A Network-Guided Approach to Discover Phytochemical-Based Anticancer Therapy: Targeting MARK4 for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

β-Citronellol: a potential anti-inflammatory and gastro-protective agent-mechanistic insights into its modulatory effects on COX-II, 5-LOX, eNOS, and ICAM-1 pathways through in vitro, in vivo, in silico, and network pharmacology studies

BACKGROUND

The current study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and pronounced gastro-protective activities of β- Citronellol using in vitro, in vivo assays and in silico approaches.

METHODS

In vitro assays, denaturation of bovine serum albumin, egg protein, and human Red Blood Cells (RBCs) membrane stabilization were performed, using Piroxicam as standard. For in vivo assessment, Histamine (0.1 ml from 1% w/v) and Formaldehyde (0.1 ml from 2% v/v) were used to mediate inflammation. In silico molecular docking and network pharmacology were employed to probe the possible target genes mediating gastroprotective effect of β-Citronellol at 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, using indomethacin-induced (25 mg/kg i.p) gastric ulcer in rats. Moreover, Gastric tissues were evaluated for morphological, histopathological, and bio-chemical analysis of PGE2, COX-I, COX-II, 5-LOX, eNOS, ICAM-1, oxygen-free radical scavengers (SOD, CAT), and oxidative stress marker (MDA).

RESULTS

β-Citronellol prevented denaturation of proteins and RBCs membrane stabilization with maximum effect observed at 6,400 µg/mL. Citronellol decreased rat's paw edema. Network pharmacology and docking studies revealed gastro-protective potential of Citronellol possibly mediated through arachidonic acid pathways by targeting COX-I, COX-II, PGE2, and 5-LOX. Citronellol reduced the ulcer indices, and histopathological changes. Further, β-Citronellol (50 and 100 mg/kg) increased gastric PGE2, COX-1, and eNOS; while suppressing COX-2, 5-LOX and ICAM-1. Citronellol markedly enhanced the oxidative balance in isolated rat stomach tissues.

CONCLUSIONS

The anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and gastro-protective effects of β-Citronellol against indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer model in rats through mediating COX-I, COX-II, PGE2, 5-LOX, eNOS, and ICAM-1 inflammatory markers.

Deciphering molecular landscape of breast cancer progression and insights from functional genomics and therapeutic explorations followed by in vitro validation

Breast cancer is caused by aberrant breast cells that proliferate and develop into tumors. Tumors have the potential to spread throughout the body and become lethal if ignored. Metastasis is the process by which invasive tumors move to neighboring lymph nodes or other organs. Metastasis can be lethal and perhaps fatal. The objective of our study was to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the transition of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) to Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IDC), with a particular focus on hub genes and potential therapeutic agents. Using Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), we built a comprehensive network combining clinical and phenotypic data from both DCIS and IDC. Modules within this network, correlated with specific phenotypic traits, were identified, and hub genes were identified as critical markers. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis assessed their potential as biomarkers, while survival curve analysis gauged their prognostic value. Furthermore, molecular docking predicted interactions with potential therapeutic agents. Ten hub genes-CDK1, KIF11, NUF2, ASPM, CDCA8, CENPF, DTL, EXO1, KIF2C, and ZWINT-emerged as pivotal fibroblast-specific genes potentially involved in the DCIS to IDC transition. These genes exhibited pronounced positive correlations with key pathways like the cell cycle and DNA repair, Molecular docking revealed Fisetin, an anti-inflammatory compound, effectively binding to both CDK1 and DTL underscoring their role in orchestrating cellular transformation. CDK1 and DTL were selected for molecular docking with CDK1 inhibitors, revealing effective binding of Fisetin, an anti-inflammatory compound, to both. Of the identified hub genes, DTL-an E3 ubiquitin ligase linked to the CRL4 complex-plays a central role in cancer progression, impacting tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis, as well as cell cycle regulation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). CDK1, another hub gene, is pivotal in cell cycle progression and associated with various biological processes. In conclusion, our study offers insights into the complex mechanisms driving the transition from DCIS to IDC. It underscores the importance of hub genes and their potential interactions with therapeutic agents, particularly Fisetin. By shedding light on the interplay between CDK1 and DTL expression, our findings contribute to understanding the regulatory landscape of invasive ductal carcinoma and pave the way for future investigations and novel therapeutic avenues.

