Department of Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea.
Department of Energy and Materials Engineering, Dongguk University-Seoul, Seoul 100-715, Republic of Korea.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2023 Dec;168:115811. doi: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115811. Epub 2023 Nov 2.
Currently, cancer is one of the main research topics, due to its high incidence and drug resistance to existing anti-cancer drugs. Formononetin, a natural product with phytoestrogenic properties and diverse biological functions, has attracted the attention of researchers working on anticancer drugs. Formononetin emerges as an intriguing bioactive substance compared to other isoflavones as it exhibits potent chemotherapeutic activity with less toxicity. Formononetin effectively plays a significant role in inhibiting cell proliferation, invasion, and metastatic abilities of cancer cells by targeting major signaling pathways at the junction of interconnected pathways. It also induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest by modulating mediator proteins. It causes upregulation of key factors such as p-AKT, p38, p21, and p53 and downregulation of NF-κB. Furthermore, formononetin regulates the neoplastic microenvironment by inactivating the ERK1/2 pathway and lamin A/C signaling and has been reported to inactivate JAK/STAT, PKB or AKT, and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways and to suppress cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis in human cancer cells. To assist researchers in further exploring formononetin as a potential anticancer therapeutic candidate, this review focuses on both in vitro and in vivo proof of concept studies, patents, and clinical trials pertinent to formononetin's anticancer properties. Overall, this review discusses formononetin from a comprehensive perspective to highlight its potential benefits as an anticancer agent.
目前，癌症是主要的研究课题之一，这是由于其发病率高和现有抗癌药物的耐药性。芒柄花素是一种具有植物雌激素特性和多种生物学功能的天然产物，引起了从事抗癌药物研究的研究人员的关注。与其他异黄酮相比，芒柄花素作为一种有前途的生物活性物质，其具有更强的化疗活性和更低的毒性。芒柄花素通过靶向相互连接的信号通路的交界处的主要信号通路，有效地在抑制癌细胞增殖、侵袭和转移能力方面发挥重要作用。它还通过调节介体蛋白诱导细胞凋亡和细胞周期停滞。它导致关键因子如 p-AKT、p38、p21 和 p53 的上调和 NF-κB 的下调。此外，芒柄花素通过使 ERK1/2 途径和 lamin A/C 信号失活来调节肿瘤微环境，并已被报道可使 JAK/STAT、PKB 或 AKT 和丝裂原激活蛋白激酶途径失活，并抑制人癌细胞的迁移、侵袭和血管生成。为了帮助研究人员进一步探索芒柄花素作为一种有潜力的抗癌治疗候选药物，本综述重点介绍了芒柄花素在体外和体内的概念验证研究、专利和临床试验，这些研究均与芒柄花素的抗癌特性有关。总的来说，本综述从全面的角度讨论了芒柄花素，以强调其作为抗癌剂的潜在益处。
