Abstract
Cardiac glycosides are natural sterols and constitute a group of secondary metabolites isolated from plants and animals. These cardiotonic agents are well recognized and accepted in the treatment of various cardiac diseases as they can increase the rate of cardiac contractions by acting on the cellular sodium potassium ATPase pump. However, a growing number of recent efforts were focused on exploring the antitumor and antiviral potential of these compounds. Several reports suggest their antitumor properties and hence, today cardiac glycosides (CG) represent the most diversified naturally derived compounds strongly recommended for the treatment of various cancers. Mutated or dysregulated transcription factors have also gained prominence as potential therapeutic targets that can be selectively targeted. Thus, we have explored the recent advances in CGs mediated cancer scope and have considered various signaling pathways, molecular aberration, transcription factors (TFs), and oncogenic genes to highlight potential therapeutic targets in cancer management.
Highlights
The incidence and mortality of cancer are forecast to rise to 19.3 million cases and 10 million deaths in 2021, making it the second most prevalent cause of death
We identify the functional potential of cardiac glycosides (CG) in inhibiting tumor growth
The cardiotonic steroid bufalin was found in the dried venom obtained from the parotoid gland of the Chinese bufo toad, and steroids including marinobufagenin and telocinobufagin were isolated from the skin sample secretions of the Brazilian toad, Bufo rubescens, and the giant neotropical marine toad Rhinella marina [31,32]
Summary
The incidence and mortality of cancer are forecast to rise to 19.3 million cases and 10 million deaths in 2021, making it the second most prevalent cause of death. Some common reasons for cancer include spontaneous or environmentallyinduced accumulation of genetic and epigenetic aberrations in the genome, leading to an uncontrolled proliferation of tumor cells [2,3] It can result from dysregulation in transcription regulating network proteins such as transcription factors (TFs). Myriads of plant-derived compounds with anticancer properties were identified that could act on various pathways to inhibit carcinogenesis. Recent studies have delineated that CGs exhibit an immense potential to directly or indirectly inhibit the activation of the TFs such as NF-κB, FGF-2, STAT-3, HIF-1α, and suppress tumor growth [16,17]. This review pursues the recent insights into the therapeutic strategies of targeting signaling pathways in cancer and emphasizes the importance of natural agents that can regulate the aberrations caused. We identify the functional potential of CGs in inhibiting tumor growth
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