Unlocking vinpocetine's oncostatic potential in early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma: A new approach to oncogenic modulation by a nootropic drug

The development of new drugs for the inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and progression is a critical and urgent need. The median survival rate for HCC patients remains disappointingly low. Vinpocetine is a safe nootropic agent that is often used to enhance cognitive function. The impact of vinpocetine on HCC development and progression has not been fully explored. Our main objective was to investigate the possible inhibitory role of vinpocetine in rats exposed to diethylnitrosamine. We observed that vinpocetine increased the survival rate of these rats and improved the ultrastructure of their livers. Additionally, vinpocetine reduced the liver weight index, mitigated liver oxidative stress, and improved liver function. In both in vitro and in vivo settings, vinpocetine demonstrated antiproliferative and apoptotic properties. It downregulated the expression of CCND1 and Ki-67 while exhibiting anti-BCL-2 effects and enhancing the levels of Bax and cleaved caspase-3. Vinpocetine also successfully deactivated NF-κB, STAT3, and HIF-1α, along with their associated transcription proteins, thereby exerting anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic role. Furthermore, vinpocetine showed promise in reducing the levels of ICAM-1 and TGF-β1 indicating its potential role in tissue remodeling. These findings strongly suggest that vinpocetine holds promise as a hepatoprotective agent by targeting a range of oncogenic proteins simultaneously. However, further approaches are needed to validate and establish causal links between our observed effects allowing for a more in-depth exploration of the mechanisms underlying vinpocetine's effects and identifying pivotal determinants of outcomes.

Resveratrol suppresses liver cancer progression by downregulating AKR1C3: targeting HCC with HSA nanomaterial as a carrier to enhance therapeutic efficacy

The enzyme AKR1C3 plays a crucial role in hormone and drug metabolism and is associated with abnormal expression in liver cancer, leading to tumor progression and poor prognosis. Nanoparticles modified with HSA can modulate the tumor microenvironment by enhancing photodynamic therapy to induce apoptosis in tumor cells and alleviate hypoxia. Therefore, exploring the potential regulatory mechanisms of resveratrol on AKR1C3 through the construction of HSA-RSV NPs carriers holds significant theoretical and clinical implications for the treatment of liver cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the targeted regulation of AKR1C3 expression through the loading of resveratrol (RSV) on nanomaterials HSA-RSV NPs (Nanoparticles) in order to alleviate tumor hypoxia and inhibit the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to explore its molecular mechanism. PubChem database and PharmMapper server were used to screen the target genes of RSV. HCC-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed through the GEO dataset, and relevant genes were retrieved from the GeneCards database, resulting in the intersection of the three to obtain candidate DEGs. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed on the candidate DEGs to analyze the potential cellular functions and molecular signaling pathways affected by the main target genes. The cytohubba plugin was used to screen the top 10 target genes ranked by Degree and further intersected the results of LASSO and Random Forest (RF) to obtain hub genes. The expression analysis of hub genes and the prediction of malignant tumor prognosis were conducted. Furthermore, a pharmacophore model was constructed using PharmMapper. Molecular docking simulations were performed using AutoDockTools 1.5.6 software, and ROC curve analysis was performed to determine the core target. In vitro cell experiments were carried out by selecting appropriate HCC cell lines, treating HCC cells with different concentrations of RSV, or silencing or overexpressing AKR1C3 using lentivirus. CCK-8, clone formation, flow cytometry, scratch experiment, and Transwell were used to measure cancer cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis, respectively. Cellular oxygen consumption rate was analyzed using the Seahorse XF24 analyzer. HSA-RSV NPs were prepared, and their characterization and cytotoxicity were evaluated. The biological functional changes of HCC cells after treatment were detected. An HCC subcutaneous xenograft model was established in mice using HepG2 cell lines. HSA-RSV NPs were injected via the tail vein, with a control group set, to observe changes in tumor growth, tumor targeting of NPs, and biological safety. TUNEL, Ki67, and APC-hypoxia probe staining were performed on excised tumor tissue to detect tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, and hypoxia. Lentivirus was used to silence or overexpress AKR1C3 simultaneously with the injection of HSA-RSV NPs via the tail vein to assess the impact of AKR1C3 on the regulation of HSA-RSV NPs in HCC progression. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that AKR1C3 is an important target gene involved in the regulation of HCC by RSV, which is associated with the prognosis of HCC patients and upregulated in expression. In vitro cell experiments showed that RSV significantly inhibits the respiratory metabolism of HCC cells, suppressing their proliferation, migration, and invasion and promoting apoptosis. Silencing AKR1C3 further enhances the toxicity of RSV towards HCC cells. The characterization and cytotoxicity experiments of nanomaterials demonstrated the successful construction of HSA-RSV NPs, which exhibited stronger inhibitory effects on HCC cells. In vivo, animal experiments further confirmed that targeted downregulation of AKR1C3 by HSA-RSV NPs suppresses the progression of HCC and tumor hypoxia while exhibiting tumor targeting and biological safety. Targeted downregulation of AKR1C3 by HSA-RSV NPs can alleviate HCC tumor hypoxia and inhibit the progression of HCC.

