The Role of Polyphenols in Overcoming Cancer Drug Resistance: a Comprehensive Review

Overview

Journal Cell Mol Biol Lett

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Biochemistry
Cell Biology
Molecular Biology

Date 2022 Jan 4

PMID 34979906

Citations 62

Authors

Parisa Maleki Dana

Fatemeh Sadoughi

Zatollah Asemi

Bahman Yousefi

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Chemotherapeutic drugs are used to treat advanced stages of cancer or following surgery. However, cancers often develop resistance against drugs, leading to failure of treatment and recurrence of the disease. Polyphenols are a family of organic compounds with more than 10,000 members which have a three-membered flavan ring system in common. These natural compounds are known for their beneficial properties, such as free radical scavenging, decreasing oxidative stress, and modulating inflammation. Herein, we discuss the role of polyphenols (mainly curcumin, resveratrol, and epigallocatechin gallate [EGCG]) in different aspects of cancer drug resistance. Increasing drug uptake by tumor cells, decreasing drug metabolism by enzymes (e.g. cytochromes and glutathione-S-transferases), and reducing drug efflux are some of the mechanisms by which polyphenols increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents. Polyphenols also affect other targets for overcoming chemoresistance in cancer cells, including cell death (i.e. autophagy and apoptosis), EMT, ROS, DNA repair processes, cancer stem cells, and epigenetics (e.g. miRNAs).

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