Marine-Derived Secondary Metabolites as Promising Epigenetic Bio-Compounds for Anticancer Therapy

Marine Drugs

Mariarosaria Conte¹  Elisabetta Fontana¹  Angela Nebbioso¹  Lucia Altucci¹ 

[1] Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’, Via L. De Crecchio 7, 80138 Naples, Italy;

关键词: secondary metabolites;    epigenome;    epigenetic signaling;    bioactive compounds;    cancer therapy;    marine species;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md19010015

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Sessile organisms such as seaweeds, corals, and sponges continuously adapt to both abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem. This extremely complex and dynamic process often results in different forms of competition to ensure the maintenance of an ecological niche suitable for survival. A high percentage of marine species have evolved to synthesize biologically active molecules, termed secondary metabolites, as a defense mechanism against the external environment. These natural products and their derivatives may play modulatory roles in the epigenome and in disease-associated epigenetic machinery. Epigenetic modifications also represent a form of adaptation to the environment and confer a competitive advantage to marine species by mediating the production of complex chemical molecules with potential clinical implications. Bioactive compounds are able to interfere with epigenetic targets by regulating key transcriptional factors involved in the hallmarks of cancer through orchestrated molecular mechanisms, which also establish signaling interactions of the tumor microenvironment crucial to cancer phenotypes. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of secondary metabolites derived from marine organisms and their synthetic derivatives as epigenetic modulators, highlighting advantages and limitations, as well as potential strategies to improve cancer treatment.

【 授权许可】

Unknown