Ceramide analogues in apoptosis: a new strategy for anticancer drug development.
A survey on the role played by ceramide within the sphingolmyelin pathway is here reported, taking into account its importance as an intracellular effector molecule in apoptosis. Recently, several analogs of ceramide, able to pass the cell membrane and then to induce apoptosis, have been developed as a new potential approach in anticancer therapy.
Macchia
Marco
M
Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, Università di Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy. mmacchia@farm.unipi.it
Bertini
Simone
S
Fogli
Stefano
S
Giovannetti
Elisa
E
Minutolo
Filippo
F
Rapposelli
Simona
S
Danesi
Romano
R
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002518:Ceramides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical / Q000379:methods; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays / Q000379:methods
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D002518:Ceramides