MARK4 promotes the malignant phenotype of gastric cancer through the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

Microtubule affinity regulating kinase 4 (MARK4), which is overexpressed in various tumors, is involved in the regulation of cell division, proliferation, migration, and the cell cycle, and has been considered a potential marker for cancer; however, its mechanism of action in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of MARK4 in the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cell through the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway by targeting MARK4 knockdown.

METHODS

Using The Cancer Genome Atlas data and clinical information, MARK4 expression and its relationship with prognosis were analyzed. Possible pathways involving MARK4 were explored using enrichment analysis. Western blotting and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to detect MARK4 expression in GC. After targeted transfection of siRNA, the transfection efficiency of the experimental group was detected in AGS and HGC-27 cells. The effects of knockdown MARK4 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells were verified using CCK-8, colony formation, wound healing, and transwell assays. Finally, the relationship between MARK4, the MAPK/ERK pathway, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in GC was verified by western blotting.

RESULTS

MARK4 expression was upregulated in GC and associated with poor prognosis in patients with GC. Enrichment analysis showed that MARK4 was involved in the activation of the MAPK signaling pathway. Western blotting results indicated that MARK4 overexpression promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells through the MAPK/ERK pathway.

CONCLUSION

MARK4 expression was upregulated in GC and promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells through the MAPK/ERK pathway.

Pharmacogenomics: A Genetic Approach to Drug Development and Therapy

The majority of the well-known pharmacogenomics research used in the medical sciences contributes to our understanding of medication interactions. It has a significant impact on treatment and drug development. The broad use of pharmacogenomics is required for the progress of therapy. The main focus is on how genes and an intricate gene system affect the body's reaction to medications. Novel biomarkers that help identify a patient group that is more or less likely to respond to a certain medication have been discovered as a result of recent developments in the field of clinical therapeutics. It aims to improve customized therapy by giving the appropriate drug at the right dose at the right time and making sure that the right prescriptions are issued. A combination of genetic, environmental, and patient variables that impact the pharmacokinetics and/or pharmacodynamics of medications results in interindividual variance in drug response. Drug development, illness susceptibility, and treatment efficacy are all impacted by pharmacogenomics. The purpose of this work is to give a review that might serve as a foundation for the creation of new pharmacogenomics applications, techniques, or strategies.

Vanillin-Isatin Hybrid-Induced MARK4 Inhibition As a Promising Therapeutic Strategy against Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Microtubule affinity-regulating kinase 4 (MARK4) is a serine-threonine kinase that phosphorylates microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) and increases the microtubule dynamics. Due to its direct involvement in initiation, cell division, progression, and cancer metastasis, MARK4 is considered a potential therapeutic target. Here, we designed, synthesized, and characterized vanillin-isatin hybrids and evaluated their MARK4 inhibitory potential. All of the compounds strongly bind to MARK4 and interact closely with the active site residues. Finally, the compound VI-9 was selected for further investigation due to its high binding affinity and strong MARK4 inhibitory potential. Tau-phosphorylation assay has further confirmed that VI-9 significantly reduced the activity of MARK4. Compared with vanillin, VI-9 showed a better binding affinity and MARK4 inhibitory potential. Cell viability assays on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines C3A and SNU-475 revealed that VI-9 inhibited their growth and proliferation. In addition, these compounds were nontoxic (up to 200 μM) for noncancerous (HEK-293) cells. Interestingly, VI-9 induces apoptosis and decreases the metastatic potential of the C3A and SNU-475 cell lines. The present work opens a newer avenue for vanillin-isatin hybrids and their derivatives in developing MARK4-targeted anticancer therapies.

