Targeting cancer with sesterterpenoids: the new potential antitumor drugs

Abstract

Cancer remains a major cause of death in the world to date. A variety of anticancer drugs have been used in clinical chemotherapy, acting on the particular oncogenic abnormalities that are responsible for malignant transformation and progression. Interestingly, some of these anticancer drugs are developed from natural sources such as plants, marine organisms, and microorganisms. Over the past decades, a family of naturally occuring molecules, namely sesterterpenoids, has been isolated from different organisms and they exhibit significant potential in the inhibition of tumor cells in vitro, while the molecular targets of these compounds and their functional mechanisms are still obscure. In this review, we summarize and discuss the functions of these sesterterpenoids in the inhibition of cancer cells. Moreover, we also highlight and discuss chemical structure-activity relationships of some compounds, demonstrating their pervasiveness and importance in cancer therapy.

Fig. 1

Structures of linear sesterterpenoids 1–12

Fig. 2

Structures of monobocyclic sesterterpenoids 13–33

Fig. 3

Structures of bicarbocyclic sesterterpenoids 34–41

Fig. 4

Structures of tricarbocyclic sesterterpenoids 42–63

Fig. 5

Structures of tetracarbocyclic sesterterpenoids 64–98

Fig. 6

Structures of miscellaneous sesterterpenoids 99–100

Fig. 7

Structures of C-21-containing sesterterpenoids 101–106

Fig. 8

Structures of γ-hydroxybutenolide moiety-containing sesterterpenoids 107–111

Fig. 9

Structures of furan moiety-containing sesterterpenoids 112–120

Fig. 10

Structures of pyrrole moiety-containing sesterterpenoids 121–131