Alkaloids Exert Anti-Cancer Effects Through Induction of ER Stress Pathways
Keywords:
alkaloids, endoplasmic reticulum stress, anticancer, apoptosisAbstract
Alkaloids are natural compounds found in various plants and are important constituents of anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antitussive, antihypertensive, antioxidant, and anticancer properties such as lung, breast, and prostate cancer. Currently, cancer cells have developed survival mechanisms to escape chemotherapy, such as increased cell proliferation, activation of DNA repair, and prevention of programmed cell death, which leads to chemotherapy failure. Therefore, researchers have been studying and investigating mechanisms to inhibit cancer development or kill cancer cells, while also reducing the side effects of chemotherapy. This short review discusses the anticancer potential of alkaloid extracts, which can inhibit cancer development or kill cancer through molecular mechanisms involving endoplasmic reticulum stress. This is triggered by the activation of three signaling pathways are the PERK pathway, the IRE-1α pathway, and the ATF-6 pathway, which lead to apoptosis cell death. Based on these molecular mechanisms of alkaloid extracts, it is evident that have the potential to prevent and kill cancer cells through activation of the PERK, IRE-1α, and ATF-6 signaling pathways, which could be beneficial for research. However, the development of alkaloid extracts into drugs for cancer treatment would require further clinical studies.
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