Vitamin K: A novel cancer chemosensitizer

Abstract

Cancer incidences are growing rapidly and causing millions of deaths globally.Cancer treatment is one of the most exigent challenges. Drug resistance is a natural phenomenon and is considered one of the major obstacles in the successful treatment of cancer by chemotherapy. Combination therapy by the amalgamation of various anticancer drugs has suggested modulating tumor response by targeting various signaling pathways in a synergistic or additive manner. Vitamin K is an essential nutrient and has recently been investigated as a potential anticancer agent. The combination of vitamin K analogs, such as vitamins K1, K2, K3, and K5, with other chemotherapeutic drugs have demonstrated a safe, costeffective, and most efficient way to overcome drug resistance and improved the outcomes of prevailing chemotherapy. Published reports have shown that vitamin K in combination therapy improved the efficacy of clinical drugs by promoting apoptosis and cell cycle arrest and overcoming drug resistance by inhibiting P-glycoprotein. In this review, we discuss the mechanism, cellular targets, and possible ways to develop vitamin K subtypes into effective cancer chemosensitizers. Finally, this review will provide a scientific basis for exploiting vitamin K as a potential agent to improve the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs.

In vivo anticancer study of sodium 2‐[(4‐oxidobenzylidene)amino]‐6H‐1,3,4‐thiadiazine‐5‐olate against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma via targeting PI3K/mTOR pathway

“…Chemotherapy remains the most promising cancer treatment approach. Imperfect selection, severe side effects, and multidrug resistance are some of the remaining barriers to the effectiveness of chemotherapy (Gul et al., 2022). Consequently, scientists are concentrating their attempts on creating more effective chemotherapeutic therapies that selectively target cancer cells while initiating the least amount of damage to healthy tissue (Ahmed & Almalki, 2021).…”

Vitamin K2, MicroRNA-210 and mitochondrial DNA copy number: Implications in prediction, prevention and personalized treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma?

“…Published reports have demonstrated that VK2 when combined with chemotherapeutic drugs, improved the e cacy of clinical drugs by promoting apoptosis and cell cycle arrest and overcoming drug resistance by inhibiting P-glycoprotein. [24] VK2 was shown to be a chemosensitizer in PLC/PRF/544cell lines of HCC, but its use in patients is yet to be elucidated. [48] By correlating the studied markers together, a signi cant negative correlation was found between MIR-210 and MTCN in both the cancer and cirrhotic groups but not in the normal control group.…”

“…Recent research has shown that combination of VK2 with chemotherapeutic drugs, have demonstrated a cost-effective, safe, and e cient way to overcome drug resistance and improve the outcomes of chemotherapy, hence its possible use in personalized treatment. [24] It is noteworthy that treatment of HCC could be curative if it is diagnosed at early stages unlike intermediate and advanced stages where treatment is more di cult and most probably disappointing. [25] This indicates the potential role of the above-mentioned markers in early diagnosis of HCC which will prevent progression to late di cult-to-treat stages, in addition to the possible used in personalized treatment such as VK2 supplementation [21] and MIR-210 silencing [26] and mitochondrial replacement therapy.…”

PANC-1 Cell Line as an Experimental Model for Characterizing PIVKA-II Production, Distribution, and Molecular Mechanisms Leading to Protein Release in PDAC

“…Several lines of evidence underscore the connection between the absence of vitamin K and cancer. Vitamin K, an essential nutrient, has recently been explored as a potential anticancer agent, as demonstrated by its ability to inhibit the survival of certain pancreatic cancer cell lines through apoptotic mechanisms [ 8 , 9 ]. The deficiency of vitamin K can be detected using molecules such as PIVKA-II.…”