Interaction of Sp1 and Setd8 promotes vascular smooth muscle cells apoptosis by activating Mark4 in vascular calcification

Vascular calcification (VC) is directly related to high mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD), and cellular apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a crucial process in the initiation of VC. Microtubule affinity-regulating kinase 4 (Mark4), known as a serine/threonine protein kinase, can induce cell apoptosis and autophagy by modulating Akt phosphorylation. However, the potential functions and molecular mechanisms of Mark4 in VSMCs apoptosis and calcification need to be further explored. Initially, our data indicated that the mRNA expression of Mark4 was prominently elevated in high phosphorus-stimulated human VSMCs compared with the other members in Marks. Consistently, Mark4 expression was found to be significantly increased in the calcified arteries of both CKD patients and rats. In vitro, silencing Mark4 suppressed apoptosis-specific marker expression by promoting Akt phosphorylation, finally attenuating VSMCs calcification induced by high phosphate. Mechanically, the transcription factor Sp1 was enriched in the Mark4 promoter region and modulated Mark4 transcription. Moreover, SET domain-containing protein 8 (Setd8) was proved to interact with Sp1 and jointly participated in the transcriptional regulation of Mark4. Finally, rescue experiments revealed that Setd8 contributed to VSMCs apoptosis and calcification by modulating Mark4 expression. In conclusion, these findings reveal that Mark4 is transcriptionally activated by Sp1, which is interacted with Setd8, to promote VSMCs calcification through Akt-mediated antiapoptotic effects, suggesting that Mark4 represents a potent and promising therapeutic target for VC in CKD.

Cleomin Exerts Acute Antinociceptive Effects in Mice via GABAB and Muscarinic Receptors

Cleomin, a 1,3-oxazolidine-2-thione, was recently isolated from Neocalyptrocalyx longifolium, a species traditionally used for treating painful conditions. Reports about the pharmacological activities of cleomin are lacking. Here, the antinociceptive effects of cleomin were investigated using mice models of pain, namely the formalin, the cold plate, and the tail flick tests. Motor integrity was assessed in the rota-rod test. Antagonism assays and in silico docking analyses were performed to investigate the putative mechanisms of action. Cleomin (12.5-25 mg/kg), at doses that did not induce motor impairment, induced dose-dependent antinociception in both early and late phases of the formalin test and reduced nociceptive behaviors in both the cold plate and tail flick tests. Pretreatments with phaclofen and atropine attenuated the antinociceptive effects of cleomin, implicating the involvement of GABAB and muscarinic receptors. In silico docking studies suggested satisfactory coupling between cleomin and GABAB and M2 receptors, hence corroborating their role in cleomin's activity. Pretreatments with naloxone, yohimbine, bicuculline, and methysergide did not affect the antinociception of cleomin. In silico pharmacokinetics prediction showed a good drug ability profile of cleomin. In conclusion, cleomin promoted antinociception mediated by GABAB and muscarinic receptors. These findings support further investigation of the analgesic potential of cleomin.

Therapeutic targeting of microtubule affinity-regulating kinase 4 in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases

Microtubule affinity-regulating kinase 4 (MARK4) is a member of the Ser/Thr protein kinase family, phosphorylates the microtubule-connected proteins and plays a vital role in causing cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. This kinase modulates multiple signaling pathways, including mammalian target of rapamycin, nuclear factor-κB, and Hippo-signaling, presumably responsible for cancer and Alzheimer's. MARK4 acts as a negative controller of the Hippo-kinase cassette for promoting YAP/TAZ action, and the loss of MARK4 detains the tumorigenic properties of cancer cells. MARK4 is involved in tau hyperphosphorylation that consequently affects neurodegeneration. MARK4 is a promising drug target for cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's. Developing the potent and selective inhibitors of MAKR4 are promising in the therapeutic management of associated diseases. Despite its great significance, a few reviews are available to discuss its structure, function and clinical significance. In the current review, we aimed to provide detailed information on the structural features of MARK4 targeted in drug development and its role in various signaling pathways related to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. We further described the therapeutic potential of MARK4 inhibitors in preventing numerous diseases. Finally, the updated information on MARK4 will be helpful in the further development of effective therapeutic molecules.

