Central Research Laboratory, Meenakshi Ammal Dental College, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India.
Department of Biochemistry, Saveetha Dental College & Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai, India.
Phytother Res. 2021 Jun;35(6):3059-3077. doi: 10.1002/ptr.7032. Epub 2021 Feb 8.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are mainstay treatments for cancer patients. However, their clinical outcomes are highly limited by the resistance of malignant tumors to these therapies and the incurrence of serious damages in vital organs. This in turn necessitates the development of adjunct drugs that overcomes chemo/radioresistance in refractory cancers and protects vital organs from the cytotoxic effects of cancer therapies. In recent years, Berberine (BBR), a natural isoquinoline alkaloid has garnered more attention due to its potent chemosensitizing and chemoprotective properties. BBR effectively sensitizes refractory cancers to chemotherapy and radiotherapy by ameliorating the diverse events underlying therapy resistance. Furthermore, it protects the heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys from severe damages caused by these therapies. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms underlying the chemo/radiosensitizing and chemo/radioprotective potential of BBR during cancer treatment. Also, we highlight the limitations that hamper the clinical application of BBR as an adjunct drug and how novel innovations have been made in recent years to circumvent these challenges.
化疗和放疗是癌症患者的主要治疗方法。然而，恶性肿瘤对这些疗法的耐药性以及重要器官发生严重损伤，极大地限制了它们的临床疗效。这反过来又需要开发辅助药物，以克服难治性癌症中的化疗/放疗耐药性，并保护重要器官免受癌症治疗的细胞毒性作用。近年来，由于具有强大的化疗增敏和化学保护特性，天然异喹啉生物碱小檗碱（BBR）受到了更多关注。BBR 通过改善与耐药性相关的多种事件，有效增强了难治性癌症对化疗和放疗的敏感性。此外，它还可以保护心脏、肝脏、肺和肾脏免受这些疗法引起的严重损伤。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了 BBR 在癌症治疗中增强化疗/放疗敏感性和化学/放射保护作用的分子机制。此外，我们还强调了阻碍 BBR 作为辅助药物临床应用的局限性，以及近年来为克服这些挑战所做的创新性努力。
