Epigenetic modulators from "The Big Blue": a treasure to fight against cancer.

Abstract

Cancer remains a major public health problem in our society. The development of potent novel anti-cancer drugs selective for tumor cells is therefore still required. Deregulation of the epigenetic machinery including DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs is a hallmark of cancer, which provides potential new therapeutic targets. Natural products or their derivatives represent a major class of anti-cancer drugs in the arsenal available to the clinician. However, regarding epigenetically active anti-cancer agents for clinics, the oceans represent a largely untapped resource. This review focuses on marine natural compounds with epigenetic activities and their synthetic derivatives displaying anti-cancer properties including largazole, psammaplins, trichostatins and azumamides.

• Authors: Michael Schnekenburger, Mario Dicato, Marc Diederich
• Journal: Cancer letters (Cancer Lett) Vol. 351 Issue 2 Pg. 182-97 (Sep 01 2014) ISSN: 1872-7980 [Electronic] Ireland
• PMID: 24964131 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents
• Biological Products
• MicroRNAs

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Agents (chemistry, pharmacology)
• Aquatic Organisms (chemistry)
• Biological Products (chemistry, pharmacology)
• DNA Methylation
• Epigenomics
• Humans
• MicroRNAs (genetics)
• Neoplasms (drug therapy, genetics)