A study from the Biotech Research and Innovation Centre, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; and Hypoxia and Metastasis Team, Cancer Research UK Tumour Cell Signalling Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW3 6JB, UK shows that “The hypoxic cancer secretome induces pre-metastatic bone lesions through lysyl oxidase.” This study was published in the 27 May 2015 issue of the journal “Nature” [the number 1 journal in General Science with an I.F of >42] by Prof. Janine T. Erler, Cox and others.
On the foundation of this interesting finding, Dr L Boominathan PhD, Director-cum-chief Scientist of GBMD, reports that: Natural product-based therapy for metastatic breast cancer: Berberine, an isoquinoline derivative alkaloid isolated from medicinal herbs, blocks bone metastasis of mammary cancer via down regulation of its target gene
Significance:
Given that: (1) cancer causes the highest economic loss compared to all the known causes of death worldwide; (2) in 2008, mammary cancer has caused more than 400000 deaths; (3) mammary cancer is the most common invasive cancer in women; and (4) in 2008, breast cancer has caused economic loss of 88 billion US dollars worldwide, there is an urgent need to find a way to effectively treat and stall metastatic progression of breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most common women cancer. It metastasizes to bone in ~80% of the cases. However, the mechanistic basis of which remains largely unclear. Erler’s research team has recently shown that increased expression of lysyl oxidase (LOX) in breast cancer cells results in osteolytic bone lesion, suggesting that down regulation of LOX expression may result in inhibition of bone metastasis of breast cancer.
This study suggests, for the first time, that Berberine, by suppressing the expression of its target gene, it may decrease the expression of lysyl oxidase (LOX). Thereby, it may inhibit metastasis of mammary cancer. Thus, pharmacological formulations encompassing “Berberine or its analogues” may be used to treat metastatic breast cancer.
Undisclosed information: How Berberine suppresses the expression of lysyl oxidase (LOX).
Idea Proposed/Formulated by: Dr L Boominathan Ph.D.
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To cite: Boominathan, Natural product-based therapy for metastatic breast cancer: Berberine, an isoquinoline derivative alkaloid isolated from medicinal herbs, blocks bone metastasis of mammary cancer via down regulation of its target gene, 4/June/2015, 10.26 pm, Genome-2-Bio-Medicine Discovery center (GBMD), http://genomediscovery.org