Role of Coccinia indica in the prevention and management of breast cancer: A review

Abstract

Cucurbitacin B is isolated from the fruit of Coccinia indica, have reported for treatment of several types of cancer due to its anticancer and antioxidant effect. Cucurbitacin B, inducing cell cycle arrest at G2/M as well as apoptosis. It can act as anti-proliferative agent for breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo and reduces the ferrocynaide to ferrous. Cucurbitacin B inhibits telomerase activity in several breast cancer cell lines through down regulation of both the hTERT and c -Myc expression. The expression of the hTERT gene directly depends on the telomerase activity as the hTERT protein, is the catalytic rate-limiting determinant subunit of telomerase. Estrogen receptor activates a number of cellular signal transduction and also ERK/MAPK pathway. It leads to the translocation of activated MAP kinase to the nucleus where it regulates the expression of a number of transcription factors. Including pertinently, c -Myc but when cell lines treated with cucurbitacin B, directly modulates either the estrogen receptor or subsequent signalling pathway and the down regulate JAK/STAT pathway. Whereas some different biological pathway exist in estrogen negative cells, where c -Myc is primarily controlled at the level of RNA stability. However, cucurbitacin B exerts anticancer activity and inhibit the telomerase and induced apoptosis.