Akt Signal Transduction Pathways and Nuclear Factor-kappa B (NF-κB) Transcription as a Molecular Target of Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SP-C1) Using Papua's Anthill Plant ( Myrmecodia pendans )

Tumour microenvironment and aberrant signaling pathways in cisplatin resistance and strategies to overcome in oral cancer

OBJECTIVE

Oral cancer is the sixteenth most prevalent cancer in the world and the third-most in India. Despite of several treatment modalities, the cure rate of oral cancer is still low due to drug resistance mechanisms, which are caused by many reasons. It is necessary to improve the existing treatment strategies and discover neoteric therapy to kill cancer cells, which will give oral cancer's cure rate more success. So this review aims to delineate the molecular mechanisms behind cisplatin resistance, specifically the role of the tumor microenvironment, extracellular vesicles, and altered signaling pathways and its overcoming strategies in oral cancer.

DESIGN

This review was designed by searching words like cancer, oral cancer, cisplatin-resistance, tumor microenvironment, aberrant signalings, and extracellular vesicles, overcoming strategies for cisplatin resistance in databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, web science, and Scopus. Data available in this review is from 2017 to 2021.

RESULTS

After searching too much data, we found these 98 data appropriate for our review. From these data, we found that tumor microenvironment, extracellular vesicles, and altered signaling pathways like PI3K/AKT, EGFR, NOTCH, Ras, PTEN, Nf-κβ, and Wnt signaling have a crucial role in resistance development towards cisplatin in oral cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Lastly, this review explores the alternative strategies to overcome cisplatin resistance likely, the combination therapy and targeted therapy by combining more than one chemotherapeutic drug or inhibitors of signaling pathways and also by using nanoparticle loaded drugs that will reduce the drug efflux, which gives new treatment strategies.

Slow-type Interval Training and Ethanol Extract of Sarang Semut (Myrmecodia pendans) can Improve the Early Lesions of Atherosclerosis in Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus Rats

BACKGROUND: Macrovascular complications in diabetes mellitus (DM) are the most common cause of death in DM patients. The formation of foam cells on the endothelium is an early marker of atherosclerotic lesions. Physical exercise and antidiabetic agents are an integral part of the management of DM. AIM: The purpose of this study was to analyze the synergistic effect of slow-type interval training (STIT) and ethanol extract of Sarang Semut (EESS) on the number of foam cells in type-2 DM (T2DM) rats. METHODS: A total of 25 male Wistar rats were induced into a type-2 DM model with a high-fat diet and low-dose Streptozotocin injection. Rats were divided into four groups consisting of G1 (T2DM/T2DM), G2 (T2DM + STIT), G3 (T2DM + EESS), and G4 (T2DM + combination of STIT and EESS). The slow-type interval training exercise is done by running on a treadmill. Ethanol extract of Sarang Semut was given at a dose of 400 mg/kg BW for 8 weeks. Histopathological examination was performed with Hematoxylin-Eosin staining to examine the number of foam cells in the aorta. Ethical approval was obtained from the Health Research Ethics Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sumatera Utara. RESULTS: The results showed that there were differences in the average number of foam cells in each treatment group. The highest number of foam cells was found in the T2DM group. The average number of foam cells was the least in the group that received a combination of STIT and EESS which was statistically different from the group that received STIT (K2) and the group that received EESS (K3). CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the combination of slow-type interval training and ethanol extract of Sarang Semut can reduce the number of foam cells in T2DM rats.

Medicinal Properties of Ant Nest Plant (Myrmecodia Genus): A Comprehensive Review

BACKGROUND: The Myrmecodia genus belongs to the Rubiaceae family, which has the characteristic of an epiphytic plant. This genus spread from Malaysia, through the Philippines, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, New Guinea (Papua), Cape York to the Solomon Islands and Pacific region. It has been empirically proven to treat gout, inflammation, muscle pain relief, strengthen the body’s immunity, and cancer treatment. AIM: This article reviewed the scientific work about the Myrmecodia genus concerning their traditional uses, phytochemical compounds, and pharmacological activities of Myrmecodia. METHODS: The sources were from the scientific literature online database, including Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar between 1978 and 2021. Furthermore, 112 articles were collected, while 61 full-text were assessed for eligibility. RESULTS: The Myrmecodia extract has many pharmacological activities, namely antioxidant, antibacterial, cytotoxic, and anticancer. CONCLUSION: Moreover, this review may be used as scientific literature for the next investigations on the genus Myrmecodia, especially regarding pharmacological properties such as in vitro and in vivo studies and isolation of the active compounds.