Taccalonolides: A Novel Class of Microtubule-Stabilizing Anticancer Agents

Microtubule stabilizing agents, such as paclitaxel, docetaxel, and cabazitaxel have been among the most used chemotherapeutic agents in the last decades for the treatment of a wide range of cancers in the clinic. One of the concerns that limit their use in clinical practice is their intrinsic and ac...

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Main Authors: Xiaoyan Chen, Angela Winstead, Hongtao Yu, Jiangnan Peng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Cancers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/920
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author Xiaoyan Chen
Angela Winstead
Hongtao Yu
Jiangnan Peng
author_facet Xiaoyan Chen
Angela Winstead
Hongtao Yu
Jiangnan Peng
author_sort Xiaoyan Chen
collection DOAJ
description Microtubule stabilizing agents, such as paclitaxel, docetaxel, and cabazitaxel have been among the most used chemotherapeutic agents in the last decades for the treatment of a wide range of cancers in the clinic. One of the concerns that limit their use in clinical practice is their intrinsic and acquired drug resistance, which is common to most anti-cancer chemotherapeutics. Taccalonolides are a new class of microtubule stabilizers isolated from the roots of a few species in the genus of <i>Tacca</i>. In early studies, taccalonolides demonstrated different effects on interphase and mitotic microtubules from those of paclitaxel and laulimalide suggesting a unique mechanism of action. This prompts the exploration of new taccalonolides with various functionalities through the identification of minor constituents of natural origin and semi-synthesis. The experiments on the new highly potent taccalonolides indicated that taccalonolides possessed a unique mechanism of covalently binding to the microtubule. An X-ray diffraction analysis of a crystal of taccalonolides AJ binding to tubulin indicated that the covalent binding site is at β-tubulin D226. Taccalonolides circumvent all three mechanisms of taxane drug resistance both in vitro and in vivo. To improve the activity, the structure modification through semi-synthesis was conducted and the structure-activity relationships (SARs) was analyzed based on natural and semi-synthetical taccalonolides. The C22–C23 epoxide can significantly increase the antiproliferation potency of taccalonolides due to the covalent link of C22 and the carboxylic group of D226. Great progress has been seen in the last few years in the understanding of the mechanism of this class of microtube-stabilizing agents. This review summarizes the structure diversity, structure-activity relationships (SARs), mechanism of action, and in vivo activities of taccalonolides.
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spelling doaj.art-d712af4a8aaf42cebeb8e97882271ab02023-12-11T17:59:18ZengMDPI AGCancers2072-66942021-02-0113492010.3390/cancers13040920Taccalonolides: A Novel Class of Microtubule-Stabilizing Anticancer AgentsXiaoyan Chen0Angela Winstead1Hongtao Yu2Jiangnan Peng3Department of Chemistry, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USADepartment of Chemistry, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USADepartment of Chemistry, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USADepartment of Chemistry, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USAMicrotubule stabilizing agents, such as paclitaxel, docetaxel, and cabazitaxel have been among the most used chemotherapeutic agents in the last decades for the treatment of a wide range of cancers in the clinic. One of the concerns that limit their use in clinical practice is their intrinsic and acquired drug resistance, which is common to most anti-cancer chemotherapeutics. Taccalonolides are a new class of microtubule stabilizers isolated from the roots of a few species in the genus of <i>Tacca</i>. In early studies, taccalonolides demonstrated different effects on interphase and mitotic microtubules from those of paclitaxel and laulimalide suggesting a unique mechanism of action. This prompts the exploration of new taccalonolides with various functionalities through the identification of minor constituents of natural origin and semi-synthesis. The experiments on the new highly potent taccalonolides indicated that taccalonolides possessed a unique mechanism of covalently binding to the microtubule. An X-ray diffraction analysis of a crystal of taccalonolides AJ binding to tubulin indicated that the covalent binding site is at β-tubulin D226. Taccalonolides circumvent all three mechanisms of taxane drug resistance both in vitro and in vivo. To improve the activity, the structure modification through semi-synthesis was conducted and the structure-activity relationships (SARs) was analyzed based on natural and semi-synthetical taccalonolides. The C22–C23 epoxide can significantly increase the antiproliferation potency of taccalonolides due to the covalent link of C22 and the carboxylic group of D226. Great progress has been seen in the last few years in the understanding of the mechanism of this class of microtube-stabilizing agents. This review summarizes the structure diversity, structure-activity relationships (SARs), mechanism of action, and in vivo activities of taccalonolides.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/920taccalonolidemicrotubule stabilizeranticancer agentdrug resistance
spellingShingle Xiaoyan Chen
Angela Winstead
Hongtao Yu
Jiangnan Peng
Taccalonolides: A Novel Class of Microtubule-Stabilizing Anticancer Agents
Cancers
taccalonolide
microtubule stabilizer
anticancer agent
drug resistance
title Taccalonolides: A Novel Class of Microtubule-Stabilizing Anticancer Agents
title_full Taccalonolides: A Novel Class of Microtubule-Stabilizing Anticancer Agents
title_fullStr Taccalonolides: A Novel Class of Microtubule-Stabilizing Anticancer Agents
title_full_unstemmed Taccalonolides: A Novel Class of Microtubule-Stabilizing Anticancer Agents
title_short Taccalonolides: A Novel Class of Microtubule-Stabilizing Anticancer Agents
title_sort taccalonolides a novel class of microtubule stabilizing anticancer agents
topic taccalonolide
microtubule stabilizer
anticancer agent
drug resistance
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/4/920
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AT angelawinstead taccalonolidesanovelclassofmicrotubulestabilizinganticanceragents
AT hongtaoyu taccalonolidesanovelclassofmicrotubulestabilizinganticanceragents
AT jiangnanpeng taccalonolidesanovelclassofmicrotubulestabilizinganticanceragents