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Review
. 2022 Aug 24;11(17):2191.
doi: 10.3390/plants11172191.

Countering Triple Negative Breast Cancer via Impeding Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling, a Phytotherapeutic Approach

Laleh Arzi  1 , Homa Mollaei  2 , Reyhane Hoshyar  3
Affiliations
Review

Countering Triple Negative Breast Cancer via Impeding Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling, a Phytotherapeutic Approach

Laleh Arzi et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized as a heterogeneous disease with severe malignancy and high mortality. Aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signaling is responsible for self-renewal and mammosphere generation, metastasis and resistance to apoptosis and chemotherapy in TNBC. Nonetheless, in the absence of a targeted therapy, chemotherapy is regarded as the exclusive treatment strategy for the treatment of TNBC. This review aims to provide an unprecedented overview of the plants and herbal derivatives which repress the progression of TNBC through prohibiting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Herbal medicine extracts and bioactive compounds (alkaloids, retinoids. flavonoids, terpenes, carotenoids and lignans) alone, in combination with each other and/or with chemotherapy agents could interrupt the various steps of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, i.e., WNT, FZD, LRP, GSK3β, Dsh, APC, β-catenin and TCF/LEF. These phytotherapy agents diminish proliferation, metastasis, breast cancer stem cell self-renewal and induce apoptosis in cell and animal models of TNBC through the down-expression of the downstream target genes of Wnt signaling. Some of the herbal derivatives simultaneously impede Wnt/β-catenin signaling and other overactive pathways in triple negative breast cancer, including: mTORC1; ER stress and SATB1 signaling. The herbal remedies and their bioactive ingredients perform essential roles in the treatment of the very fatal TNBC via repression of Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Keywords: Wnt/β-catenin; anti-cancer; bioactive derivative; herbal medicine; triple negative breast cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of natural derivatives combating TNBC through interfering with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway (Pubchem).
Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of natural derivatives combating TNBC through interfering with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway (Pubchem).
Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structure of natural derivatives combating TNBC through interfering with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway (Pubchem).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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