In Vitro Efficacy of Extracts and Isolated Bioactive Compounds from Ascomycota Fungi in the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite the advances and success of current treatments (e.g., chemotherapy), there are multiple serious side effects which require the development of new treatment strategies. In recent years, fungi have gained considerable attention as a source of extracts and bioactive compounds with antitumor capabilities because of their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and even their anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities. In the present review, a systematic search of the existing literature in four electronic databases was carried out in which the antitumor activity against CRC cells of Ascomycota fungi extracts or compounds was tested. The systematical research in the four databases resulted in a total of 883 articles. After applying exclusion and inclusion criteria, a total of 75 articles were finally studied. The order Eurotiales was the most studied (46% of the articles), and the ethyl acetate extraction was the most used method (49% of the papers). Penicillium extracts and gliotoxin and acetylgliotoxin G bioactive compounds showed the highest cytotoxic activity. This review also focuses on the action mechanisms of the extracts and bioactive compounds of fungi against CRC, which were mediated by apoptosis induction and the arrest of the cell cycle, which induces a notable reduction in the CRC cell proliferation capacity, and by the reduction in cell migration that limits their ability to produce metastasis. Thus, the ability of fungi to induce the death of cancer cells through different mechanisms may be the basis for the development of new therapies that improve the current results, especially in the more advanced stages of the CCR.

Mechanistic insights into genomic structure and functions of a novel oncogene YEATS4

“…Deng et al found significantly higher levels of YEATS4 in colorectal cancer tissues than in normal para-cancerous tissues; however, this did not affect the overall survival of patients. When YEATS4 is knocked down in colorectal cancer cells, the cells are arrested in the G0/G1 phase and cell growth is inhibited ( Tao et al, 2015 ; Luque et al, 2022 ). Subsequent studies have indicated that miR-218 can negatively regulate YEATS4 expression, thereby attenuating cellular resistance to L-OHP, impairing cellular autophagy protection, and inhibiting colorectal cancer progression ( Fu et al, 2016 ).…”

Emericellopsis maritima and Purpureocillium lilacinum Marine Fungi as a Source of Functional Fractions with Antioxidant and Antitumor Potential in Colorectal Cancer: A Preliminary Study

“…In this context, marine microorganisms have been explored as a source of new therapeutic biomolecules that may be effective against CRC [10,11], the third most frequent tumor in the world, with an estimated increase in malignancy of 60% by 2030 [12]. Despite advances in the physiopathology of this tumor, which have determined the three precursor pathways for CRC lesions, chromosomal instability (70-90% of cases), serrated neoplasm (10-20% of cases) and microsatellite instability (2-7% of cases), there have been no significant advances in therapy in recent years.…”