Abstract
Plant secondary metabolites (natural products) have been a source for many of our medicines. Their functions in plants remain often unknown, but in recent years there are more and more new compounds isolated and identified and their medicinal potential investigated. The major classes of plant natural products and various derivatives thereof are: phenolics, terpenoids, alkaloids and lignans. The major transcription factor, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is a central downstream regulator of inflammation, cell proliferation and apoptosis that controls the expression of more than 500 genes. It plays an essential role in several aspects of human health including the development of innate and adaptive immunity. The deregulation of NF-κB is associated with many ailments including cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. In spite of a vast literature describing NF-κB inhibitors from many natural or synthetic sources, such modulators have not been fully tapped for therapeutic purposes and the search for effective and specific inhibitors for therapeutic use and minimal side effects is still relevant and ongoing. Plant-derived phytochemicals are promising lead compounds to develop potent and safe inhibitors for cancer and inflammatory disorders driven by NF-κB. We briefly review the recent knowledge on plant derived phytochemicals and their major NF-κB molecular targets.
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Abbreviations
- AMPK:
-
Adenosine monophosphate- activated protein kinase
- AKT:
-
Protein Kinase B
- CBP:
-
CREB binding protein
- COX:
-
Cyclooxygenase
- CXCR CXC:
-
Chemokine receptor
- EGF:
-
Epidermal growth factor
- ERK:
-
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase
- FAK:
-
Focal adhesion kinase
- IAP:
-
Inhibitor of apoptosis
- ICAM:
-
Intracellular adhesion molecule
- IκB:
-
Inhibitor of NF-κB
- IKK:
-
Inhibitor of NF-κB Kinase
- IL-1:
-
Interleukin-1
- LPS:
-
Lipopolysacharide
- MAPK:
-
Mitogen-activated protein kinase
- MMP:
-
Matrix metalloproteinase
- PI3K:
-
Phosphoinositide 3-kinase
- RHD:
-
REL homology domain
- ROS:
-
Reactive oxygen species
- γ-T3:
-
γ-tocotrienol
- TBP:
-
TATA binding protein
- TLR:
-
Toll-like receptor
- TNF:
-
Tumor necrosis factor
- TNFR:
-
Tumor necrosis factor receptor
- VEGF:
-
Vascular endothelial factor
- XIAP:
-
X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Israel Ministry of Health through the Winkselbaum fund, the Israel Cancer Association through the Miriam and Shlomo Hasid Memorial fund, ICA in Israel, Jacobs foundation through BG-Negev and The Richard H. Holzer Foundation. We thank Janet Ozer (M.Sc.) for assistance in preparation of figure 1 and critical reading of the manuscript.
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Golan-Goldhirsh, A., Gopas, J. Plant derived inhibitors of NF-κB. Phytochem Rev 13, 107–121 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-013-9293-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-013-9293-5