growth and significant economic ramifications. Though advancements in the treatment modalities have increased the overall survival and quality of life, there are no definite treatments for the advanced stages of this malady. Hence, understanding the diseases etiologies and the underlying molecular complexities, will usher in the development of innovative therapeutics. Recently, YAP/TAZ transcriptional regulation has been of immense interest due to their role in development, tissue homeostasis and oncogenic transformations. YAP/TAZ axis functions as coactivators within the Hippo signaling cascade, exerting pivotal influence on processes such as proliferation, regeneration, development, and tissue renewal. In cancer, YAP is overexpressed in multiple tumor types and is associated with cancer stem cell attributes, chemoresistance, and metastasis. Activation of YAP/TAZ mirrors the cellular "social" behavior, encompassing factors such as cell adhesion and the mechanical signals transmitted to the cell from tissue structure and the surrounding extracellular matrix. Therefore, it presents a significant vulnerability in the clogs of tumors that could provide a wide window of therapeutic effectiveness. Natural compounds have been utilized extensively as successful interventions in the management of diverse chronic illnesses, including cancer. Owing to their capacity to influence multiple genes and pathways, natural compounds exhibit significant potential either as adjuvant therapy or in combination with conventional treatment options. In this review, we delineate the signaling nexus of YAP/TAZ axis, and present natural compounds as an alternate strategy to target cancer.

Mechanisms Involved in Therapeutic Effects of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Based on Systems Biology and Structural Bioinformatics Approaches

Objective

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most frequent oral cancer, constituting more than 90% of all oral carcinomas. The 5-year survival rate of OSCC patients is not satisfactory, and therefore, there is an urgent need for new practical therapeutic approaches besides the current therapies to overcome OSCC. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (SBG) is a plant of the family Lamiaceae with several pharmaceutical properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer effects. Previous studies have demonstrated the curative effects of SBG in OSCC.

Methods

A systems biology approach was conducted to identify differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) in OSCC patients with a dismal prognosis compared to OSCC patients with a favorable prognosis. A protein interaction map (PIM) was built based on DEMs targets, and the hub genes within the PIM were indicated. Subsequently, the prognostic role of the hubs was studied using Kaplan-Meier curves. Next, the binding affinity of SBG's main components, including baicalein, wogonin, oroxylin-A, salvigenin, and norwogonin, to the prognostic markers in OSCC was evaluated using molecular docking analysis.

Results

Survival analysis showed that overexpression of CAV1, SERPINE1, ACTB, SMAD3, HMGA2, MYC, EIF2S1, HSPA4, HSPA5, and IL6 was significantly related to a poor prognosis in OSCC. Besides, molecular docking analysis demonstrated the ΔGbinding and inhibition constant values between SBG's main components and SERPINE1, ACTB, HMGA2, EIF2S1, HSPA4, and HSPA5 were as <-8.00 kcal/mol and nanomolar concentration, respectively. The most salient binding affinity was observed between wogonin and SERPINE1 with a criterion of ΔGbinding < -10.02 kcal/mol.

Conclusion

The present results unraveled potential mechanisms involved in therapeutic effects of SBG in OSCC based on systems biology and structural bioinformatics analyses.

Wogonin inhibits hepatoma cell proliferation by targeting miR-27b-5p/YWHAZ axis

Wogonin (5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone), a natural flavonoid compound in herbal plants, can suppress growth in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles that are influenced by wogonin have not been thoroughly described. To explore the novel miRNAs and the biological mechanism underlying the effect of wogonin on HCC cells. The effect of wogonin on Huh7 cell growth was assessed both in vitro and in vivo. The expression profiles of miRNAs were obtained by small RNA sequencing. Luciferase reporter experiment and bioinformatics analysis were conducted to determine whether tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein zeta (YWHAZ) can bind to miR-27b-5p. Effects of the ectopic expression of YWHAZ and miR-27b-5p on Huh7 cells proliferation and apoptosis were evaluated. Furthermore, the cell cycle, apoptosis and multiple signaling pathway-related molecules were detected by Western blot analysis. Wogonin substantially inhibited the growth of Huh7 cells both in vitro and in vivo. Seventy miRNAs exhibited greater than twofold changes in wogonin-treated cells. Upregulation of miR-27b-5p inhibited Huh7 cell proliferation, and the anticancer effect of wogonin was reversed after miR-27b-5p knockdown. miR-27b-5p directly targeted YWHAZ in HCC cells. The proliferation-inhibiting effect of miR-27b-5p was revoked by YWHAZ overexpression. Meanwhile, inhibition of HCC growth was achieved by downregulating YWHAZ. Wogonin exerted antitumor activity through multiple signaling molecules, such as focal adhesion kinase, protein kinase B, mammalian target of rapamycin and molecules related to apoptosis and cell cycle by upregulating miR-27b-5p and downregulating YWHAZ. Our findings suggest that miR-27b-5p/YWHAZ axis contributes to the inhibitory effect of wogonin in HCC by targeting related genes and multiple signaling pathways.

