Current Drug Targets - Volume 23, Issue 6, 2022

Breast cancer is the leading cause of deaths worldwide among women. Taxanes (most propitious class of diterpenes) have shown dynamic potentials in the treatment of early and metastatic breast cancer. However, challenges like poor bioavailability, low tissue-permeability, compromised aqueous solubility, and dose-dependent side-effects limit the clinical applications of these drugs. Henceforth, to overcome Read More

The tumor microenvironment (TME) consists of cancer cells that interact with stromal components such as the extracellular matrix, blood, and lymphatic networks, fibroblasts, adipocytes, and the cells of the immune system. Further, the tumor immune microenvironment, majorly represented by the tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIIC), plays an important role in cancer therapeutics and patient prognosis. In fact, a Read More

Despite advances in treatment, individuals diagnosed with cancer are often at risk of suffering from metastasis, tumor recurrence, therapy resistance, and off-target toxicities from conventional chemo-, radio-, and endocrine- therapies. Drugs with potent anticancer and antimetastatic activity but with milder side effects can be combined with conventional therapies to increase efficacy, reduce therapy resistance, and de Read More

Fatty acid binding protein A (A-FABP) is one of FABPs isoforms found mainly in adipose tissue and macrophages. It works through many integrated pathways, regulating inflammation and lipid metabolism, promoting glucose production, impairing insulin function, and contributing to diseases such as atherosclerosis and diabetes. A-FABP is upregulated in the adipose tissue of obese patients and its increased release into the blo Read More

Metabolic reprogramming is considered a major event in cancer initiation, progression and metastasis. The metabolic signature of cancer cells includes alterations in glycolysis, mitochondrial respiration, fatty acid/lipid and amino acid metabolism. Being at a junction of various metabolic pathways, mitochondria play a key role in fueling cancer growth through regulating bioenergetics, metabolism and cell death. Increasin Read More

Background: Triglycerides (TG) are one of the major constituents of body fat and energy reservoir, which consist of an ester derived from glycerol and three free fatty acids. TG lipase, monoacylglycerol lipase, fatty acid synthase, and HMG-CoA reductase are some of the key enzymes related to TG metabolism, and their roles in colorectal cancer (CRC) initiation and progression are under investigation. Methods: The literature sear Read More

Lipidomics is an emerging and promising omic that analyzes different lipid molecules in a biological sample. It is considered as a branch of metabolomics, which is defined as the comprehensive analysis of metabolites in a biological specimen. Nonetheless, in recent years lipidomics is being considered a distinct discipline in the biomedicine field. Lipids play important roles in many biological pathways and could work as Read More

It has been postulated that a small number of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) buried in tumour mass drive cancer growth and impart cancer drug resistance. However, their eradication has not been achieved so far as the mechanistic understanding of CSCs’ role in cancer development and growth is limited. The cholesterol accumulation and efflux processes have been shown to play an important role in maintaining cell’s int Read More