The Impact of Oxidative Stress and AKT Pathway on Cancer Cell Functions and Its Application to Natural Products

• Published in: Antioxidants Vol. 11; no. 9; p. 1845
• Main Authors: Shiau, Jun-Ping, Chuang, Ya-Ting, Tang, Jen-Yang, Yang, Kun-Han, Chang, Fang-Rong, Hou, Ming-Feng, Yen, Ching-Yu, Chang, Hsueh-Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 19.09.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: AKT protein; AKT signaling; Apoptosis; Autophagy; Cancer; Cancer cells; Cancer therapies; cancer therapy; cell cycle; cell function; Cell migration; DNA damage; Drugs; Endoplasmic reticulum; endoplasmic reticulum stress; Ferroptosis; Health aspects; Homeostasis; Hypoxia; Kinases; Metabolism; Mitochondria; Mitochondrial DNA; Morphogenesis; natural product; Natural products; Necroptosis; neoplasm cells; Oxidation; Oxidative stress; Phosphorylation; Prostate; Protein-serine/threonine kinase; Proteins; Review; Senescence; Taiwan; cell function; AKT signaling; natural product; oxidative stress
• ISSN: 2076-3921; 2076-3921
• DOI: 10.3390/antiox11091845

Oxidative stress and AKT serine-threonine kinase (AKT) are responsible for regulating several cell functions of cancer cells. Several natural products modulate both oxidative stress and AKT for anticancer effects. However, the impact of natural product-modulating oxidative stress and AKT on cell functions lacks systemic understanding. Notably, the contribution of regulating cell functions by AKT downstream effectors is not yet well integrated. This review explores the role of oxidative stress and AKT pathway (AKT/AKT effectors) on ten cell functions, including apoptosis, autophagy, endoplasmic reticulum stress, mitochondrial morphogenesis, ferroptosis, necroptosis, DNA damage response, senescence, migration, and cell-cycle progression. The impact of oxidative stress and AKT are connected to these cell functions through cell function mediators. Moreover, the AKT effectors related to cell functions are integrated. Based on this rationale, natural products with the modulating abilities for oxidative stress and AKT pathway exhibit the potential to regulate these cell functions, but some were rarely reported, particularly for AKT effectors. This review sheds light on understanding the roles of oxidative stress and AKT pathway in regulating cell functions, providing future directions for natural products in cancer treatment.