title: Cardiotonic steroids on the road to anti-cancer therapy.
abstract: The sodium pump, Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase, could be an important target for the development of anti-cancer drugs as it serves as a versatile signal transducer, it is a key player in cell adhesion and its aberrant expression and activity are implicated in the development and progression of different cancers. Cardiotonic steroids, known ligands of the sodium pump have been widely used for the treatment of heart failure. However, early epidemiological evaluations and subsequent demonstration of anti-cancer activity in vitro and in vivo have indicated the possibility of developing this class of compound as chemotherapeutic agents in oncology. Their development to date as anti-cancer agents has however been impaired by a narrow therapeutic margin resulting from their potential to induce cardiovascular side-effects. The review will thus discuss (i) sodium pump structure, function, expression in diverse cancers and its chemical targeting and that of its sub-units, (ii) reported in vitro and in vivo anti-cancer activity of cardiotonic steroids, (iii) managing the toxicity of these compounds and the limitations of existing preclinical models to adequately predict the cardiotoxic potential of new molecules in man and (iv) the potential of chemical modification to reduce the cardiovascular side-effects and improve the anti-cancer activity of new molecules.
authors: Unibioscreen SA, 40 Avenue Joseph Wybran, 1070, Brussels, Belgium.
authors: Tatjana
authors: T
authors: Mijatovic
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Van Quaquebeke
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Delest
authors: Olivier
authors: O
authors: Debeir
authors: Francis
authors: F
authors: Darro
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Kiss
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002301:Cardiac Glycosides / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D002301:Cardiac Glycosides; D000254:Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase