title: Natural product-based inhibitors of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1).
abstract: The transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) regulates the expression of more than 70 genes involved in cellular adaptation and survival under hypoxic stress. Activation of HIF-1 is associated with numerous physiological and pathological processes that include tumorigenesis, vascular remodeling, inflammation, and hypoxia/ischemia-related tissue damage. Clinical studies suggested that HIF-1 activation correlates directly with advanced disease stages and treatment resistance among cancer patients. Preclinical studies support the inhibition of HIF-1 as a major molecular target for antitumor drug discovery. Considerable effort is underway, in government laboratories, industry and academia, to identify therapeutically useful small molecule HIF-1 inhibitors. Natural products (low molecular weight organic compounds produced by plants, microbes, and animals) continue to play a major role in modern antitumor drug discovery. Most of the compounds discovered to inhibit HIF-1 are natural products or synthetic compounds with structures that are based on natural product leads. Natural products have also served a vital role as molecular probes to elucidate the pathways that regulate HIF-1 activity. Natural products and natural product-derived compounds that inhibit HIF-1 are summarized in light of their biological source, chemical class, and effect on HIF-1 and HIF-mediated gene regulation. When known, the mechanism(s) of action of HIF-1 inhibitors are described. Many of the substances found to inhibit HIF-1 are non-druggable compounds that are too cytotoxic to serve as drug leads. The application of high-throughput screening methods, complementary molecular-targeted assays, and structurally diverse chemical libraries hold promise for the discovery of therapeutically useful HIF-1 inhibitors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacognosy, Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677-1848, USA. dnagle@olemiss.edu
authors.forename: Dale G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Nagle
authors.forename: Yu-Dong
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001688:Biological Products / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001711:Biotransformation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D051793:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1 / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products; D051793:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1