Abstract
Autophagy is a universal catabolic cellular process for quality control of cytoplasm and maintenance of cellular homeostasis upon nutrient deprivation and environmental stimulus. It involves the lysosomal degradation of cellular components such as misfolded proteins or damaged organelles. Defects in autophagy are implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases including cancers, myopathy, neurodegenerations, infections and cardiovascular diseases. In the recent decade, traditional drugs with new clinical applications are not only commonly found in Western medicines, but also highlighted in Chinese herbal medicines (CHM). For instance, pharmacological studies have revealed that active components or fractions from Chaihu (Radix bupleuri), Hu Zhang (Rhizoma polygoni cuspidati), Donglingcao (Rabdosia rubesens), Hou po (Cortex magnoliae officinalis) and Chuan xiong (Rhizoma chuanxiong) modulate cancers, neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease via autophagy. These findings shed light on the potential new applications and formulation of CHM decoctions via regulation of autophagy. This article reviews the roles of autophagy in the pharmacological actions of CHM and discusses their new potential clinical applications in various human diseases.
Highlights
Autophagy is the catabolic process in which eukaryotic cells engulf and lysosomally digest intracellular contents
Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) researches have demonstrated that single small-molecules or herbal extracts isolated from herbal medicines such as Bupleurum, curcumin, Polygonum cuspidatum, Rabdosia rubescens, Magnolia hypoleuca, Ligusticum wallichii franchat, and Panax notoginseng can modulate macroautophagy with intervention effects towards tumorigenesis, infectious diseases, as well as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular impairments [36,37,38,39,40,41,42]
Ganoderma lucidum triterpene extract induced autophagy which inhibited the development of colon cancer via p38 MAPK signaling [397]; and suppressed gastric cancer cells through the repression of p62 [399]. All these findings suggest that the traditional therapeutic role of Ganoderma lucidum is in part related to autophagy regulation, which may be responsible for the novel use of the herb in cancer treatment
Summary
Autophagy is the catabolic process in which eukaryotic cells engulf and lysosomally digest intracellular contents. Autophagy-related proteins (Atg) are the main underpinning mechanistic component of macroautophagy. Basal autophagy retains proper physiological functioning of cells through the control of cellular homeostasis, metabolic balance, and protein structural integrity. The macroautophagy inducer metformin has demonstrated cytotoxicity against colon cancer cells with mechanism independent of p53 signaling [24]. Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) researches have demonstrated that single small-molecules or herbal extracts isolated from herbal medicines such as Bupleurum, curcumin, Polygonum cuspidatum, Rabdosia rubescens, Magnolia hypoleuca, Ligusticum wallichii franchat, and Panax notoginseng can modulate macroautophagy with intervention effects towards tumorigenesis, infectious diseases, as well as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular impairments [36,37,38,39,40,41,42]. Further discussion on specific CHMs will focus on their new therapeutic usage through regulation of autophagy
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