Polyphenols reverse ROS induced epigenetic alterations in the process of carcinogenesis
Ritu Raina, Ravinder Bhatt, Atiya Hussain, Nazia Afroze, Arif Hussain
Abstract
Oxidative stress has been associated with the development and progression of cancer by accelerating DNA mutations or causing DNA damage, genomic instability, and cell proliferation. Conventional radio-/chemotherapies are well established for modulating reactive oxygen species (ROS), these therapies have significant side effects, the goal is to create novel anticancer therapeutic approaches that are both more efficient and less harmful to patients. Many naturally occurring polyphenols have demonstrated great potential as bioactive anticancer agents for this purpose. Polyphenols even target epigenetic mechanisms involved in the genesis of cancer by modulating oxidative stress in addition to their well-known antioxidant properties. To identify published research, searches were conducted using databases, such as Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Of note, two authors conducted a literature search for this purpose using the terms ROS, Polyphenols, anticancer, cancer therapy, epigenetics, and chemotherapeutics. In addition, a search of the references of the articles was performed to search for any further research. The search approach was used to filter the article titles and abstracts. In this review the role of ROS in development of cancer via activation of different inflammatory pathways such as NF-KB, Nrf2-KEAP1 pathway and making cancer cells resistant to immune cells is discussed. Further the property of polyphenols to modulate ROS either as anti-oxidants enabling synthesis of Phase II detoxification and antioxidant enzymes or behaving as pro-oxidant that increase ROS levels, leading to sensitization of cancer cells to drugs is documented. Further research is warranted to authenticate the effect of polyphenols on epigenetic pathways of cancer. Extrapolation of the results to animal study must be performed before these polyphenols can be prescribed in clinical setups.