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Review
. 2020 Jan 30:12:695-702.
doi: 10.2147/CMAR.S242329. eCollection 2020.

The Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Berberine: A Review

Ye Wang #  1 , Yanfang Liu #  1 , Xinyang Du  1 , Hong Ma  1 , Jing Yao  1
Affiliations
Review

The Anti-Cancer Mechanisms of Berberine: A Review

Ye Wang et al. Cancer Manag Res. .

Abstract

Berberine (BBR) has been extensively studied in vivo and vitro experiments. BBR inhibits cell proliferation by regulating cell cycle and cell autophagy, and promoting cell apoptosis. BBR also inhibits cell invasion and metastasis by suppressing EMT and down-regulating the expression of metastasis-related proteins and signaling pathways. In addition, BBR inhibits cell proliferation by interacting with microRNAs and suppressing telomerase activity. BBR exerts its anti-inflammation and antioxidant properties, and also regulates tumor microenvironment. This review emphasized that BBR as a potential anti-inflammation and antioxidant agent, also as an effective immunomodulator, is expected to be widely used in clinic for cancer therapy.

Keywords: anti-tumor; berberine; cancer; traditional Chinese medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The anti-cancer mechanisms of berberine.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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