Flavonoids are nearly ubiquitous in plants and are recognized as the pigments responsible for the colors of leaves, especially in autumn. They are rich in seeds, citrus fruits, olive oil, tea, and red wine. They are low molecular weight compounds composed of a three-ring structure with various substitutions. This basic structure is shared by tocopherols (vitamin E). Flavonoids can be subdivided according to the presence of an oxy group at position 4, a double bond between carbon atoms 2 and 3, or a hydroxyl group in position 3 of the C (middle) ring. These characteristics appear to also be required for best activity, especially antioxidant and antiproliferative, in the systems studied. The particular hydroxylation pattern of the B ring of the flavonoles increases their activities, especially in inhibition of mast cell secretion. Certain plants and spices containing flavonoids have been used for thousands of years in traditional Eastern medicine. In spite of the voluminous literature available, however, Western medicine has not yet used flavonoids therapeutically, even though their safety record is exceptional. Suggestions are made where such possibilities may be worth pursuing.

The Effects of Plant Flavonoids on Mammalian Cells:Implications for Inflammation, Heart Disease, and Cancer

Advances in flavonoid research since 1992.

https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/pdf/S1097-2765(01)00260-X.pdf

The Two-Handed E Box Binding Zinc Finger Protein SIP1 Downregulates E-Cadherin and Induces Invasion

Flavonoids : old and new aspects of a class of natural therapeutic drugs

Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that are ubiquitously in plants. They have been shown to possess a variety of biological activities at nontoxic concentrations in organisms. The role of dietary flavonoids in cancer prevention is widely discussed. Compelling data from laboratory studies, epidemiological investigations, and human clinical trials indicate that flavonoids have important effects on cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy. Many mechanisms of action have been identified, including carcinogen inactivation, antiproliferation, cell cycle arrest, induction of apoptosis and differentiation, inhibition of angiogenesis, antioxidation and reversal of multidrug resistance or a combination of these mechanisms. Based on these results, flavonoids may be promising anticancer agents.

Flavonoids: Promising anticancer agents

The invasiveness of MCF-7 human mammary carcinoma cells was tested in vitro via confronting cultures with embryonic chick heart fragments. Invasive (e.g. MCF-7/6) and non-invasive (e.g. MCF-7/AZ) variants were detected. Automated image analysis of time-lapse video-microscopy recordings showed that the plasma membrane ruffling activity of the invasive MCF-7/6 variant was higher than the ruffling activity of the non-invasive MCF-7/AZ variant. Addition of all-trans-retinoic acid to the culture medium (10(-6) M) inhibited both invasion and ruffling of MCF-7/6 cells, while MCF-7/AZ cells became invasive and acquired an increased ruffling by the same type of treatment. A similar opposite effect on MCF-7 cells was not found after treatment with other ligands of the nuclear steroid/thyroid receptor superfamily. Triiodo-l-thyronine (up to 10(-5) M) and beta-oestradiol (up to 10(-6) M) did not alter the invasiveness of the cells, while dexamethasone (10(-6) M) and the pure anti-oestrogen ICI 164,384 inhibited both invasion and ruffling. Our data show that retinoic acid can modulate invasiveness in opposite directions.

Retinoic acid modulates both invasion and plasma membrane ruffling of MCF-7 human mammary carcinoma cells in vitro.

Catechins, a group of flavonoid molecules, inhibit invasion of mouse MO4 cells into embryonic chick heart fragments in vitro. The anti-invasive effects can be ranked as follows: (+)-catechin greater than (-)-epicatechin greater than 3-O-methyl-(+)-catechin greater than 3-O-palmitoyl-(+)-catechin. Most of the catechins are unstable in cell culture media, and their spontaneous rearrangement products tend to bind to extracellular matrix (ECM). Due to these interactions proteases such as tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) are linked to the ECM glycoprotein laminin. This leads to a partial inactivation of the enzyme. Within the group of catechins we found a positive correlation between anti-invasive activity and linking of t-PA to laminin. Citrus flavonoids are also anti-invasive in vitro (tangeretin greater than nobiletin greater than hesperidin = naringin). However, these stable molecules show poor affinity for ECM, and do not link enzymes to laminin. These data suggest that catechins and citrus flavonoids inhibit invasion in vitro by different mechanisms.

Effect of catechins and citrus flavonoids on invasion in vitro.

Anti-Invasive Activity of 3,7-Dimethoxyflavone in Vitro

Flavonoids inhibit malignant tumor invasion in vitro.

The use of spheroids in the study of invasion.

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