STUDY OF THE PI3K/AKT/MTOR CELLULAR SIGNALING NETWORK AND ITS IMPORTANCE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUTRIGENOMICS IN TRANSLATIONAL ONCOLOGY
Abstract
Cancer is a complex multifactorial disease with a high incidence and is currently one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In this context, diet plays a decisive role in prevention and acts as an adjuvant in oncological treatment. Modulated by nutrients, the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway is a key regulatory axis that is hyperactivated in several types of cancer and is considered a promising therapeutic target in oncology. A bibliographic search was conducted in PUBMED, followed by manual curation of the retrieved articles. Based on this data, we constructed a protein–protein interaction network (PPIN) comprising 153 nodes and 1,535 edges using Cytoscape, through which we identified the role of quercetin in the negative regulation of biological processes—particularly the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, the central focus of our investigation. Furthermore, we found that quercetin modulates other key signaling molecules (EGF, EGFR, STAT, MAPK, CASPASES, and TP53) that are essential for the regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation, and death—processes that play a central role in cancer development. Therefore, quercetin may modulate the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, as well as other critical pathways involved in the control of cell proliferation and death, which are of great relevance in cancer treatment. Our study provides in silico evidence for the importance of nutrigenomics in translational oncology.
Author Biographies
Nutritionist with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Nutrition and Health from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), Vitória – ES, Brazil.
Bachelor and Licensed in Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), affiliated with the Human and Molecular Genetics Center. Master’s and Ph.D. student in Biotechnology (UFES/RENORBIO), Vitória – ES, Brazil.
Bachelor in Biological Sciences from Faculdade Estácio de Sá de Vitória and graduate in Computer Engineering from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), affiliated with the Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Vitória – ES, Brazil.
Licensed in Biological Sciences and Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), affiliated with the Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Vitória – ES, Brazil.
Pharmacist and Master’s student in Biotechnology at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES/RENORBIO), affiliated with the Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Vitória – ES, Brazil.
Biologist and Master’s student in Genetics and Breeding at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES/ALEGRE), affiliated with the Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Vitória – ES, Brazil.
Physician graduated from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Full Professor at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), affiliated with the Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Vitória – ES, Brazil.
Pharmacist and Ph.D. in Nuclear Biosciences from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) in partnership with the National Cancer Institute (INCA), Professor at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), affiliated with the Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Vitória – ES, Brazil.
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