Juxtacrine and Paracrine Events in the Colorectal Carcinogenesis with their Herbal Remedies: A Review

Abstract

       Colorectal cancer is one of the lethal types of malignancies leading to a high mortality rate globally due to various risk factors involving inherited genetic disorders which includes FAP (Familial Adenomatous Polypsis), HNPCC/Lynch syndrome (Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer), Turcots syndrome, Peutz jeghers syndrome and some inflammatory bowel diseases. On such occasions, the development of tumor comprises five different stages that are progressed via multiple signalling pathways. The molecular events for the cancer progression incorporate two major types of cell signals, i.e., Juxtacrine and Paracrine where cell-cell or cell- extracellular matrix communicates to produce signals. The former event implies the Notch and Hippo signalling pathways. The latter entails the cascade cell communication process such as Wnt/ β ‑Catenin, MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase), TGF-β/SMAD (Transforming growth factor beta), PI3K/AKT (Phosphoinositol 3-kinase), TP-53 (Tumor protein 53), VEGF/VEGFR (Vascular endothelial growth factor), JAK/STAT (Janus kinase/Signal transducer and activator of transcription), Nrf2/KEAP1 (Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1), SHH (Hedgehog), cMET/HGF (Hepatocyte growth factor), resulting in metastatic cancer. Timely identification of the resultant and appropriate treatments such as cytotoxic medicines, radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery can prevent severe cancer causes. Recently, the emergence of herbal/ natural treatments paves the way for cancer control without any significant side effects over usual treatments. Among other natural remedies, Traditional Chinese medicine is considered to be an ancient method of herbal treatment for the progression of cancer. Thus, this article aims to provide an overview of the cell communication process and to elicit the herbal remedies that help in colorectal cancer therapy.