Protein therapeutics as an emerging strategy to deal with skin cancer: A short review.

Cancer has turned into a global menace with an exponential increase in the rate of death every year. Amongst all forms of cancers, skin cancer is the one becoming more common day by day because of the increased exposure to ultraviolet rays, chemicals, pollutants, etc. Skin cancer is of three types namely basal cell, squamous cell and melanoma which is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer with a low survival rate and easy relapse. Melanoma is also notorious for being multi-drug resistant which accounts for its low survival rates in it. Many kinds of therapeutics are been practiced in the contemporary world, but among them, protein therapeutics is been emerging as a promising field with multiple molecular pathway targets that have revolutionized the science of oncology. Proteins acts as small-molecule targets for cancer cells by binding to the cell surface receptors. Proteins including bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) and some toxin proteins are been tried on for dealing with melanoma targeting the major pathways including MAPK, NF-κB and PI3K/AKT. The protein therapeutics also targets the tumour microenvironment including myofibrils, lymphatic vessels etc., thus inducing tumour cell death. In the review, several kinds of proteins and their function toward cell death will be highlighted in the context of skin cancer. In addition to this, the review will look into the inhibition of the function of other inflammatory pathways by inflammasomes and cytokines, both of which have a role in preventing cancer.

Cancer-Preventive Activity of Argemone mexicana Linn Leaves and Its Effect on TNF-α and NF-κB Signalling.

Skin cancer is the 5th most common cancer in Western countries with a surge in case occurrences making it a global burden on healthcare systems. The present study aims to evaluate the cancer-preventive activity of an ethanolic extract of Argemone mexicana Linn leaves (AML). The DMBA/TPA method was used to induce skin cancer in mice. Experimental animals were divided into three pretreatment groups of 100 mg/kg BW, 250 mg/kg BW, and 500 mg/kg BW of AML extract, and feeding was continued during the induction process. In the fourth group, 500 mg/kg BW AML extract treatment was started along with the cancer induction. The analyses were performed on the basis of the time period of in-tumour induction incidence, haematological parameters, histopathology and augmentation of TNF-α secretion and the NF-κB (p65 subunit) signalling pathway. The AML extract resisted and delayed tumour formation for up to 8 weeks in the 500 mg/kg BW pretreated group as compared to 4 weeks in the negative control group. The tumour burden varied in a dose-dependent manner in the different groups. On the 60th day, a significantly high burden (p < 0.001) was observed in the negative control group and the 100 mg/kg BW group. The study was validated by investigating the expression of TNF-α and the p65 subunit of the NF-κB signalling pathway, which were found to be reduced significantly in a dose-dependent manner and significantly reduced (p < 0.001) in the 500 mg/kg BW group as compared to negative control group. The 500 mg/kg BW pretreated group was found to have significant results in comparison to the 500 mg/kg BW post-treatment group. The study revealed the effective cancer preventive activity of Argemone mexicana Linn leaves (AML) in the mouse model and paved a pathway for molecular approaches which could be explored more in future studies.