Farhat SG, Karam K. Calculus bovis hijacks the tumor microenvironment in liver cancer cells in a multifaceted approach: A falling row of dominoes. World J Gastroenterol 2024; 30(48): 5221-5224 [DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i48.5221]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Said G Farhat, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Saint Georges Hospital University Medical Center, Rmeil Street, Ashrafieh, Beirut 3187, Beyrouth, Lebanon. saidfarhat@hotmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. Dec 28, 2024; 30(48): 5221-5224 Published online Dec 28, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i48.5221
Calculus bovis hijacks the tumor microenvironment in liver cancer cells in a multifaceted approach: A falling row of dominoes
Said G Farhat, Karam Karam
Said G Farhat, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Saint Georges Hospital University Medical Center, Beirut 3187, Beyrouth, Lebanon
Said G Farhat, Department of Gastroenterology, Dr. Sulaiman Al habib, Dubai 505005, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Karam Karam, Department of Gastroenterology, University of Balamand, Beirut 3187, Beyrouth, Lebanon
Co-first authors: Said G Farhat and Karam Karam.
Author contributions: Farhat SG and Karam K contributed to conceptualization, data curation, drafting and writing original draft.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Said G Farhat, MD, Chief Doctor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Saint Georges Hospital University Medical Center, Rmeil Street, Ashrafieh, Beirut 3187, Beyrouth, Lebanon. saidfarhat@hotmail.com
Received: October 3, 2024 Revised: October 25, 2024 Accepted: November 13, 2024 Published online: December 28, 2024 Processing time: 56 Days and 22.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Calculus bovis (C. bovis) is an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine known for its various anti-inflammatory and anti-tumorigenic effects. C. bovis influences the tumor microenvironment by targeting immune-related pathways. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that C. bovis plays a crucial role in the regulation of M2-tumor-associated macrophages polarization and halting the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. This study provides a solid and promising evidence concerning potential drug therapy in the treatment of liver cancer. In this paper, we shed light on the inevitable “cross talk” between the Wnt and transforming growth factor-β signaling pathways, thus connecting angiogenesis, oncogenesis and liver fibrosis. C. bovis is deemed a priming molecule that sets the stage for a series of related and inter-connected events, such as angiogenesis, hepatocarcinogenesis and hepatic fibrosis. This process brings about the “domino effect” whereby one event uncovers another related event as a falling row of dominoes.
