PMID- 15992352
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20050728
LR  - 20240109
IS  - 1568-0118 (Print)
IS  - 1568-0118 (Linking)
VI  - 5
IP  - 3
DP  - 2005 May
TI  - Anti-cancer potential of sesquiterpene lactones: bioactivity and molecular 
      mechanisms.
PG  - 239-49
AB  - Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are the active constituents of a variety of 
      medicinal plants used in traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory 
      diseases. In recent years, the anti-cancer property of various SLs has attracted 
      a great deal of interest and extensive research work has been carried out to 
      characterize the anti-cancer activity, the molecular mechanisms, and the 
      potential chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic application of SLs. In this 
      review, we attempt to summarize the current knowledge of the anti-cancer 
      properties of SLs by focusing on the following important issues. First, we 
      discuss the structure-activity relationship of SLs. All SLs contain a common 
      functional structure, an alpha-methylene-gamma-lactone group, and this important 
      chemical characteristic means that the thiol-reactivity of SLs is an underlying 
      mechanism responsible for their bioactivities. Second, we assess the experimental 
      evidence for the anti-cancer function of SLs obtained from both in vitro cell 
      culture and in vivo animal models. Various SLs have been demonstrated to execute 
      their anti-cancer capability via inhibition of inflammatory responses, prevention 
      of metastasis and induction of apoptosis. Thirdly, we outline the molecular 
      mechanisms involved in the anti-cancer activity of SLs, in particular, the 
      SL-thiols reaction, the effect of SLs on cell signaling pathways such as nuclear 
      transcription factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases 
      (MAPK). Finally, we recapitulate some important SLs with regards to their 
      anti-cancer activities and their potential in anti-cancer drug development. Taken 
      together, many SLs are emerging as promising anti-cancer agents with potential 
      applications in both cancer chemotherapy and chemoprevention.
FAU - Zhang, Siyuan
AU  - Zhang S
AD  - Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, 
      National University of Singapore, Republic of Singapore.
FAU - Won, Yen-Kim
AU  - Won YK
FAU - Ong, Choon-Nam
AU  - Ong CN
FAU - Shen, Han-Ming
AU  - Shen HM
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Review
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Curr Med Chem Anticancer Agents
JT  - Current medicinal chemistry. Anti-cancer agents
JID - 101123597
RN  - 0 (Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic)
RN  - 0 (Lactones)
RN  - 0 (Sesquiterpenes)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - *Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/chemistry/pharmacology/therapeutic use
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Lactones/chemistry/pharmacology/therapeutic use
MH  - Molecular Structure
MH  - Neoplasms/*drug therapy
MH  - *Sesquiterpenes/chemistry/pharmacology/therapeutic use
MH  - Structure-Activity Relationship
RF  - 116
EDAT- 2005/07/05 09:00
MHDA- 2005/07/29 09:00
CRDT- 2005/07/05 09:00
PHST- 2005/07/05 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2005/07/29 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2005/07/05 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.2174/1568011053765976 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Curr Med Chem Anticancer Agents. 2005 May;5(3):239-49. doi: 
      10.2174/1568011053765976.