Department of Functional Anatomy and Cytobiology, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland.
Department of Functional Anatomy and Cytobiology, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland.
Fitoterapia. 2020 Apr;142:104492. doi: 10.1016/j.fitote.2020.104492. Epub 2020 Feb 4.
Furanocoumarins are a class of natural compounds produced by several plants, including those consumed by humans. They have been used medicinally in eastern countries for ages. Given the growing body of evidence about their anticancer potential and observations that naturally occurring compounds potentiate the antitumor activity of chemotherapeutics, more attention is paid to elucidation of the nature of furanocoumarins and the possibility of using thereof in practice. The general mechanism by which furanocoumarins eliminate cancer cells is based on cell cycle blockage and initiation of programmed death like apoptosis or autophagy. The precise molecular mechanism of such an action depends on the chemical structure of furanocoumarins, which is based on the furan ring attached to the coumarin backbone in a linear or angular form as well as the type, location, and number of the substituents attached. The review summarizes the current evidence of the antitumor properties of linear and angular furanocoumarins with special emphasis on the molecular mechanism of elimination of cancer cells via apoptosis and autophagy. Negative aspects of the use of coumarins in anticancer therapy will be also discussed especially in the context of their phototoxicity and potential cancerogenic effect.
呋喃香豆素是一类由多种植物产生的天然化合物，包括人类食用的植物。它们在东方国家被长期用作药物。鉴于越来越多的证据表明它们具有抗癌潜力，并且观察到天然存在的化合物可以增强化疗药物的抗肿瘤活性，人们越来越关注阐明呋喃香豆素的性质以及在实践中使用它们的可能性。呋喃香豆素消除癌细胞的一般机制基于细胞周期阻滞和启动程序性细胞死亡，如细胞凋亡或自噬。这种作用的精确分子机制取决于呋喃香豆素的化学结构，它基于呋喃环连接到香豆素主链上的线性或角形形式，以及连接的取代基的类型、位置和数量。综述总结了线性和角形呋喃香豆素的抗肿瘤特性的现有证据，特别强调了通过细胞凋亡和自噬消除癌细胞的分子机制。还将讨论在抗癌治疗中使用香豆素的负面方面，特别是在其光毒性和潜在致癌作用方面。
