Chapter 5 - Role of Phytochemicals in MAPK Signaling Pathway-Mediated Apoptosis: A Possible Strategy in Cancer Chemoprevention

Abstract

Abstract Chemopreventive approaches provide embodiment of evidences in curbing the most fatal disease, ie, cancer at its early stages before the manifestation of its metastatic characteristics. Recent advances in the field of cancer research focuses on the molecular pathways involved in the multistage process of carcinogenesis and avenues in designing new drugs from chemopreventive agents, targeting specific pathways like mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), NF-kappa B, AP-1 etc. MAPK cascades are evolutionarily conserved multifunctional interactive networks in the repertoire of signaling molecules that regulate an enormous array of cellular stimuli and most of the cancer cases are associated with the deregulation of MAPK (ERK, JNK, and p38) signaling pathways. Meta-analysis of epidemiological studies have revealed the use of nonnutritive and dietary phytochemicals viz. phenols, alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, lycopene, capsaicin, S-allyl cysteine, and curcumin in modulating the MAPK modules for tailoring cancer preventive and therapeutic strategies. According to the current scenario, phytochemicals are nontoxic, safe, and effective natural products derived from plants which are capable of inhibiting the development of tumor through the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in cancerous cells and other experimental animal models. However, certain prospective trails have investigated the underlying mechanism of a variety of phytochemicals that can act on one or multiple molecular targets so as to modulate the cellular processes like cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, angiogenesis, migration, apoptosis, and senescence. The aim of this review is to highlight the role of MAPKs signaling pathway-mediated apoptosis, targeted by chemopreventive agents in fabricating novel strategies to encompass the complexity of carcinogenesis.