Zeitschrift für Karzinogenese und Mutagenese

Abstrakt

Cell-Cell Communications: New Insights in Targeting Tight Junctions through Phytochemicals for Potential Cancer Therapeutic Adjuvants

Santhi Latha Pandrangi*, Prasanthi Chittineedi, Juan Alejandro Neira Mosquera, Sungey Naynee Sánchez Llaguno, Gooty Jaffer Mohiddin

Cancer is a cellular impairment disorder characterized by the loss of cell cycle regulation leading to aberrant cell proliferation. Cell-cell communication plays a crucial role in cell signaling which is highly disrupted in various malignancies. Tight Junctions (TJs) are major proteins that regulate the proper communication. Dysregulation of TJ proteins make these tumor cells more aggressive leading to tumor invasion and metastasis. Hence targeting TJs might be the novel insights in targeting these highly invasive, metastatic tumors. Due to the prohibitive costs of treatments, side effects and development of resistance, the herbal medications comprising bioactive ingredients became more popular for various human ailments. Unfortunately, the importance of natural compounds has significantly reduced due to the development of modern synthetic techniques to formulate drugs. However, the pharmaceutical industry that adopts chemistry-based drug development in combination with high throughput synthesis has not resulted in expected drug productivity. Hence, focus was shifted back to the natural compounds in search of novel drugs with advanced technology to isolate the biologically active compound from the natural compounds. The current review delivers the importance of TJ regulation, promotion of TJ regulation through phytochemicals for targeting malignant tumor cells.