The therapeutic role of nutraceuticals targeting the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in liver cancer

Abstract

Liver cancer (L.C.) is the most common cause of cancer death in the United States and the fifth most common globally. The overexpression of nuclear factor E2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) caused by oxidative stress has been associated with tumor growth, aggressiveness, treatment resistance, and poor prognosis. Nutraceuticals that inhibit Nrf2/HO-1 signaling may become the most effective strategy to treat liver cancer. Phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables, also known as nutraceuticals, tend to emerge as chemopreventive agents, with the added benefit of low toxicity and high nutritional values. This paper reviews the present scientific knowledge of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling as a possible target molecule for chemotherapeutic agents, its basic control mechanisms, and Nrf2/HO-1 inducers produced from natural products that might be employed as cancer chemopreventive drugs. The growing interest in the contribution of the Nrf2/ARE/HO-1 signaling in the development of liver cancer and the Use of nutraceuticals to treat liver cancer by targeting Nrf2/ARE/HO-1. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: An increase in Nrf2 expression indicates that Nrf2 is the most important player in liver cancer. Cancer patients are more resistant to chemotherapy because of this erroneous Nrf2 signaling. Furthermore, an increasing body of evidence indicates that activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway results in the production of phase II detoxifying and antioxidant enzymes, which serve a defense purpose in cells. As a consequence, treating liver cancer. This master regulator may be a possibility. Nutraceuticals that reduce Nrf2/HO-1 signaling may be the most effective strategy for preventing liver cancer. The methods of action of numerous natural substances are examined in this article.

Keywords: HO-1; Nrf2; liver cancer; nutraceuticals; oxidative stress.