Abstract:
Papaverine (PPV), a benzylisoquinoline alkaloid, extracted from the Papaverine somniferum
plant, is currently in clinical use as a vasodilator. Research has shown that PPV inhibits phosphodiesterase
10A (PDE10A,) resulting in the accumulation of cyclic adenosine 30 , 50-monophosphate
(cAMP) that affects multiple downstream pathways, including phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/protein
kinase B (PI3K/Akt), a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and vascular endothelial growth
factor (VEGF). The accumulation of cAMP can further affect mitochondrial metabolism through the
activation of protein kinase A (PKA), which activates the mitochondrial complex I. Literature has
shown that PPV exerts anti-proliferative affects in several tumorigenic cell lines including adenocarcinoma
alveolar cancer (A549) and human hepatoma (HepG-2) cell lines. Cell cycle investigations
have shown varying results with the effects dependent on concentration and cell type with data
suggesting an increase in cells occupying the sub-G1 phase, which is indicative of cell death. These
results suggest that PPV may be a beneficial compound to explore for the use in anticancer studies.
More insight into the effects of the compound on cellular and molecular mechanisms is needed.
Understanding the effects PPV may exert on tumorigenic cells may better researchers’ understanding
of phytomedicines and the effects of PPV and PPV-derived compounds in cancer.
