A literature review: mechanisms of antitumor pharmacological action of leonurine alkaloid

Qiang Cao; Qi Wang; Xinyan Wu; Qi Zhang; Jinghan Huang; Yuquan Chen; Yanwei You; Yi Qiang; Xufeng Huang; Ronggao Qin; Guangzhu Cao

doi:10.3389/fphar.2023.1272546

A literature review: mechanisms of antitumor pharmacological action of leonurine alkaloid

Front Pharmacol. 2023 Sep 25:14:1272546. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1272546. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Qiang Cao^#^{1

2}, Qi Wang^#³, Xinyan Wu^#⁴, Qi Zhang^#⁵, Jinghan Huang^#⁶, Yuquan Chen⁷, Yanwei You⁸, Yi Qiang¹, Xufeng Huang⁹, Ronggao Qin¹, Guangzhu Cao¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Earth Sciences, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China.
² School of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Taipa, China.
³ Department of Gastroenterology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China.
⁴ College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
⁵ Undergraduate Department, Taishan University, Taian, China.
⁶ Undergraduate Department, Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Chengdu, China.
⁷ Institute of Medical Information/Library, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁸ Division of Sports Science and Physical Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
⁹ Faculty of Dentistry, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Leonurine refers to the desiccated aerial portion of a plant in the Labiatae family. The primary bioactive constituent of Leonurine is an alkaloid, Leonurine alkaloid (Leo), renowned for its substantial therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of gynecological disorders, in addition to its broad-spectrum antineoplastic capabilities. Over recent years, the pharmacodynamic mechanisms of Leo have garnered escalating scholarly interest. Leo exhibits its anticancer potential by means of an array of mechanisms, encompassing the inhibition of neoplastic cell proliferation, induction of both apoptosis and autophagy, and the containment of oncogenic cell invasion and migration. The key signal transduction pathways implicated in these processes include the Tumor Necrosis Factor-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL), the Phosphoinositide3-Kinase/Serine/Threonine Protein Kinase (PI3K/AKT), the Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3), and the Mitogen-Activated Protein/Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase (MAP/ERK). This paper commences with an exploration of the principal oncogenic cellular behaviors influenced by Leo and the associated signal transduction pathways, thereby scrutinizing the mechanisms of Leo in the antineoplastic sequence of events. The intention is to offer theoretical reinforcement for the elucidation of more profound mechanisms underpinning Leo's anticancer potential and correlating pharmaceutical development.

Keywords: anti-tumor mechanisms; apoptosis and autophagy; leonurine; signal transduction pathways; tumor cell proliferation and migration.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42267063). We would like to acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 42267063) for supporting this research. We also acknowledge the editors and reviewers for their helpful suggestions on this paper.