Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry

(Formerly 'Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Cancer Agents')

ISSN: 1871-5206

Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry
Volume 10, Number 5, June 2010

Contents

Metal-Containing Drugs and Novel Coordination Complexes in Therapeutic Anticancer Applications – Part II
Guest Editor: Irena Kostova

Editorial Pp. 352-353


Enzyme Inhibition as a Key Target for the Development of Novel Metal-Based Anti-Cancer Therapeutics Pp. 354-370
D. Griffith, J.P. Parker and C.J. Marmion
[Abstract] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20380633 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


Recent Researches in Metal Supramolecular Complexes as Anticancer Agents Pp. 371-395
C.-H. Zhou, Y.-Y. Zhang, C.-Y. Yan, K. Wan, L.-L. Gan and Y. Shi
[Abstract] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20380632 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


Fresh Platinum Complexes with Promising Antitumor Activity Pp. 396-411
X. Wang
[Abstract] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20545618 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


Progress in TCM Metal-Based Antitumour Agents Pp. 412-423
Z.-F. Chen and H. Liang
[Abstract] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20545619 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


General Article


Compounds from Wild Mushrooms with Antitumor Potential Pp. 424-436
I.C.F.R. Ferreira, J.A. Vaz, M.H. Vasconcelos and A. Martins
[Abstract] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20545620 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]




Abstracts


[Back to top] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20380633 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Enzyme Inhibition as a Key Target for the Development of Novel Metal-Based Anti-Cancer Therapeutics
D. Griffith, J.P. Parker and C.J. Marmion

Historically, DNA has been the target for many metal-based anti-cancer drugs, but drawbacks of prevailing therapies have stimulated the search for new molecular targets which may present unique opportunities for therapeutic exploitation. Enzyme inhibition has recently been identified as an alternative and significant target. The pursuit of novel metallodrug candidates that selectively target enzymes is now the subject of intense investigation in medicinal bioinorganic chemistry and chemical biology. In the field of drug design, it is recognised by many that exploiting the structural and chemical diversity of metal ions for the identification of potential hit and lead candidates can dramatically increase the number of possible drug candidates that may be added to the already abundant armoury of chemotherapeutic agents. This review will focus on recent key advancements in enzyme inhibition as a key target for the development of novel metal-based anti-cancer therapeutics. The enormous clinical success of classical platinum drugs, amongst others, coupled with the wealth of knowledge accumulated in recent years on enzyme structure and function, has undoubtedly been the impetus behind the development of new metallodrug candidates with enzyme inhibitory properties. Recent trends in this field will be reviewed with a particular emphasis on metal complexes that inhibit protein and lipid kinases, matrix metalloproteases, telomerases, topoisomerases, glutathione-S-transferases, and histone deacetylases.


[Back to top] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20380632 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Recent Researches in Metal Supramolecular Complexes as Anticancer Agents
C.-H. Zhou, Y.-Y. Zhang, C.-Y. Yan, K. Wan, L.-L. Gan and Y. Shi

The research and development of metal supramolecular complexes as anticancer supramolecular drugs, which are aggregates mainly formed by one or more inorganic metal compounds with one or more either inorganic or organic molecules in general via coordination bonds, has been a quite rapidly developing, increasingly active and newly rising highlight interdisciplinary field. Numerous efforts have been directed toward metal supramolecular complexes as potential anticancer agents and the unprecedented progress has been made. This has opened up a wholly new and infinite space to create novel metal-based bioactive supermolecules. More importantly, metal-based complex supermolecules as potential anticancer agents with wide potential applications have become highlight topics in recent years, and are becoming increasingly useful and important in preventing and treating cancer diseases. In view of the rapid progress in metal complex anticancer supermolecules with rich variation of structural types, this work systematically reviewed the recent research and development of the whole range of metal-based supramolecular complexes as anticancer agents mainly in 2009. The perspectives of the foreseeable future and potential application of metal supramolecular complexes in cancer therapy were also presented. It is hoped that this review will serve as a stimulant for new thoughts in the quest for rational designs of more active and less toxic metal supramolecular complex anticancer drugs.


[Back to top] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20545618 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Fresh Platinum Complexes with Promising Antitumor Activity
X. Wang

Platinum-based anticancer chemotherapy constitutes a cornerstone for the treatment of various solid tumors. However, existing platinum drugs like cisplatin encounter many obstacles such as drug resistance and systemic toxicity in clinical applications. Extensive attempts have been made to minimize the side effects of platinum drugs. This review concentrates on the major development of novel platinum complexes in the last five years, and highlights the complexes with DNA damage mode fundamentally different from that of cisplatin. Diverse platinum complexes are discussed in the text, including analogues of cisplatin or oxaliplatin, monofunctional platinum(II) complexes, polynuclear platinum(II) complexes, trans-platinum(II) complexes, and platinum(IV) complexes. All of these complexes display impressive antitumor activity and some of them show remarkable potentiality to circumvent the resistance to cisplatin. On the basis of these new facts, it can be concluded that structural modifications could substantially modulate the DNA binding mode and DNA damage process, and as a result largely improve the antitumor efficacy of platinum complexes.


[Back to top] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20545619 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Progress in TCM Metal-Based Antitumour Agents
Z.-F. Chen and H. Liang

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) have recently been recognized as a new source of anticancer drugs and new chemotherapy adjuvant to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy and to diminish side effects and resistance of cancer chemotherapies. At the same time, cisplatin, one of the most widely used anticancer drugs, is effective in treating a variety of cancers, especially testicular cancer for which it has a greater than 90% cure rate, but its clinical efficacy is limited by significant side effects and acquired or intrinsic resistance. Therefore, many efforts have been devoted to designing new platinum compounds with improved pharmacological properties and a broader range of antitumour activity. New strategies have been applied in the designs of antitumour coordination compounds as drugs, such as synthesizing new ligands or metal complexes with different reaction mechanisms. Among them, new coordination compounds based on traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) provide a novel approach to potential (pro-)drugs. This review mainly focuses on the synthesis, structure, antitumour activity and interactions with molecular targets of TCM based metal complexes. TCM alkaloids, flavonoids, cantharidin, coumarins, plumbagin, curcumin and camphoric acid metal-based antitumour agents are covered. The future development of hybrid TCM-metal complexes as antitumour drugs is discussed. The pursuit of new TCM metal-based anticancer drugs and enhancement of modern TCM holds promise for overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR).


[Back to top] [Purchase Article] [PMID: 20545620 PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Compounds from Wild Mushrooms with Antitumor Potential
I.C.F.R. Ferreira, J.A. Vaz, M.H. Vasconcelos and A. Martins

For thousands of years medicine and natural products have been closely linked through the use of traditional medicines and natural poisons. Mushrooms have an established history of use in traditional oriental medicine, where most medicinal mushroom preparations are regarded as a tonic, that is, they have beneficial health effects without known negative side-effects and can be moderately used on a regular basis without harm. Mushrooms comprise a vast and yet largely untapped source of powerful new pharmaceutical products. In particular, and most importantly for modern medicine, they represent an unlimited source of compounds which are modulators of tumour cell growth. Furthermore, they may have potential as functional foods and sources of novel molecules. We will review the compounds with antitumor potential identified so far in mushrooms, including low-molecular-weight (LMW, e.g. quinones, cerebrosides, isoflavones, catechols, amines, triacylglycerols, sesquiterpenes, steroids, organic germanium and selenium) and high-molecular-weightcompounds (HMW, e.g. homo and heteroglucans, glycans, glycoproteins, glycopeptides, proteoglycans, proteins and RNA-protein complexes).