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REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1514486
Natural products modulating MAPK for CRC treatment: a promising strategy
Provisionally accepted- 1 Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China
- 2 Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
- 3 Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system, and the pathogenic mechanism is still unclear, mostly related to genetics, immunity, inflammation, and abnormal activation of tumor-related signaling pathways. MAPK belongs to the Ser/Thr kinase family, which plays an important role in complex cellular programs such as the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis. Increasing evidence supports that MAPK activation is highly correlated with the risk of CRC. Targeting MAPK may be a therapeutic strategy, and natural products show great therapeutic potential in regulating MAPK-related proteins. In this paper, we searched PubMed, Web of Science and CNKI databases with keywords “colorectal cancer, natural products, MAPK pathway, ERK, P38, JNK” for relevant studies in the last 14 years from 2010 to 2024. This work retrieved 47 studies, aiming to provide new therapeutic strategies for CRC patients and lay the foundation for new drug development.
Keywords: colorectal cancer, Natural Products, MAPK pathway, ERK, p38, JNK
Received: 21 Oct 2024; Accepted: 03 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhou, Zhang, Zhao, Chen and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zhen Sun, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, 250011, Shandong Province, China
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