Development and evaluation of a risk score model based on a WNT score gene-associated signature for predicting the clinical outcome and the tumour microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is currently one of the most life-threatening diseases worldwide. However, the factors, genes, and processes involved in the mechanisms of HCC initiation, development, and metastasis remain to be identified.Methods: WNT signalling pathways may play important roles in cancer initiation and progression. Thus, it would be informative to construct a WNT signature-based gene model for the prognosis of HCC and the prediction of therapeutic efficacy. We curated genomic profiles for HCC from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and divided them into training and internal validation datasets. We also used samples from GSE14520 and HCCDB18 as validation datasets and clustered them by ConsensusClusterPlus analysis. We applied WebGestaltR to the WNT score-associated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and conducted a signalling pathway enrichment analysis. We assessed the tumour immune microenvironment with ESTIMATE, Microenvironment Cell Populations (MCP)-counter, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), and tumour immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE).Results: We performed a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis to identify the prognosis-related hub genes, identified the risk and protective factor genes associated with HCC, classified them into two clusters, and found that Cluster 2 had a significantly better prognosis than Cluster 1. Moreover, the latter had advanced clinical features compared with the former. Uridine-cytosine kinase 1 (UCK1), myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate-like protein 1 (MARCKSL1), P-antigen family member 1 (PAGE1), and killer cell lectin-like receptor B1 (KLRB1) were detected and used to construct a simplified prognostic model for HCC. The high risk score subgroup showed a poorer prognosis than the low risk score subgroup, and the model assessed HCC prognosis consistently and effectively.Conclusions: The WNT score-related gene-based model designed and evaluated herein had strong prognostic and predictive ability for HCC and could, therefore, facilitate decision-making in the prognosis and therapeutic efficacy assessment of HCC.

Role of ZNF143 and Its Association with Gene Expression Patterns, Noncoding Mutations, and the Immune System in Human Breast Cancer

The function of noncoding sequence variations at ZNF143 binding sites in breast cancer cells is currently not well understood. Distal elements and promoters, also known as cis-regulatory elements, control the expression of genes. They may be identified by functional genomic techniques and sequence conservation, and they frequently show cell- and tissue-type specificity. The creation, destruction, or modulation of TF binding and function may be influenced by genetic modifications at TF binding sites that affect the binding affinity. Therefore, noncoding mutations that affect the ZNF143 binding site may be able to alter the expression of some genes in breast cancer. In order to understand the relationship among ZNF143, gene expression patterns, and noncoding mutations, we adopted an integrative strategy in this study and paid close attention to putative immunological signaling pathways. The immune system-related pathways ErbB, HIF1a, NF-kB, FoxO, JAK-STAT, Wnt, Notch, cell cycle, PI3K-AKT, RAP1, calcium signaling, cell junctions and adhesion, actin cytoskeleton regulation, and cancer pathways are among those that may be significant, according to the overall analysis.

An Approach for Systems-Level Understanding of Prostate Cancer from High-Throughput Data Integration to Pathway Modeling and Simulation

To understand complex diseases, high-throughput data are generated at large and multiple levels. However, extracting meaningful information from large datasets for comprehensive understanding of cell phenotypes and disease pathophysiology remains a major challenge. Despite tremendous advances in understanding molecular mechanisms of cancer and its progression, current knowledge appears discrete and fragmented. In order to render this wealth of data more integrated and thus informative, we have developed a GECIP toolbox to investigate the crosstalk and the responsible genes'/proteins' connectivity of enriched pathways from gene expression data. To implement this toolbox, we used mainly gene expression datasets of prostate cancer, and the three datasets were GSE17951, GSE8218, and GSE1431. The raw samples were processed for normalization, prediction of differentially expressed genes, and the prediction of enriched pathways for the differentially expressed genes. The enriched pathways have been processed for crosstalk degree calculations for which number connections per gene, the frequency of genes in the pathways, sharing frequency, and the connectivity have been used. For network prediction, protein-protein interaction network database FunCoup2.0 was used, and cytoscape software was used for the network visualization. In our results, we found that there were enriched pathways 27, 45, and 22 for GSE17951, GSE8218, and GSE1431, respectively, and 11 pathways in common between all of them. From the crosstalk results, we observe that focal adhesion and PI3K pathways, both experimentally proven central for cellular output upon perturbation of numerous individual/distinct signaling pathways, displayed highest crosstalk degree. Moreover, we also observe that there were more critical pathways which appear to be highly significant, and these pathways are HIF1a, hippo, AMPK, and Ras. In terms of the pathways' components, GSK3B, YWHAE, HIF1A, ATP1A3, and PRKCA are shared between the aforementioned pathways and have higher connectivity with the pathways and the other pathway components. Finally, we conclude that the focal adhesion and PI3K pathways are the most critical pathways, and since for many other pathways, high-rank enrichment did not translate to high crosstalk degree, the global impact of one pathway on others appears distinct from enrichment.

