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.
Keywords: Invertebrate, tunicate, ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, apoptosis, cytotoxicity
Medicinal Chemistry
Title: Cytotoxic and Apoptogenic Activity of a Methanolic Extract from the Marine Invertebrate Ciona intestinalis on Malignant Cell Lines
Volume: 4 Issue: 2
Author(s): Elisabetta Tosti, Gian Luigi Russo, Gaetano Ciarcia, Emilio Presidente and Rosa Anna Siciliano
Affiliation:
Keywords: Invertebrate, tunicate, ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, apoptosis, cytotoxicity
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.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Tosti Elisabetta, Russo Luigi Gian, Ciarcia Gaetano, Presidente Emilio and Siciliano Anna Rosa, Cytotoxic and Apoptogenic Activity of a Methanolic Extract from the Marine Invertebrate Ciona intestinalis on Malignant Cell Lines, Medicinal Chemistry 2008; 4 (2) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/157340608783789121
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/157340608783789121 |
Print ISSN 1573-4064 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-6638 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Carbohydrates in Computational and Medicinal Chemistry
Carbohydrates are the most essential organic molecules and are involved in the maintenance of various physiological and metabolic processes in living organisms. Carbohydrate-based compounds have come to the attention of researchers because of their significant contributions to biological functions, such as cell development and cell proliferation, connections between several cells, ...read more
Recent Advances in the Medicinal Chemistry of Cancer
Scope of the Thematic Issue: Correlation between structure and function is one of the important aspects of the success of anti-cancer compounds associated with their structure-activity interactions, physiology, biochemical, molecular, and genetic processes. Overcoming these obstacles is key to obtaining further insights into developments in rational drug design, bioorganic chemistry, ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
Related Articles
-
From Natural Products to Designer Drugs: Development and Molecular Mechanisms Action of Novel Anti-Microtubule Breast Cancer Therapeutics
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Recent Advances in Oncogenic Roles of the TRPM7 Chanzyme
Current Medicinal Chemistry From Nucleic Acids to Drug Discovery: Nucleobases as Emerging Templates for Drug Candidates
Current Medicinal Chemistry Drug Resistance in Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology The Immunoproteasome as a Therapeutic Target for Hematological Malignancies
Current Cancer Drug Targets Current Dendrimer Applications in Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Multifunctional RNase MCPIP1 and its Role in Cardiovascular Diseases
Current Medicinal Chemistry MicroRNA Therapeutics: the Next Magic Bullet?
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Controlled Gene Delivery Can Enhance Therapeutic Outcome for Cancer Immune Therapy for Melanoma
Current Gene Therapy Disease Modifying Drugs in Multiple Sclerosis: Mechanisms of Action and New Drugs in the Horizon
CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets Honey as a Source of Dietary Antioxidants: Structures, Bioavailability and Evidence of Protective Effects Against Human Chronic Diseases
Current Medicinal Chemistry Challenges and Advances in Infection Control of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients
Infectious Disorders - Drug Targets Zebrafish as a Model System to Screen Radiation Modifiers
Current Genomics Transcription Factors as Potential Targets for Therapeutic Drugs
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Studies of p53 Tumor Suppression Activity in Mouse Models
Current Genomics HIV-1 Reactivation Induced by Apicidin Involves Histone Modification in Latently Infected Cells
Current HIV Research MIF and CD74 - Suitability as Clinical Biomarkers
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Thyroid Hormone Modulation of Immunity: Its Participation in Chronic Stress-Induced Immune Alterations
Current Immunology Reviews (Discontinued) From Ontology-Based Gene Function to Physiological Model
Current Bioinformatics Enhancement in Biological Activity of L-Asparginase by its Conjugation on Silica Nanoparticles
Recent Patents on Nanotechnology