Cytotoxic and apoptogenic activity of a methanolic extract from the marine invertebrate Ciona intestinalis on malignant cell lines.
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| Abstract |
Marine invertebrates provide a series of natural products with different biological activities. Several of these compounds and their derivatives showed a potent anticancer effect. Tunicates represent an important source of bioactive agents, leading to the isolation of ecteinascidin-743 (ET-743), a compound isolated from the Caribbean sea squirt Ecteinascidia turbinata with a potent cytotoxic activity against a variety of tumours in vitro and in vivo. Current phase II clinical trials against soft tissue sarcomas in Europe and the United States indicate that ET-743 represents a highly promising anticancer agent. Another example is aplidine from the Mediterranean tunicate Aplidium albicans, with a broad spectrum activity against various types of cancers, such as colorectal, lymphoma, thyroid and renal cancers. In the present work, we reported, for the first time, that a partially purified methanolic extract prepared from the ascidian Ciona intestinalis inhibited cell proliferation in human cell lines of different origin, including Caco2, HPB-ALL, U-937 and HL-60 and induced early apoptotic events, such as caspase-3 activation and internucleosomal DNA degradation. We suggest the presence in the Ciona intestinalis extract of bioactive compounds possessing anticancer activity.
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| Authors | Gian Luigi Russo, Gaetano Ciarcia, Emilio Presidente, Rosa Anna Siciliano, Elisabetta Tosti |
| Journal | Medicinal chemistry (Shariqah (United Arab Emirates)) (Med Chem) Vol. 4 Issue 2 Pg. 106-9 (Mar 2008) ISSN: 1573-4064 [Print] Netherlands |
| PMID | 18336328 (Publication Type: Journal Article) |
| Chemical References |
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