Cragg G M, Newman D J
Natural Products Branch, National Cancer Institute, Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center, Maryland, USA.
Cancer Invest. 1999;17(2):153-63.
Nature has provided many effective anticancer agents in current use, such as the microbially derived drugs; dactinomycin; bleomycin and doxorubicin; and the plant-derived drugs, vinblastine, irinotecan, topotecan, etoposide, and paclitaxel. The search for novel antitumor agents from natural sources continues through collaboration among scientists worldwide in the investigation of coral reefs, rainforests, and deep subsurface thermal vents for novel bioactive compounds. The potential for drug discovery is being further enhanced by recent advances in procedures for microbial cultivation and the extraction of nucleic acids from environmental samples, resulting in the identification of novel microbes that provide a vast untapped reservoir of genetic and metabolic diversity. Manipulation of the biosynthetic pathways of microbial polyketides through genetic engineering permits the biosynthesis of bioactive polyketides not generated naturally.
自然界提供了许多目前正在使用的有效抗癌药物，例如微生物衍生的药物放线菌素、博来霉素和阿霉素；以及植物衍生的药物长春碱、伊立替康、拓扑替康、依托泊苷和紫杉醇。通过全球科学家合作，在珊瑚礁、雨林和深海热液喷口寻找新型生物活性化合物，继续从天然来源寻找新型抗肿瘤药物。微生物培养和从环境样品中提取核酸的程序的最新进展进一步提高了药物发现的潜力，从而鉴定出提供大量未开发的遗传和代谢多样性库的新型微生物。通过基因工程操纵微生物聚酮化合物的生物合成途径，可以生物合成天然未产生的生物活性聚酮化合物。
