Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43614, USA.
Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, St. John's University Queens, New York, NY 11432, USA.
Nutrients. 2017 Aug 21;9(8):911. doi: 10.3390/nu9080911.
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has received significant interest as a novel target in cancer prevention, metastasis, and resistance. The conversion of cells from an epithelial, adhesive state to a mesenchymal, motile state is one of the key events in the development of cancer metastasis. Polyphenols have been reported to be efficacious in the prevention of cancer and reversing cancer progression. Recently, the antimetastatic efficacy of polyphenols has been reported, thereby expanding the potential use of these compounds beyond chemoprevention. Polyphenols may affect EMT pathways, which are involved in cancer metastasis; for example, polyphenols increase the levels of epithelial markers, but downregulate the mesenchymal markers. Polyphenols also alter the level of expression and functionality of important proteins in other signaling pathways that control cellular mesenchymal characteristics. However, the specific proteins that are directly affected by polyphenols in these signaling pathways remain to be elucidated. The aim of this review is to analyze current evidence regarding the role of polyphenols in attenuating EMT-mediated cancer progression and metastasis. We also discuss the role of the most important polyphenol subclasses and members of the polyphenols in reversing metastasis and targeting EMT. Finally, limitations and future directions to improve our understanding in this field are discussed.
上皮-间充质转化 (EMT) 作为癌症预防、转移和耐药的新靶点受到了广泛关注。细胞从上皮、黏附状态向间质、运动状态的转化是癌症转移发展的关键事件之一。多酚已被报道在预防癌症和逆转癌症进展方面具有疗效。最近，多酚的抗转移功效已被报道，从而扩大了这些化合物在化学预防之外的潜在用途。多酚可能会影响 EMT 途径，该途径参与癌症转移；例如，多酚会增加上皮标志物的水平，但下调间充质标志物的水平。多酚还会改变控制细胞间质特征的其他信号通路中重要蛋白质的表达和功能水平。然而，多酚在这些信号通路中直接影响的特定蛋白质仍有待阐明。本综述旨在分析关于多酚在减轻 EMT 介导的癌症进展和转移方面的作用的现有证据。我们还讨论了最重要的多酚亚类和多酚成员在逆转转移和靶向 EMT 方面的作用。最后，讨论了限制因素和未来方向，以提高我们在这一领域的认识。
