Apoptotic and antimetastatic effect of cucurbitacins in cancer: recent trends and advancement

• Published in: Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology Vol. 396; no. 9; pp. 1867 - 1878
• Main Authors: Kumar, Ajay, Sharma, Bunty, Sharma, Ujjawal, Parashar, Gaurav, Parashar, Nidarshana Chaturvedi, Rani, Isha, Ramniwas, Seema, Kaur, Satwinderjeet, Haque, Shafiul, Tuli, Hardeep Singh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 1-Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase; AKT protein; Antioxidants; Antitumor activity; Apoptosis; Archives & records; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Cancer; Cell cycle; Cell migration; Cell Proliferation; Colorectal cancer; Cucurbitacins - pharmacology; Cucurbitacins - therapeutic use; Free radicals; Health sciences; Herbal medicine; Humans; Lung cancer; MAP kinase; Metabolites; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neoplasms - pathology; Neurosciences; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; R&D; Research & development; Review; Secondary metabolites; Stat3 protein; Trends; Triterpenes - pharmacology; Triterpenes - therapeutic use; Wnt protein; Cell cycle arrest; Cucurbitacins; Antimetastatic; Invasion; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0028-1298; 1432-1912
• DOI: 10.1007/s00210-023-02471-z

The Cucurbitaceae family produces a class of secondary metabolites known as cucurbitacins. The eight cucurbitacin subunits are cucurbitacin B, D, E, I, IIa, L glucoside, Q, and R with the most significant anticancer activity. They are reported to inhibit cell proliferation, invasion, and migration; induce apoptosis; and encourage cell cycle arrest, as some of their modes of action. The JAK-STAT3, Wnt, PI3K/Akt, and MAPK signaling pathways, which are essential for the survival and apoptosis of cancer cells, have also been shown to be suppressed by cucurbitacins. The goal of the current study is to summarize potential molecular targets that cucurbitacins could inhibit in order to suppress various malignant processes. The review is noteworthy since it presents all putative molecular targets for cucurbitacins in cancer on a single podium.