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Review
. 2025 Jul 1;16(1):1207.
doi: 10.1007/s12672-025-03052-7.

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of arenobufagin in cancer therapy: a systematic review

Si-Jun Wang  1   2 , Peng-Xin Wang  3 , Hai-Ling Ding  1 , Yuan-Yuan Qi  4 , Ya-Ru Song  3 , Xiao-Nan Mu  5
Affiliations
Review

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of arenobufagin in cancer therapy: a systematic review

Si-Jun Wang et al. Discov Oncol. .

Abstract

The search for effective and safe therapeutic options is the goal of clinical treatment for cancer patients. In recent years, natural products have received increasing attention in order to develop new drugs with good antitumor effects and fewer side effects. Arenobufagin (ARBU), an important active ingredient extracted from Toad venom, has been shown to exhibit anti-cancer effects in basic research. Studies have revealed that ARBU has a wide range of potent biological activities and plays an important role as an anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, and for the treatment of cardiac insufficiency. ARBU has shown promising anti-cancer activity in preclinical research. Therefore, it has attracted increasing attention from researchers. In this paper, its antitumor effects were reviewed in terms of cell cycle arrest, induction of cell apoptosis and autophagy, improvement of immunity, inhibition of proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis. In addition, the safety and toxicity of the compound were further discussed. Follow-up experiments, especially clinical trials, are needed in order to elucidate the benefits and adverse effects of ARBU on cancer patients.

Keywords: Angiogenesis; Apoptosis; Arenobufagin; Cancer; Metastasis; Molecular mechanisms.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Consent for publication: All authors have agreed to publish this manuscript. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Molecular structure of ARBU
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The mechanism of ARBU on apoptosis
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Multi-targeted molecular and biological mechanisms in ARBU treatment. The antitumor effects of ARBU from various perspectives, including cell cycle arrest, induction of apoptosis and autophagy, inhibition of cell proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis, and improvement of immunity
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