Abstract
Patients with malignant gliomas have poor prognoses, and the majority of the patients have local tumor recurrence after various treatments including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Thus it is mandatory to develop better therapies for treatment of these malignant brain tumors. Tetrandrine, a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, has antitumor effects against some cancers. Tetrandrine affects the cell cycle, production of reactive oxygen species, mitogen-activated protein kinase activity, and reverses multidrug resistance in various cancer cells. Since tetrandrine is a highly lipid-soluble and hydrophobic molecule with a low molecular weight, it may cross the blood brain barrier; thus, it could be used for the treatment of gliomas. Tetrandrine inhibits the large-conductance, calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels and the expression of BK channel has a positive correlation with tumor malignancy grade in human gliomas. Furthermore, tetrandrine also exerts cytotoxic effects, and induces apoptosis and radiosensitization in glioma cells by elimination of radiation-induced cell cycle perturbation. It also has anti-angiogenesis effects in gliomas, and exerts an antitumor effect on subcutaneous and intracerebral gliomas. Tetrandrine is a radiosensitizer and also a multidrug resistance reversing agent. Tetrandrine can probably be combined with radiotherapy or other chemotherapeutic agents to treat gliomas. Nonetheless, it is important to determine the balance between the safety and efficacy of tetrandrine in patients with malignant gliomas before any clinical application.
Keywords: Anticancer effect, glioma, tetrandrine.
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry
Title: The Potential of Tetrandrine Against Gliomas
Volume: 10 Issue: 7
Author(s): Yun Chen and Sheng-Hong Tseng
Affiliation:
Keywords: Anticancer effect, glioma, tetrandrine.
Abstract: Patients with malignant gliomas have poor prognoses, and the majority of the patients have local tumor recurrence after various treatments including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Thus it is mandatory to develop better therapies for treatment of these malignant brain tumors. Tetrandrine, a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, has antitumor effects against some cancers. Tetrandrine affects the cell cycle, production of reactive oxygen species, mitogen-activated protein kinase activity, and reverses multidrug resistance in various cancer cells. Since tetrandrine is a highly lipid-soluble and hydrophobic molecule with a low molecular weight, it may cross the blood brain barrier; thus, it could be used for the treatment of gliomas. Tetrandrine inhibits the large-conductance, calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels and the expression of BK channel has a positive correlation with tumor malignancy grade in human gliomas. Furthermore, tetrandrine also exerts cytotoxic effects, and induces apoptosis and radiosensitization in glioma cells by elimination of radiation-induced cell cycle perturbation. It also has anti-angiogenesis effects in gliomas, and exerts an antitumor effect on subcutaneous and intracerebral gliomas. Tetrandrine is a radiosensitizer and also a multidrug resistance reversing agent. Tetrandrine can probably be combined with radiotherapy or other chemotherapeutic agents to treat gliomas. Nonetheless, it is important to determine the balance between the safety and efficacy of tetrandrine in patients with malignant gliomas before any clinical application.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Chen Yun and Tseng Sheng-Hong, The Potential of Tetrandrine Against Gliomas, Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry 2010; 10 (7) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187152010793498609
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/187152010793498609 |
Print ISSN 1871-5206 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-5992 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Induction of cell death in cancer cells by modulating telomerase activity using small molecule drugs
Telomeres are distinctive but short stretches present at the corners of chromosomes and aid in stabilizing chromosomal makeup. Resynthesis of telomeres supported by the activity of reverse transcriptase ribonucleoprotein complex telomerase. There is no any telomerase activity in human somatic cells, but the stem cells and germ cells undergone telomerase ...read more
Role of natural compounds as anti anti-cancer agents
Cancer is considered the leading cause of worldwide mortality, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2022. Cancer outcome can be improved through an appropriate screening and early detection and through an efficient clinical treatment. Chemotherapy remains an important approach in treatment o f several types of cancers, even though ...read more
Signaling and enzymatic modulators in cancer treatment
Cancer accounts for nearly 10 million deaths in 2022 and is considered the leading cause of worldwide mortality. Cancer outcome can be improved through an appropriate screening and early detection and through an efficient clinical treatment. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery are the most important approach for the treatment of several ...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
-
An Overview on the Role of miR-451 in Lung Cancer: Diagnosis, Therapy,
and Prognosis
MicroRNA Natural Sourced Inhibitors of EGFR, PDGFR, FGFR and VEGFRMediated Signaling Pathways as Potential Anticancer Agents
Current Medicinal Chemistry Ginsenoside Rb1 Directly Scavenges Hydroxyl Radical and Hypochlorous Acid
Current Pharmaceutical Design Repurposing Pharmaceuticals as Neuroprotective Agents for Cerebral Malaria
Current Clinical Pharmacology Death Receptor Signaling in Cancer Therapy
Current Medicinal Chemistry - Anti-Cancer Agents Analysis of miRNAs Targeting 3’UTR of H2AFX Gene: a General <i>in Silico</i> Approach
MicroRNA Emerging Treatments in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Current Cancer Drug Targets Editorial (Thematic Issue: Special Issue on Herbal Medicines and Nano-Drug Delivery Systems)
Current Signal Transduction Therapy Recent Progress in Stimuli-Responsive Intelligent Nano Scale Drug Delivery Systems: A Special Focus Towards pH-Sensitive Systems
Current Drug Targets Cannabinoids and Cancer
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Resistance to Peloruside A and Laulimalide: Functional Significance of Acquired βI-tubulin Mutations at Sites Important for Drug-Tubulin Binding
Current Cancer Drug Targets Conjugation Approaches for Construction of Aptamer-Modified Nanoparticles for Application in Imaging
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Cholangiocarcinoma Therapeutics: An Update
Current Cancer Drug Targets Inhibition of Angiogenesis as a Treatment Strategy for Neuroblastoma
Current Cancer Therapy Reviews Synthesis and Characterization of Two New Thiophene Acetyl Salicylic Acid Esters and their ortho- and para-effect on Anticancer Activity
Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry The Use of the Zebrafish Model to Aid in Drug Discovery and Target Validation
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Thioethers: An Overview
Current Drug Targets Epigallocatechin-3-gallate(EGCG): Mechanisms and the Combined Applications
Combinatorial Chemistry & High Throughput Screening Development of Decision Tree Models for Substrates, Inhibitors, and Inducers of P-Glycoprotein
Current Drug Metabolism Thirty Years of Polyamine-Related Approaches to Cancer Therapy. Retrospect and Prospect. Part 2. Structural Analogues and Derivatives
Current Drug Targets