Traditional Chinese Medicine Regulates Metabolic Reprogramming to Treat Lung Cancer： A Review
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20250326
- VernacularTitle:中药调控代谢重编程治疗肺癌的研究进展
- Author:
Xiaoli WEN
1
;
Fangyan CAI
2
;
Ling LIU
1
;
Si SHAN
1
;
Xiang ZHANG
1
;
Hongning LIU
1
Author Information
1. Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine， Nanchang 330004，China
2. Nanchang Medical College， Nanchang 330052，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
traditional Chinese medicine;
regulation;
metabolic reprogramming;
lung cancer;
research progress
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2025;31(24):269-279
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Lung cancer has the highest morbidity and mortality rate among all cancers. Because of the complex pathogenesis， there are limitations in the common Western medicine treatment methods. Clinical and experimental studies have proved that traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） can not only effectively treat lung cancer and alleviate the clinical symptoms of cancer patients but also reduce the adverse reactions and complications caused by surgery， chemotherapy， and radiotherapy to improve the quality of life of the patients. The biological behaviors of lung cancer cells， such as proliferation， invasion， and metastasis， are closely related to their metabolic reprogramming. Metabolic reprogramming in lung cancer involves a series of metabolic changes such as increased glucose uptake and consumption， enhanced glycolysis， increased amino acid uptake and catabolism， and enhanced lipid and protein synthesis. Studies have reported that TCM active components， extracts， and compound prescriptions can effectively inhibit the biological behaviors of lung cancer by regulating metabolic reprogramming. Therefore， this paper reviews the pharmacological mechanisms of TCM active components， extracts， and compound prescriptions in regulating metabolic reprogramming of lung cancer， with the aim of providing a new way of thinking for the treatment of lung cancer by TCM regulation of metabolic reprogramming of lung cancer cells. The available studies suggest that TCM mainly inhibits the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase （ERK）/c-Myc， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）， and hypoxia-inducible factor-α （HIF-1α） pathways. Furthermore， the expression of monocarboxylate transporter 4 （MCT4）， glucose transporter 1 （GLUT1）， pyruvate dehydrogenase （PDH）， phosphofructokinase 1 （PFK1）， pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1 （PDK1）， pyruvate kinase M2 （PKM2）， hexokinase （HK）， lactate dehydrogenase （LDH）， and lactate dehydrogenase A （LDHA） are inhibited. In this way， TCM inhibits the glucose uptake by lung cancer cells and glycolysis in lung cancer cells to reduce the energy metabolism of tumor cells， ultimately achieving the therapeutic effect on lung cancer.
