Natural Modulators of the TP53 Pathway: Potential Herbal and Plant-Derived Agents for Cancer Therapy.
Nandi S, Naskar A, Khatua S, Acharya K, Büsselberg D
Medicinal Plants
PubMedHerbs growing in your garden or spices sitting in your kitchen cabinet are actively being studied by cancer researchers as potential treatments for some of the deadliest tumors known to medicine.
Every cell in your body has a built-in guardian protein that detects damage and destroys cells before they turn cancerous — but in about half of all cancers, that guardian is broken. Scientists are combing through traditional medicinal plants to find natural substances that can fix or work around that broken guardian. This review rounds up the most promising plant-based compounds discovered so far and explains how they might be developed into real cancer treatments.
Key Findings
Mutations in the TP53 tumor suppressor gene occur in approximately 50% of all human cancers, spanning at least seven major cancer types including breast, lung, and colon.
Multiple natural compounds derived from medicinal plants have been identified that can specifically target mutant forms of the p53 protein in cancer cells.
Plant-derived agents can modulate at least four key cancer-suppressing processes controlled by p53: cell cycle arrest, programmed cell death (apoptosis), cellular aging (senescence), and DNA repair.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers reviewed how natural compounds found in medicinal plants can target a critical cancer-suppressing protein called p53, which is broken in roughly half of all human cancers. These plant-derived agents offer a promising, less toxic avenue for both treating and preventing cancer.
Abstract Preview
The transcription factor p53, often called the "guardian of the genome," is critical for preserving genomic integrity. Mutations in the TP53 gene are found in approximately half of all human malign...
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