Are Bioactive Molecules from Seaweeds a Novel and Challenging Option for the Prevention of HPV Infection and Cervical Cancer Therapy?-A Review

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 2; p. 629
• Main Authors: Moga, Marius Alexandru, Dima, Lorena, Balan, Andreea, Blidaru, Alexandru, Dimienescu, Oana Gabriela, Podasca, Cezar, Toma, Sebastian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 10-01-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Algae; Animals; anticancer; Anticoagulants; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacology; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Antioxidants; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Bioactive compounds; Biological activity; Biotechnology; Cancer therapies; Carcinogenesis; carcinogenesis process; Carcinogens; Cardiovascular disease; Carotenoids; Carrageenans; Cellulose; Cervical cancer; Cervical carcinoma; Cervix; Clinical trials; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Dextran; Dextran sulfate; Dextrans; DNA; Fatty acids; Female; Fucoidan; Growth inhibition; HPV infection; Human papillomavirus; Humans; Infections; Invasiveness; Literature reviews; Marine organisms; Organisms; Papillomavirus Infections - complications; Papillomavirus Infections - drug therapy; Papillomavirus Infections - prevention & control; Phaeophyceae - chemistry; Physiology; Pigments; Polyphenols; Polysaccharides; Proteins; Review; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Seaweed - chemistry; Seaweeds; Tumor cell lines; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - drug therapy; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - etiology; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - prevention & control; Virions; Viruses; HPV infection; seaweeds; cervical cancer; anticancer; carcinogenesis process
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22020629

Cervical cancer represents one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in women all over the world. The infection with human papilloma virus (HPV) is one of the major risk factors for the development of premalignant lesions, which will progress to cervical cancer. Seaweeds are marine organisms with increased contents of bioactive compounds, which are described as potential anti-HPV and anti-cervical cancer agents. Our study aims to bring together all the results of the previous studies, conducted in order to highlight the potency of bioactive molecules from seaweeds, as anti-HPV and anti-cervical agents. This paper is a review of the English literature published between January 2010 and August 2020. We performed a systematic study in the Google Academic and PubMed databases using the key words "HPV infection", "anticancer", "seaweeds", "cervical cancer" and "carcinogenesis process", aiming to evaluate the effects of different bioactive molecules from marine algae on cervical cancer cell lines and on HPV-infected cells. Only original studies were considered for our research. None of the papers was excluded due to language usage or affiliation. Recent discoveries pointed out that sulfated polysaccharides, such as dextran sulfate heparan or cellulose sulfate, blocked the ability of HPV to infect cells, and inhibited the carcinogenesis process. Carrageenans inhibited the virions of HPV from binding the cellular wall. Fucoidan induced the growth inhibition of HeLa cervical cells in vitro. Heterofucans exhibited antiproliferative effects on cancer cell lines. Terpenoids from brown algae are also promising agents with anti-cervical cancer activity. Considering all the results of the previous studies, we observed that great amounts of bioactive molecules from seaweeds could treat both unapparent HPV infection and clinical visible disease. Furthermore, these molecules were very efficient in the treatment of invasive cervical carcinomas. In these conditions, we consider seaweeds extracts as a novel and challenging therapeutic strategy, and we hope that our study paves the way for further clinical trials in the field.