title: Natural products as platforms for the design of sphingolipid-related anticancer agents.
abstract: Modulation of sphingolipid metabolism is a promising strategy for cancer therapy that has already opened innovative approaches for the development of pharmacological tools and rationally designed new drugs. On the other hand, natural products represent a classical and well-established source of chemical diversity that has guided medicinal chemists on the development of new chemical entities with potential therapeutic use. Based on these premises, the aim of this chapter is to provide the reader with a general overview of some of the most representative families of sphingolipid-related natural products that have been described in the recent literature as lead compounds for the design of new modulators of sphingolipid metabolism. Special emphasis is placed on the structural aspects of natural sphingoids and synthetic analogs that have found application as anticancer agents. In addition, their cellular targets and/or their mode of action are also considered.
authors.affiliation: Spanish National Research Council, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Research Unit on Bioactive Molecules, Jordi Girona 18-26, Barcelona, Spain. delgado@rubam.net.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fabriàs
authors.forename: Josefina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Casas
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Abad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001688:Biological Products / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013107:Sphingolipids / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001688:Biological Products; D013107:Sphingolipids