Newman Robert A, Yang Peiying, Pawlus Alison D, Block Keith I
Department of Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmaceutical Development Center, University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77054, USA.
Mol Interv. 2008 Feb;8(1):36-49. doi: 10.1124/mi.8.1.8.
The class of steroid-like compounds designated cardiac glycosides includes well-known drugs such as digoxin, digitoxin, and ouabain. Their continued efficacy in treatment of congestive heart failure and as anti-arrhythmic agents is well appreciated. Less well known, however, is the emerging role of this category of compounds in the prevention and/or treatment of proliferative diseases such as cancer. New findings within the past five years have revealed these compounds to be involved in complex cell-signal transduction mechanisms, resulting in selective control of human tumor but not normal cellular proliferation. As such, they represent a promising form of targeted cancer chemotherapy. New clinical studies of their anticancer potential as single or adjuvant treatments may provide insight into these potentially valuable therapeutic options. This review focuses on recent findings on cellular pharmacology of cardiac glycosides as they relate to treatment of human cancer and attempts to explain why these agents have been overlooked in the past.
被称为强心苷的类固醇样化合物类别包括地高辛、洋地黄毒苷和哇巴因等知名药物。它们在治疗充血性心力衰竭及作为抗心律失常药物方面的持续疗效广为人知。然而，这类化合物在预防和/或治疗诸如癌症等增殖性疾病方面的新作用却鲜为人知。过去五年内的新发现表明，这些化合物参与复杂的细胞信号转导机制，从而导致对人类肿瘤而非正常细胞增殖的选择性控制。因此，它们代表了一种有前景的靶向癌症化疗形式。关于其作为单一治疗或辅助治疗的抗癌潜力的新临床研究可能会为这些潜在有价值的治疗选择提供见解。这篇综述聚焦于强心苷细胞药理学的最新发现，因为它们与人类癌症治疗相关，并试图解释为何这些药物在过去被忽视。