Autophagy Induction by Scutellaria Flavones in Cancer: Recent Advances

In parallel with a steady rise in cancer incidence worldwide, the scientific community is increasingly focused on finding novel, safer and more efficient modalities for managing this disease. Over the past decades, natural products have been described as a significant source of new structural leads for novel drug candidates. Scutellaria root is one of the most studied natural products because of its anticancer potential. Besides just describing the cytotoxic properties of plant constituents, their molecular mechanisms of action in different cancer types are equally important. Therefore, this review article focuses on the role of the Scutellaria flavones wogonin, baicalein, baicalin, scutellarein and scutellarin in regulating the autophagic machinery in diverse cancer models, highlighting these molecules as potential lead compounds for the fight against malignant neoplasms. The knowledge that autophagy can function as a dual-edged sword, acting in both a pro- and antitumorigenic manner, further complicates the issue, revealing an amazing property of flavonoids that behave either as anti- or proautophagic agents.

Roles of conventional and complementary therapies in recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common type of cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. HCC has a reported recurrence rate of 70%-80% after 5 years of follow-up. Controlling tumor recurrence is the most critical factor associated with HCC mortality. Conventional salvage therapies for recurrent HCC include re-hepatectomy or liver transplantation, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, Y-90, target therapy, and immunotherapy; however, these conventional treatment modalities have yet to achieve consistently favorable outcomes. Meanwhile, previous studies have demonstrated that conventional therapies in combination with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), acupuncture, moxibustion or dietary supplements could notably benefit patients with HCC recurrence by strengthening and augmenting the overall management strategy. However, systemic reviews related to the interactions between complementary therapies and conventional therapy in recurrent HCC are limited. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms underlying the functions of complementary therapies for recurrent HCC, which include augmenting the local control to improve the congestion status of primary tumors and reducing multicentric tumor occurrence via inducing autophagy, apoptosis or cell cycle arrest. TCM and its derivatives may play important roles in helping to control HCC recurrence by inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, invasion, and metastasis, inhibiting cancer stem cells, and ameliorating drug resistance.

Wogonin increases gemcitabine sensitivity in pancreatic cancer by inhibiting Akt pathway

Pancreatic cancer has a high degree of malignancy and a low 5-year survival rate, and drug resistance is one of the main factors leading to poor prognosis of pancreatic cancer. Wogonin is a flavonoid drug isolated from Scutellaria baicalensis, which has certain antitumor activity. Hence the purpose of this study was to investigate whether wogonin can be used to enhance the sensitivity of pancreatic cancer to gemcitabine chemotherapy, and investigate its possible sensitization mechanism. In vitro, MTT assay showed that wogonin increased gemcitabine cytotoxicity in gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cells. In vivo, Wogonin combined with gemcitabine was found to inhibit tumor growth in orthotopic pancreatic cancer mouse model. In order to explore the sensitization mechanism, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of the gemcitabine-resistant cell line Panc-1 and the gemcitabine-sensitive cell line Bxpc-3 were screened through the GEO database, and 15 differentially expressed genes were obtained by intersecting with the potential targets of wogonin. Gene Ontology and KEGG enrichment analysis was performed. Bioinformatics results predicted that wogonin promoted pancreatic cancer cell apoptosis by inhibiting protein kinase B (Akt) signaling, thereby enhancing the sensitivity of gemcitabine to Pancreatic cancer. The above results were also verified by flow cytometry and Western blotting experiments. In conclusion, wogonin may enhance the sensitivity of gemcitabine by inhibiting Akt pathway.

Advances in prognostic and therapeutic targets for hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: The hippo signaling pathway

Primary liver cancer is the sixth most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. The majority of the primary liver cancer cases are hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Worldwide, there is an increasing incidence of primary liver cancer cases due to multiple risk factors ranging from parasites and viruses to metabolic diseases and lifestyles. Often, patients are diagnosed at advanced stages, depriving them of surgical curability benefits. Moreover, the efficacy of the available chemotherapeutics is limited in advanced stages. Furthermore, tumor metastases and recurrence make primary liver cancer management exceptionally challenging. Thus, exploring the molecular mechanisms for the development and progression of primary liver cancer is critical in improving diagnostic, treatment, prognostication, and surveillance modalities. These mechanisms facilitate the discovery of specific targets that are critical for novel and more efficient treatments. Consequently, the Hippo signaling pathway executing a pivotal role in organogenesis, hemostasis, and regeneration of tissues, regulates liver cells proliferation, and apoptosis. Cell polarity or adhesion molecules and cellular metabolic status are some of the biological activators of the pathway. Thus, understanding the mechanisms exhibited by the Hippo pathway is critical to the development of novel targeted therapies. This study reviews the advances in identifying therapeutic targets and prognostic markers of the Hippo pathway for primary liver cancer in the past six years.