Search results for "Neoplastic"

Traditional Chinese Medicine Remedy to Jury: The Pharmacological Basis for the Use of Shikonin as an Anticancer Therapy

2013

Shikonin is the major constituent of the root of Lithospermum erythrorhizon, which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat external wounds, burns, or dermatitis for centuries. Nowadays, this root is commonly used as an herbal medicine against cancer. Studies carried out over the past 30 years have demonstrated that many of the effects historically associated with the use of this root have a scientific basis, with shikonin and its derivatives being responsible for its pharmacological properties. These include both anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects. While previous summaries have focused on the pharmacokinetics and toxicity of shikonin, the aim of this review is to report…

Development of [1,2]oxazoloisoindoles tubulin polymerization inhibitors: Further chemical modifications and potential therapeutic effects against lym…

2022

Lymphomas are among the ten most common cancers, and, although progress has been achieved in increasing survival, there is still an unmet need for more effective therapeutic approaches, including better options for patients with refractory tumors that initially respond but then relapse. The lack of effective alternative treatment options highlights the need to develop new therapeutic strategies capable of improving survival prospects for lymphoma patients. Herein, we describe the identification and exploration of the SAR of a series of [1,2]oxazolo[5,4-e]isoindoles as potent small molecules that bind to the colchicine site of tubulin and that have promise for the treatment of refractory lym…

Therapeutic and diagnostic applications of nanoparticles.

2011

Nanoparticles are sphere-like biocompatible materials made of inert silica, metal or crystals of a few nanometers in size. They are emerging as a novel class of therapeutics for cancer treatment. Being more selective and specific toward their targets, nanoparticles have the ability to enhance the anticancer effects and to simultaneously reduce systemic toxicity compared with conventional therapeutics. Furthermore, they offer the potential to overcome drug resistance leading to higher intracellular drug accumulation. Nowadays, nanotechnologies are applied to molecular diagnostics and incorporated in cutting-edge molecular diagnostic methods, such as DNA and protein microarray biochips. Nanot…

In vivo stimulation of murine haematopoiesis by the antineoplastic agent bryostatin-1

1990

Does Ligand Symmetry Play a Role in the Stabilization of DNA G-Quadruplex Host-Guest Complexes?

2014

In efforts to find agents with improved biological activity against cancer cells, recent years have seen an increased interest in the study of small molecules able to bind the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) when it assumes secondary structures known as G-quadruplexes (G4s) preferring them over the B form. Currently, several compounds reported in literature have already shown to be good candidates as G4s DNA stabilizers. Even though some specific features for the G4s affinity are known, such as a π-delocalized system able to stack at the top/end of a G-tetrad and positively charged substituents able to interact with the grooves, it is not clear yet what kind of structural features affect more t…

Chemistry and biology of new marine alkaloids from the indole and annelated indole series.

2003

Chemistry and biology of marine natural products from the indole and annelated indole series have become an attractive research field for development of new pharmacological lead substances. In the past years some of the isolated natural organic compounds were synthesized by chemists and evaluated with great enthusiasm to find new lead natural compounds against different diseases. In this review the latest results for new compounds including isolation, biological evaluation, synthetic pathways and some retrosynthetic analyses are summarized.

Cucurbitacins as inducers of cell death and a rich source of potential anticancer compounds.

2011

Triterpenes have been reported to induce cell death. One relevant group of this family of compounds is cucurbitacins, which have been studied as inducers of apoptosis in various cancer cell lines. The most significant mechanisms with regard to the apoptotic effects of cucurbitacins are their ability to modify transcriptional activities via nuclear factors or genes and their capability to activate or inhibit pro- or anti-apoptotic proteins. Still, while the majority of studies on these compounds have dealt with their apoptotic effects on cancer cell lines, several research groups have also explored their anti-inflammatory activities. In general, cucurbitacins are considered to be selective i…

Insight on pyrimido[5,4-g]indolizine and pyrimido[4,5-c]pyrrolo[1,2-a]azepine systems as promising photosensitizers on malignant cells

2022

Searching for new small molecules as photosensitizing agents, we have developed a class of twenty-five pyrimido[5,4-g]indolizine and pyrimido[4,5-c]pyrrolo[1,2-a]azepines with a good substitution pattern defining a versatile synthetic pathway to approach the title ring system. All compounds were evaluated for their photocytotoxicity on a triple negative human breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231) in the dark and under UVA light (2.0 J/cm2). The most effective compounds exhibited a photoantiproliferative activity with IC50 values up to nanomolar ranges. Interestingly, these new developed compounds showed high selectivity towards cancerous cells with respect to non-cancerous ones. Moreover, fo…

Development and Partial Characterization of a Human T-Lymphoblastic Leukemic (CCRF-CEM) Cell Line Resistant to Etoposide. Analysis of Possible Circum…

1996

We have selected an etoposide-resistant variant (CCRF-CEM/VP-16) of the human T-lymphoblastic CCRF-CEM leukemia for study. Resistance to the topoisomerase II (topo II) inhibitor was about 11-fold and stable. Other data revealed that the new cell line had acquired an atypical, non-P-glycoprotein overexpressing multidrug resistant (MDR) phenotype with cross-resistance to other topo II inhibitors (amsacrine, doxorubicin, and mitoxantrone) and to glucocorticoids, but not to novobiocin, ICRF-187, vincristine or cisplatin. In a first instance, we assumed that altered drug-topo II interactions, based on quantitative and/or qualitative modifications of the enzyme, are a cause of resistance in the c…

Apurinic acid, a modified DNA with anticancer activity

1971

Apurinsaure, ein purinfreies hochmolekulares Desoxyribonukleinsaure-Derivat, hemmt das Wachstum des menschlichen Kolontumors GW-77 und das amelanotsiche Melanom des Hamsters.