Nature’s Arsenal Against Cancer Growth: Targeting the Epigenetic Metabolic Axis

Abstract:Cancer cells depend on coordinated changes in metabolism and epigenetic regulation to sustain growth, divide under stress, and adapt to therapy. Metabolic enzymes can shape the availability of substrates and cofactors required for chromatin modification, while epigenetic regulators can stabilize gene expression programs that support glycolysis, mitochondrial remodeling, biosynthesis, and cell cycle progression. This creates an epigenetic metabolic axis that helps cancer cells maintain their proliferative capacity.Natural product derived compounds offer a promising route to disrupt this axis. Many bioactive compounds can affect glycolytic enzymes, mitochondrial pathways, redox balance, chromatin modifiers, and transcriptional programs involved in cancer cell growth. By acting across metabolic and epigenetic networks, these compounds may limit proliferation, induce senescence or cell death, sensitize tumors to therapy, and interfere with mechanisms that support uncontrolled division.This Research Topic aims to gather mechanistic and translational studies on natural compounds that target the epigenetic metabolic regulation of cancer cell growth and division. We welcome work that links natural products or their derivatives to experimentally validated effects on metabolism, epigenetic control, cell cycle regulation, proliferation, senescence, and therapeutic response.Scope:This Research Topic welcomes Original Research, Reviews, Mini Reviews, Perspectives, and Methods articles examining how natural compounds affect the epigenetic metabolic mechanisms that regulate cancer cell growth and division.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:Natural product derived compounds that target cancer metabolism and epigenetic regulationEffects of natural compounds on glycolysis, mitochondrial metabolism, redox balance, and biosynthesisModulation of DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin remodeling, or non-coding RNA networks by natural compoundsLinks between metabolic intermediates, chromatin regulation, and cancer cell proliferationNatural compounds that affect cell cycle progression, DNA replication, mitosis, senescence, or cell fateDual targeting of metabolic enzymes and epigenetic regulators in cancer cellsMechanisms by which natural compounds sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapyStructure-activity studies of natural product derivatives with relevance to growth and division controlExperimental models for validating epigenetic metabolic disruption in cancer cellsSubmissions should include clear mechanistic or translational relevance to cancer cell growth and division. Studies focused only on broad anticancer effects, descriptive compound screening, or computational prediction without experimental validation are outside the preferred scope. Topic editors: Wonyoung Park, Shibo Wei Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83464/natures-arsenal-against-cancer-growth-targeting-the-epigenetic-metabolic-axis