Lectins as a promising therapeutic agent for breast cancer: A review.

Efficient treatment of cancer has been a subject of research by scientists for many years. Current treatments for cancer, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery have been used in traditional combination therapy, but they have major setbacks like non-specificity, non-responsiveness in certain cancer types towards treatment, tumor recurrence, etc. Epidemiological data has shown that breast cancer accounts for 14% of cancer cases occurring in Indian women. In recent years, scientists have started to focus on the use of natural compounds like lectins obtained from various sources to counter the side effects of traditional therapy. Lectins like Sambucus nigra Agglutinin, Maackia amurensis lectin, Okra lectins, Haliclona caerulea lectin, Sclerotium rolfsii lectin, etc., have been discovered to have both diagnostic and therapeutic potential for breast cancer patients. Lectins have been found to have inhibitory effects on various cancer cell activities such as neo-angiogenesis, causing cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase, and inducing apoptosis. The major idea behind the use of lectins in cancer diagnostics and therapeutics is their capability to bind to glycosylated proteins that are expressed on the cell surface. This review focuses on an exploration of the roles of post-translational modification in cancer cells, especially glycosylation, and the potential of lectins in cancer diagnosis and therapeutics.

Analysis of Inhibition Potential of Nimbin and its Analogs against NF-κB Subunits P50 and P65: A Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Study.

BACKGROUND: Cancer remains the major cause of morbidity and mortality. The nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) plays an indispensable role in cancer cell proliferation and drug resistance. The role of NF-κB is not only limited to tumor cell proliferation and suppression of apoptotic genes but it also induces EMT transition responsible for metastasis. Inhibition of the NF-κB pathway in cancer cells by herbal derivatives makes it a favorable yet promising target for cancer therapeutics. AIM: The purpose of the study is to explore the inhibition potential of Nimbin and its analogs against NF-κB subunits p50 and p65. METHODS: In the present study, an herbal compound Nimbin and its derivative analogs were investigated to examine their impact on the p50 and p65 subunits of the NF-κB signaling pathway using in-silico tools, namely molecular docking and simulation. RESULTS: The molecular docking analysis revealed that Nimbin and its analogs may bind to p50 and p65 subunits with dG bind values ranging from -33.23 to -50.49Kcal/mol. Interestingly, molecular dynamic simulation for the NO5-p65 complex displayed a stable conformation and convergence when compared to the NO4-p50 complex. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that NO5 may have a potential inhibitory effect against NF-κB subunit p65, which needs to be further validated in in-vitro and in-vivo systems. Also, the results obtained emphasize and pave the way for exploring the Nimbin scaffold against NF-κB inhibition for cancer therapeutics.