Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2025; 31(3): 99983
Published online Jan 21, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i3.99983
WNT/β-catenin-M2 macrophage interplay as a target for therapy against hepatocellular carcinoma: Role of Calculus bovis
Tryfonas Mpektsis, Anastasios Manolakis, Andreas Kapsoritakis
Tryfonas Mpektsis, Anastasios Manolakis, Andreas Kapsoritakis, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Larisa, Larisa 41100, Greece
Co-first authors: Tryfonas Mpektsis and Anastasios Manolakis.
Author contributions: Mpektsis T and Manolakis A participated equally in the conception, drafting, revision, and editing of the manuscript; Kapsoritakis A supervised and contributed to the drafting, revision, and language editing of the manuscript; All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have nothing to disclose.
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: Anastasios Manolakis, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Larisa, Mezourlo, Larisa 41100, Greece. manolakis@uth.gr
Received: August 4, 2024
Revised: September 29, 2024
Accepted: November 18, 2024
Published online: January 21, 2025
Processing time: 137 Days and 14.2 Hours
Abstract

Liver cancer, and in particular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a disease of rising prevalence and incidence. To date, definitive treatment options include either surgical excision or ablation of the affected area. With increasing research on several pathways that could be involved in the progression of HCC, new elements within these pathways emerge as potential targets for novel therapies. The WNT/β-catenin pathway favors the presence of M2 tumor-associated macrophages which in turn promote tumor growth and metastasis. The inhibition of this pathway is considered a good candidate for such targeted therapeutic interventions. Interestingly, as Huang et al show in their recently published article, Calculus bovis which is used in traditional Chinese medicine can exert an inhibitory effect on the β-catenin pathway and become a potential candidate for targeted pharmacotherapy against liver cancer.

Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma; Calculus bovis; WNT/β-catenin pathway; Tumor-associated macrophages

Core Tip: Activation of the WNT/β-catenin pathway plays an important role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development and the modulation of the tumor microenvironment through M2 macrophage production. Calculus bovis (CB), an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, exhibits liver anti-tumor properties: Inhibition of the WNT/β-catenin pathway and subsequent decrease in M2 tumor-associated macrophages polarization. In all, the inhibition of WNT/β-catenin pathway emerges as a therapeutic target while the use of CB surfaces as potential medium to achieve this kind of modulation. CB, therefore, appears to be a lucrative candidate that can aid in the pharmacotherapy of HCC.