Plasmalemmal V-ATPase as a Potential Biomarker for Lactoferrin-Based Anticancer Therapy

Abstract

Lactoferrin (Lf) is a milk-derived protein with well-recognized potential as a therapeutic agent against a wide variety of cancers. This natural protein exhibits health-promoting effects and has several interesting features, including its selectivity towards cancer cells, good tolerability in humans, worldwide availability, and holding a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status. To prompt the rational clinical application of this promising anticancer compound, previous works aimed to unveil the molecular mechanisms underlying its selective anticancer activity, where plasmalemmal V-ATPase was identified as an Lf target in cancer cells. V-ATPase is a proton pump critical for cellular homeostasis that migrates to the plasma membrane of highly metastatic cancer cells contributing to the acidity of the tumor microenvironment. Cancer cells were found to be susceptible to Lf only when this proton pump is present at the plasma membrane. Plasmalemmal V-ATPase can thus be an excellent biomarker for driving treatment decisions and forecasting clinical outcomes of Lf-based anticancer strategies. Future research endeavors should thus seek to validate this biomarker by thorough preclinical and clinical studies, as well as to develop effective methods for its detection under clinical settings.

Metallic Nanocluster-Based Sniffing Device for Identification of Malignancy in Gastric Cancer Tissues

“…This disease can be caused by factors such as gene mutations, exposure to carcinogenic chemical compounds, and so on. It is currently the second leading cause of human mortality in the world, after heart ailments. − According to research by the World Health Organization, among 36 types of cancer, gastric cancer (GC) is ranked as the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, after lung and colorectal cancers. − GC is more prevalent in men compared to women and causes 760,000 deaths annually. , …”

Comparative Assessment of the Antioxidant and Anticancer Activities of Plicosepalus acacia and Plicosepalus curviflorus: Metabolomic Profiling and In Silico Studies

“…Cancer is a serious public health issue, with increasing rates of occurrence and mortality [ 1 ]. It is ranked by the WHO as one of the major causes of death worldwide, and was responsible for 10 million deaths in 2020 [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Among women, ovarian and breast carcinomas are the most prevalent invasive and lethal malignancies [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

“…In past decades, immense advances in cancer research were achieved, especially in the provision of targeted prevention and treatments, which improved the quality of life and survival time remarkably. Nevertheless, cancer treatment remains a tremendous challenge due to its severe adverse effects, chemotherapy resistance or tumor progression and metastasis, and therefore worse prognoses [ 1 , 2 , 9 , 12 ]. Thus, there is an increased demand for new anticancer candidates to face these health concerns and reduce the cancer burden worldwide [ 5 , 6 ].…”