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Review
. 2017 Jun 1;18(6):1178.
doi: 10.3390/ijms18061178.

Dietary Intervention by Phytochemicals and Their Role in Modulating Coding and Non-Coding Genes in Cancer

Liviuta Budisan  1 , Diana Gulei  2 , Oana Mihaela Zanoaga  3 , Alexandra Iulia Irimie  4 , Chira Sergiu  5 , Cornelia Braicu  6 , Claudia Diana Gherman  7   8 , Ioana Berindan-Neagoe  9   10   11
Affiliations
Review

Dietary Intervention by Phytochemicals and Their Role in Modulating Coding and Non-Coding Genes in Cancer

Liviuta Budisan et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Phytochemicals are natural compounds synthesized as secondary metabolites in plants, representing an important source of molecules with a wide range of therapeutic applications. These natural agents are important regulators of key pathological processes/conditions, including cancer, as they are able to modulate the expression of coding and non-coding transcripts with an oncogenic or tumour suppressor role. These natural agents are currently exploited for the development of therapeutic strategies alone or in tandem with conventional treatments for cancer. The aim of this paper is to review the recent studies regarding the role of these natural phytochemicals in different processes related to cancer inhibition, including apoptosis activation, angiogenesis and metastasis suppression. From the large palette of phytochemicals we selected epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), genistein, morin and kaempferol, due to their increased activity in modulating multiple coding and non-coding genes, targeting the main hallmarks of cancer.

Keywords: apoptosis; cancer; coding and non-coding RNA; miRNAs; phytochemicals.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The main classes of phytochemicals and their bioavailability.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The summary of the workflow in the identification of the novel bioactive agent is extraction, fractionation, then cell culture based test to evaluate the effects at cellular and molecular level of the bioactive extract and validation on animal models of the most relevant finding and the final step of a novel treatment is the clinical trials evaluation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Involvement of dietary phytochemicals in the modulation of oncogenic/tumour suppressor miRNAs, interfering with key cellular and molecular processes (↑: upregulated miRNA; ↓: downregulated miRNAs).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effects of phytochemicals on regulation the expression of tumour suppressor miRNA and oncomiRNA, with important significance in tumoural pathology. Red arrows display multiple interventional targets of selected phytochemicals on miRNA biogenesis, with important role in the modulation of physiological and pathological processes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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