Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway in breast cancer cells and its effect on reversing tumour drug resistance by alkaloids extracted from traditional Chinese medicine

Abstract

Breast cancer is a high-risk disease with a high mortality rate among women. Chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of breast cancer. However, chemotherapy eventually results in tumours that are resistant to drugs. In recent years, many studies have revealed that the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signalling is crucial for the emergence and growth of breast tumours as well as the development of drug resistance. Additionally, drugs that target this pathway can reverse drug resistance in breast cancer therapy. Traditional Chinese medicine has the properties of multi-target and tenderness. Therefore, integrating traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine into chemotherapy provides a new strategy for reversing the drug resistance of breast tumours. This paper mainly reviews the possible mechanism of Wnt/β-catenin in promoting the process of breast tumour drug resistance, and the progress of alkaloids extracted from traditional Chinese medicine in the targeting of this pathway in order to reverse the drug resistance of breast cancer.

Epigenetic Effects of Resveratrol on Oncogenic Signaling in Breast Cancer

“…Another beneficial aspect of RSV anti-cancer action, specifically the inhibition of oncogenic signaling pathways, could lie in overcoming resistance to known pathway inhibitors and chemotherapeutics. For instance, recent evidence shows the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway as a promoting factor in breast tumor drug resistance and the inhibition of the pathway by alkaloids indeed enhanced the efficacy of common chemotherapeutics in breast cancer [ 72 ]. This finding delivers the premise for RSV in reversing drug resistance by inhibiting the Wnt signal transduction and opens the door to further research.…”

Phyto-therapeutics as anti-cancer agents in breast cancer: Pathway targeting and mechanistic elucidation

“…Numerous natural substances have demonstrated a wide range of anticancer properties in various cancer types ( Mehraj et al, 2022a , Mehraj et al, 2022b , Jan et al, 2023 ). These substances work against multiple signalling pathways, primarily those involved in cell death (apoptosis and autophagy) and embryonic development (Notch pathway, Wnt pathway, and Hedgehog pathway) ( Wu et al, 2023 ). The potential of natural compounds to be promising novel products for cancer treatment makes them an important area of research.…”

Sinensetin suppresses breast cancer cell progression via Wnt/β-catenin pathway inhibition

“…Similarly, it has been reported in breast cancer that several cytosolic and nucleus components of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is deregulated, such as DKK3, Dickkopf (DKK)-1, APC, Wnt inhibitor factor 1 (WIF1), SFRP5, MCC, glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3B), and CTNNBIP1 ( 27 - 29 ). Activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is required for epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) to regulate breast cancer drug resistance ( 30 ). The Wnt signaling pathway is an important molecular node that maintains CSC properties and promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transformation cell programming ( 31 ).…”