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Review
. 2021 Jun 5;9(6):645.
doi: 10.3390/biomedicines9060645.

Promising Activities of Marine Natural Products against Hematopoietic Malignancies

Assunta Saide  1 , Sara Damiano  2 , Roberto Ciarcia  2 , Chiara Lauritano  1
Affiliations
Review

Promising Activities of Marine Natural Products against Hematopoietic Malignancies

Assunta Saide et al. Biomedicines. .

Abstract

According to the WHO classification of tumors, more than 150 typologies of hematopoietic and lymphoid tumors exist, and most of them remain incurable diseases that require innovative approaches to improve therapeutic outcome and avoid side effects. Marine organisms represent a reservoir of novel bioactive metabolites, but they are still less studied compared to their terrestrial counterparts. This review is focused on marine natural products with anticancer activity against hematological tumors, highlighting recent advances and possible perspectives. Until now, there are five commercially available marine-derived compounds for the treatment of various hematopoietic cancers (e.g., leukemia and lymphoma), two molecules in clinical trials, and series of compounds and/or extracts from marine micro- and macroorganisms which have shown promising properties. In addition, the mechanisms of action of several active compounds and extracts are still unknown and require further study. The continuous upgrading of omics technologies has also allowed identifying enzymes with possible bioactivity (e.g., l-asparaginase is currently used for the treatment of leukemia) or the enzymes involved in the synthesis of bioactive secondary metabolites which can be the target of heterologous expression and genetic engineering.

Keywords: anticancer; leukemia; marine biotechnology; marine natural products; marine organisms.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Summary of compounds derived from marine organisms currently on the market or in clinical trials and the known molecular targets.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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