Genomic profiling and network-level understanding uncover the potential genes and the pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma

Data integration with phenotypes such as gene expression, pathways or function, and protein-protein interactions data has proven to be a highly promising technique for improving human complex diseases, particularly cancer patient outcome prediction. Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most prevalent cancers, and the most common cause is chronic HBV and HCV infection, which is linked to the majority of cases, and HBV and HCV play a role in multistep carcinogenesis progression. We examined the list of known hepatocellular carcinoma biomarkers with the publicly available expression profile dataset of hepatocellular carcinoma infected with HCV from day 1 to day 10 in this study. The study covers an overexpression pattern for the selected biomarkers in clinical hepatocellular carcinoma patients, a combined investigation of these biomarkers with the gathered temporal dataset, temporal expression profiling changes, and temporal pathway enrichment following HCV infection. Following a temporal analysis, it was discovered that the early stages of HCV infection tend to be more harmful in terms of expression shifting patterns, and that there is no significant change after that, followed by a set of genes that are consistently altered. PI3K, cAMP, TGF, TNF, Rap1, NF-kB, Apoptosis, Longevity regulating pathway, signaling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells, Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, p53 signaling, Wnt signaling, Toll-like receptor signaling, and Hippo signaling pathways are just a few of the most commonly enriched pathways. The majority of these pathways are well-known for their roles in the immune system, infection and inflammation, and human illnesses like cancer. We also find that ADCY8, MYC, PTK2, CTNNB1, TP53, RB1, PRKCA, TCF7L2, PAK1, ITPR2, CYP3A4, UGT1A6, GCK, and FGFR2/3 appear to be among the prominent genes based on the networks of genes and pathways based on the copy number alterations, mutations, and structural variants study.

Transcription Factors as Targets of Natural Compounds in Age-Related Diseases and Cancer: Potential Therapeutic Applications

Inflammation exacerbates systemic pathophysiological conditions and chronic inflammation is a sustained and systemic phenomenon that aggravates aging that can lead to chronic age-related diseases. These inflammatory phenomena have recently been redefined and delineated at the molecular, cellular, and systemic levels. Many transcription factors that are activated in response to tumor metabolic state have been reported to be regulated by a class of histone deacetylase called sirtuins (SIRTs). Sirtuins play a pivotal role in the regulation of tumor cell metabolism, proliferation, and angiogenesis, including oxidative stress and inflammation. The SIRT1-mediated signaling pathway in diabetes and cancer is the SIRT1/forkhead-box class O (FoxO)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway. In this review, we describe the accumulation of SIRT1-, NF-κB-, and FoxO-mediated inflammatory processes and cellular proinflammatory signaling pathways. We also describe the proinflammatory mechanisms underlying metabolic molecular pathways in various diseases such as liver cancer and diabetes. Finally, the regulation of cancer and diabetes through the anti-inflammatory effects of natural compounds is highlighted. Evidence from inflammation studies strongly suggests that cells may be a major source of cytokines secreted during various diseases. A better understanding of the mechanisms that underpin the inflammatory response and palliative role of natural compounds will provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of inflammation and various diseases for potential intervention.

Synthesis of Silver Nano Particles Using Myricetin and the In-Vitro Assessment of Anti-Colorectal Cancer Activity: In-Silico Integration

The creation of novel anticancer treatments for a variety of human illnesses, including different malignancies and dangerous microbes, also potentially depends on nanoparticles including silver. Recently, it has been successful to biologically synthesize metal nanoparticles using plant extracts. The natural flavonoid 3,3′, 4′, 5,5′, and 7 hexahydroxyflavon (myricetin) has anticancer properties. There is not much known about the regulatory effects of myricetin on the possible cell fate-determination mechanisms (such as apoptosis/proliferation) in colorectal cancer. Because the majority of investigations related to the anticancer activity of myricetin have dominantly focused on the enhancement of tumor cell uncontrolled growth (i.e., apoptosis). Thus, we have decided to explore the potential myricetin interactors and the associated biological functions by using an in-silico approach. Then, we focused on the main goal of the work which involved the synthesis of silver nanoparticles and the labeling of myricetin with it. The synthesized silver nanoparticles were examined using UV-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. In this study, we have investigated the effects of myricetin on colorectal cancer where numerous techniques were used to show myricetin’s effect on colon cancer cells. Transmission Electron Microscopy was employed to monitor morphological changes. Furthermore, we have combined the results of the colorectal cancer gene expression dataset with those of the myricetin interactors and pathways. Based on the results, we conclude that myricetin is able to efficiently kill human colorectal cancer cell lines. Since, it shares important biological roles and possible route components and this myricetin may be a promising herbal treatment for colorectal cancer as per an in-silico analysis of the TCGA dataset.