Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has put the world in a medical crisis for the past three years; nearly 6.3 million lives have been diminished due to the virus outbreak. This review aims to update the recent findings on COVID-19 infections from an epigenetic scenario and develop future perspectives of epi-drugs to treat the disease. Methods Original research articles and review studies related to COVID-19 were searched and analyzed from the Google Scholar/PubMed/Medline databases mainly between 2019 and 2022 to brief the recent work. Results Numerous in-depth studies of the mechanisms used by SARS-CoV-2 have been going on to minimize the consequences of the viral outburst. Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 receptors and Transmembrane serine protease 2 facilitate viral entry to the host cells. Upon internalization, it uses the host machinery to replicate viral copies and alter the downstream regulation of the normal cells, causing infection-related morbidities and mortalities. In addition, several epigenetic regulations such as DNA methylation, acetylation, histone modifications, microRNA, and other factors (age, sex, etc.) are responsible for the regulations of viral entry, its immune evasion, and cytokine responses also play a major modulatory role in COVID-19 severity, which has been discussed in detail in this review. Conclusion Findings of epigenetic regulation of viral pathogenicity open a new window for epi-drugs as a possible therapeutical approach against COVID-19.

The most common cancer-related cause of death worldwide is colorectal cancer. It is initiated with the formation of polyps, which further cause the development of colorectal cancer in multistep phases. Colorectal cancer mortality is high despite recent treatment breakthroughs and a greater understanding of its pathophysiology. Stress is one of the major causes of triggering different cellular signalling cascades inside the body and which might turn toward the development of cancer. Naturally occurring plant compounds or phytochemicals are being studied for medical purposes. Phytochemicals’ benefits are being analyzed for inflammatory illnesses, liver failure, metabolic disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and nephropathies. Cancer treatment with fewer side effects and better outcomes has been achieved by combining phytochemicals with chemotherapy. Resveratrol, curcumin, and epigallocatechin-3-gallate have been studied for their chemotherapeutic and chemopreventive potentiality, but hydrophobicity, solubility, poor bioavailability, and target selectivity limit the clinical uses of these compounds. The therapeutic potential is maximized by utilizing nanocarriers such as liposomes, micelles, nanoemulsions, and nanoparticles to increase phytochemical bioavailability and target specificity. This updated literature review discusses the clinical limitations, increased sensitivity, chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic effects, and the clinical limitations of the phytochemicals.

: Colorectal cancer is known to be the paramount reason for cancer deaths around the globe. It occurs due to the aggregation of epigenetic and genetic alterations in colon epithelial cells that transmute them into adenocarcinomas. Epigenetic mechanisms are interpreted as the changes in expression of the gene which is not associated with the alterations in the principal DNA sequence, while genetic changes involve modifications in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. The changes in the epigenetic in colon cancer that transmute colonic epithelial cells include chromatin modifications, microRNA expression, telomere length, and DNA methylation. DNA hypermethylation causes down-regulation and unsuitable expression of specific microRNA which can behave like tumor suppressor genes. Histone modifications can also influence the chromatin remodeling and the gene expression, hence performs an eminent function in silencing of the gene in colon cancer. Moreover, the telomere/telomerase interaction is a prime mechanism to embrace both cellular replicative potential and genomic instability and its malfunction plays a primary role in colon cancer. Deducing the genesis and the function of epigenetic abnormality in colon cancer pathogenesis will head to a potent prevention and therapeutic approach for colon cancer patients. Epigenetic drugs which emphasizes the convertible essence of epigenetic occurrences have accompanied the probability of epigenetic approach as a treatment alternative in colon cancer. Hence, this review is undertaken to critically envelop the recent advance events in colorectal cancer therapies with a special emphasis on remedies targeting epigenetic modulators and future challenges towards therapeutic interventions.

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Colorectal cancer being the second leading cause of cancer-associated deaths, it has become a significant health concern around the globe. Though there are various counts of cancer treatment approaches, many of them show adverse effects and further compromise the condition of the cancer patients. Hence, significant exertions are conducted for the evolution of a novel biological therapeutic approach with better efficacy and minimal side effects. Current research suggests that the application of peptides in colorectal cancer therapeutics holds the possibility of a emerging anticancer reagent. The primary beneficial factors of peptides are their comparatively rapid and easy process of synthesis and the enormous potential for chemical alterations that can be evaluated for designing novel peptides and enhancing the delivery capacity of peptides. Peptides might be utilized as agents with cytotoxic activities or as a carrier of a specific drug or cytotoxic agents that can efficiently target the tumor cells. Further, peptides can also be used as a tool for diagnostic purposes. The recent analysis aims at developing peptides that have the potential to efficiently target the tumor moieties without harming the nearby normal cells. Additionally, decreasing the adverse effects, and unfolding the other therapeutic properties of potential peptides, are also the subject matter of in-depth analysis. This review provides a concise summary of the function of both natural and synthetically derived peptides in colorectal cancer therapeutics that are recently being evaluated and their potent applications in the clinical field.