Title:Chemomodulating Effects of Flavonoids in Human Leukemia Cells
Volume: 15
Issue: 9
Author(s): Katrin Sak and Hele Everaus
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Chemotherapy drugs, chemosensitization, flavonoids, inhibitory modulation, leukemia cells, signaling mechanisms.
Abstract: Flavonoids, a diverse class of polyphenolic compounds, are well known for their anticancer properties.
Moreover, it is generally accepted that these plant secondary metabolites can also sensitize malignant cells to
conventional chemotherapeutic drugs and could thus be considered as potential adjunctive agents in cancer
treatment. In this review article we show that besides potentiating the anticancer activity of standard
chemotherapeutics by modifying the molecular events that are involved in cell growth, differentiation and
apoptosis, flavonoids might also act as inhibitory modulators in human leukemia cells. The specific behavior of a
certain flavonoid in such combination treatments is multifactorial being dependent on various aspects, including
cellular context, molecular mechanisms of clinical drugs, temporal regimen of administration, as well as doses of
agents. Based on the highly complex nature of leukemogenesis it is feasible that a multifaceted therapeutic
approach is also required to cure this disease and therefore, combined chemotherapeutic schemes incorporating
natural plant metabolites as chemosensitizing agents can represent a new attractive strategy for more successful
treatment of leukemia patients in the future. However, as highlighted in this review, caution should be taken when
affecting malignant cells concurrently with chemotherapeutic drugs and flavonoids as unwisely chosen combinations can lead to
inadvisable results and sometimes even deteriorate the clinical outcomes.
