Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, HKSAR, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, HKSAR, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2017 Apr;24(10):8990-9001. doi: 10.1007/s11356-015-5536-x. Epub 2015 Oct 31.
Angiogenesis, formation of new blood vessels from preexisting one, is a critical step of tumorgenesis of solid tumors. Therefore, antiangiogenic therapy is one of the promising approaches to control tumor growth. In the past 20 years, a lot of compounds have been tested for their antiangiogenic properties. Bevacizumab, Avastin, the first antiangiogenic drug approved by the US FDA, has been widely used in clinic for treating cancer. Indeed, many synthetic compounds are highly toxic and exert side effects even though they are effective in inhibiting neovessel formation and cancer cell growth. Using natural compounds or their derivatives is one of the ways to solve these problems. Sinomenine and ginsenosides are common antiangiogenic and anticancer compounds that are extracted from herbal medicines. Recent findings suggested that marine algae-derived natural pigments also possess similar activities. It has been reported that fucoxanthin from Undaria pinnatifida, Siphonaxanthin from Codium fragile, can inhibit angiogenesis and cancer growth effectively. In conclusion, natural compounds derived from marine algae could provide a novel and safe source for new drug development in anticancer and antiangiogenic properties in the future.
血管生成，即从预先存在的血管中形成新的血管，是实体瘤发生的关键步骤。因此，抗血管生成治疗是控制肿瘤生长的一种有前途的方法。在过去的 20 年中，已经有许多化合物被测试其抗血管生成特性。贝伐单抗，阿瓦斯汀，美国食品和药物管理局批准的第一种抗血管生成药物，已广泛用于临床治疗癌症。事实上，许多合成化合物毒性很高，即使在抑制新血管形成和癌细胞生长方面有效，也会产生副作用。使用天然化合物或其衍生物是解决这些问题的方法之一。盐酸青藤碱和人参皂苷是从草药中提取的常见的抗血管生成和抗癌化合物。最近的研究结果表明，来自裙带菜的岩藻黄质和来自脆江蓠的叉珊藻黄素也具有类似的活性。据报道，来自裙带菜的岩藻黄质、来自脆江蓠的叉珊藻黄素能有效抑制血管生成和肿瘤生长。总之，来自海洋藻类的天然化合物可能为未来具有抗癌和抗血管生成特性的新药开发提供一种新的安全来源。
