Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 18, 2025

Using Mouse Mammary Tumor Cells to Teach Core Biology Concepts: A Simple Lab Module
10:39

Using Mouse Mammary Tumor Cells to Teach Core Biology Concepts: A Simple Lab Module

Published on: June 18, 2015

13.1K

Targeting the Akt signaling pathway: Exploiting curcumin's anticancer potential

Mahdieh Aliyari1, Seyed Isaac Hashemy2, Seyedeh Fatemeh Hashemi3

  • 1Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Pathology, Research and Practice
|July 28, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Curcumin, a natural compound, shows promise in fighting drug-resistant cancers by targeting the PI3K/Akt pathway. This review explores its anticancer activity and therapeutic potential.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Cancer remains a leading global cause of death, with drug resistance posing a significant challenge.
  • The PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is frequently dysregulated in cancers, controlling cell growth, survival, and metabolism.
  • Targeting the PI3K/Akt pathway is a key strategy for developing novel anti-cancer therapeutics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review curcumin's anticancer effects mediated through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
  • To explore the therapeutic applications of curcumin in various cancer types.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies investigating curcumin's effects on cancer.
  • Analysis of research focusing on the PI3K/Akt pathway in cancer.
  • Examination of curcumin's molecular mechanisms against cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis.

Main Results:

  • Curcumin exhibits inhibitory effects on cancer cell growth, proliferation, and metastasis.
  • Curcumin modulates key components of the PI3K/Akt pathway, including kinases and downstream effectors.
  • Evidence suggests curcumin's efficacy across various cancer types through pathway inhibition.

Conclusions:

  • Curcumin demonstrates significant anticancer potential by targeting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
  • Curcumin's ability to overcome drug resistance warrants further investigation for clinical applications.
  • This review highlights curcumin as a promising natural compound for cancer therapy.
Keywords:
AKTCancerCurcuminPI3KTargeted therapyTurmeric

More Related Videos

Author Spotlight: Exploring Salidroside's Molecular Mechanisms in Breast Cancer Treatment11:13

Author Spotlight: Exploring Salidroside's Molecular Mechanisms in Breast Cancer Treatment

Published on: June 9, 2023

1.5K
Development and Maintenance of a Preclinical Patient Derived Tumor Xenograft Model for the Investigation of Novel Anti-Cancer Therapies09:29

Development and Maintenance of a Preclinical Patient Derived Tumor Xenograft Model for the Investigation of Novel Anti-Cancer Therapies

Published on: September 30, 2016

13.7K

Related Concept Videos

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
3.8K
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways01:19

Interactions Between Signaling Pathways

Signaling cascades usually lack linearity. Multiple pathways interact and regulate one another, allowing cells to integrate and respond to diverse environmental stimuli.
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
6.2K
Inhibition of Cdk Activity02:34

Inhibition of Cdk Activity

The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
4.7K
Targeted Cancer Therapies02:57

Targeted Cancer Therapies

The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
7.5K
The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway01:20

The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway

Several cytokine receptors have tightly bound Janus kinase or JAK proteins attached at their cytosolic tail. Small signaling molecules such as cytokines, growth hormones, or prolactins bind to the cytokine receptors and initiate their dimerization. The dimerization brings the cytosolic JAKs together that trans-phosphorylate and activates each other. The activated JAKs now phosphorylate cytosolic tails of the cytokine receptors, which serve as binding sites for adaptor proteins such as  SH2...
8.8K
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which...
8.7K