Natural compounds modulating mitophagy: Implications for cancer therapy

Min Cao; Yancheng Tang; Yufei Luo; Fen Gu; Yuyuan Zhu; Xu Liu; Chenghao Yan; Wei Hu; Shaogui Wang; Xiaojuan Chao; Haodong Xu; Hu-Biao Chen; Liming Wang

doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216590

Natural compounds modulating mitophagy: Implications for cancer therapy

Cancer Lett. 2024 Feb 1:582:216590. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216590. Epub 2023 Dec 12.

Authors

Min Cao¹, Yancheng Tang², Yufei Luo¹, Fen Gu³, Yuyuan Zhu¹, Xu Liu¹, Chenghao Yan¹, Wei Hu⁴, Shaogui Wang⁵, Xiaojuan Chao⁶, Haodong Xu⁷, Hu-Biao Chen⁸, Liming Wang⁹

Affiliations

¹ School of Biomedical Sciences, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China; Hunan Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Molecular Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, Hunan Province, China.
² School of Biomedical Sciences, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China; Hunan Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Molecular Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, Hunan Province, China; School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Department of Infection, Hunan Children's Hospital, Changsha, 410007, China.
⁴ Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Xiangya Boai Rehabilitation Hospital, Changsha, 410082, China.
⁵ School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
⁶ Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
⁷ Department of Orthopaedics, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, China.
⁸ School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
⁹ School of Biomedical Sciences, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China; Hunan Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Molecular Medicine, School of Biomedical Sciences, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, Hunan Province, China; Shenzhen Research Institute, Hunan University, Shenzhen, 518000, China. Electronic address: wangliming@hnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38097131
DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216590

Abstract

Cancer is considered as the second leading cause of mortality, and cancer incidence is still growing rapidly worldwide, which poses an increasing global health burden. Although chemotherapy is the most widely used treatment for cancer, its effectiveness is limited by drug resistance and severe side effects. Mitophagy is the principal mechanism that degrades damaged mitochondria via the autophagy/lysosome pathway to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis. Emerging evidence indicates that mitophagy plays crucial roles in tumorigenesis, particularly in cancer therapy. Mitophagy can exhibit dual effects in cancer, with both cancer-inhibiting or cancer-promoting function in a context-dependent manner. A variety of natural compounds have been found to affect cancer cell death and display anticancer properties by modulating mitophagy. In this review, we provide a systematic overview of mitophagy signaling pathways, and examine recent advances in the utilization of natural compounds for cancer therapy through the modulation of mitophagy. Furthermore, we address the inquiries and challenges associated with ongoing investigations concerning the application of natural compounds in cancer therapy based on mitophagy. Overcoming these limitations will provide opportunities to develop novel interventional strategies for cancer treatment.

Keywords: Anticancer therapy; Apoptosis; Cell death; Mitophagy; Natural compounds.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Autophagy
Cell Death
Humans
Mitochondria / metabolism
Mitophagy* / physiology
Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Neoplasms* / metabolism