Bioactive constituents of animal-derived traditional Chinese medicinal materials for breast cancer: opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Breast cancer is globally the most common invasive cancer in women and remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths. Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and endocrine therapy are currently the main treatments for this cancer type. However, some breast cancer patients are prone to drug resistance related to chemotherapy or immunotherapy, resulting in limited treatment efficacy. Consequently, traditional Chinese medicinal materials (TCMMs) as natural products have become an attractive source of novel drugs. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on the active components of animal-derived TCMMs, including Ophiocordyceps sinensis-derived cordycepin, the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of O. sinensis, norcantharidin (NCTD), Chansu, bee venom, deer antlers, Ostrea gigas, and scorpion venom, with reference to marked anti-breast cancer effects due to regulating cell cycle arrest, proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and drug resistance. In future studies, the underlying mechanisms for the antitumor effects of these components need to be further investigated by utilizing multi-omics technologies. Furthermore, large-scale clinical trials are necessary to validate the efficacy of bioactive constituents alone or in combination with chemotherapeutic drugs for breast cancer treatment.

Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics to Explore the Potential Immunomodulatory Mechanisms of Deer Antler

“…These pathways are involved in the anti-tumor, inflammatory response, antioxidant, hormone regulation, cell proliferation, and cell cycle functions, and other functional areas. In this research, a total of 66 targets were annotated into the cancer pathway, and the literature shows that deer antler is widely used in the treatment of cancer [ 48 , 49 ]. Through enrichment analyses, we found that the core targets were widely distributed in the PI3K/AKT signal pathway.…”

Natural exosome-like nanoparticles derived from ancient medicinal insect Periplaneta americana L. as a novel diabetic wound healing accelerator

“…According to statistics, the current Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition) has documented 49 varieties of animal-derived TCMs and even 497 prescription preparations containing animal-derived TCMs [55]. Unfortunately, the complex macromolecular constitutes in animal-derived TCMs have not been thoroughly researched, compared to these bioactive small molecular components in plant-derived TCMs [56]. The previous studies were apt to explore the bioactivities of proteins or peptides in medicinal animal products, such as Centipede, Snake venom, Wasp venoms, Pilose antler [57][58][59], and Chinese giant salamander.…”

Scorpion Venom Antimicrobial Peptide Derivative BmKn2-T5 Inhibits Enterovirus 71 in the Early Stages of the Viral Life Cycle In Vitro

“…edu/AP, accessed on 31 December 2023), and most were identified from animals, especially insects. As one of the most ancient chelicerates that have evolved over an estimated 430 million years, scorpions belong to the phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida, and order Scorpionida and have traditionally been used for medicinal purposes in some Asian and African countries [18][19][20]. Because the physical process of venom injection may damage the caudal ganglia, resulting in further pathogen infection, it is expected that scorpions would possess an antimicrobial response system comprising unique mechanisms, such as AMPs, to protect themselves from microbe invasion [21,22].…”