Li Xiaonan, Cao Donghui, Sun Siming, Wang Yuehui
Department of Geriatrics, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Department of Clinical Research, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2023 Jul 26;14:1215020. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1215020. eCollection 2023.
Dysregulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and ROS-regulated pathways in cancer cells leads to abnormal accumulation of reactive oxygen species, displaying a double-edged role in cancer progression, either supporting transformation/proliferation and stimulating tumorigenesis or inducing cell death. Cancer cells can accommodate reactive oxygen species by regulating them at levels that allow the activation of pro-cancer signaling pathways without inducing cell death via modulation of the antioxidant defense system. Therefore, targeting reactive oxygen species is a promising approach for cancer treatment. Ginsenosides, their derivatives, and related drug carriers are well-positioned to modulate multiple signaling pathways by regulating oxidative stress-mediated cellular and molecular targets to induce apoptosis; regulate cell cycle arrest and autophagy, invasion, and metastasis; and enhance the sensitivity of drug-resistant cells to chemotherapeutic agents of different cancers depending on the type, level, and source of reactive oxygen species, and the type and stage of the cancer. Our review focuses on the pro- and anticancer effects of reactive oxygen species, and summarizes the mechanisms and recent advances in different ginsenosides that bring about anticancer effects by targeting reactive oxygen species, providing new ideas for designing further anticancer studies or conducting more preclinical and clinical studies.
癌细胞中活性氧（ROS）生成及ROS调节通路的失调会导致活性氧异常积累，在癌症进展中发挥双刃剑作用，既支持细胞转化/增殖并刺激肿瘤发生，又诱导细胞死亡。癌细胞可通过调节抗氧化防御系统，将活性氧维持在既能激活促癌信号通路又不诱导细胞死亡的水平，从而适应活性氧。因此，靶向活性氧是一种很有前景的癌症治疗方法。人参皂苷及其衍生物以及相关药物载体能够通过调节氧化应激介导的细胞和分子靶点来诱导细胞凋亡，从而调节多种信号通路；调节细胞周期阻滞和自噬、侵袭及转移；并根据活性氧的类型、水平和来源以及癌症的类型和阶段，增强耐药细胞对不同癌症化疗药物的敏感性。我们的综述聚焦于活性氧的促癌和抗癌作用，并总结了不同人参皂苷通过靶向活性氧发挥抗癌作用的机制及最新进展，为设计进一步的抗癌研究或开展更多临床前和临床研究提供新思路。
