Title:Natural Products Targeting Cancer Stem Cells: A Revisit
Volume: 28
Issue: 33
Author(s): Jiahua Cui*, Jiajun Qian, Larry Ming-Cheung Chow and Jinping Jia*
Affiliation:
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240,China
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240,China
Keywords:
Cancer stem cells, chemotherapy, multidrug resistance, natural products, flavonoids, stilbenes, naphthoquinones,
shikonin, resveratrol, SARs.
Abstract:
Background: The proposed central role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in tumor
development has been extended to explain the diverse oncologic phenomena such as multidrug
resistance, metastasis and tumor recurrence in clinics. Due to the enhanced expression
of ATP-binding cassette transporters and anti-apoptotic factors, stagnation on G0
phase and the strong ability of self-renewal, the CSCs were highly resistant to clinical anticancer
drugs. Therefore, the discovery of new drug candidates that could effectively
eradicate cancer stem cells afforded promising outcomes in cancer therapy.
Objective: Natural products and their synthetic analogues are a rich source of biologically
active compounds and several of them have already been recognized as potent CSCs
killers. We aim to provide a collection of recently identified natural products that suppressed
the survival of the small invasive CSC populations and combated the drug resistance
of these cells in chemotherapy.
Results: These anti-CSCs natural products included flavonoids, stilbenes, quinones, terpenoids,
polyketide antibiotics, steroids and alkaloids. In the present review, we highlighted
the therapeutic potential of natural products and their derivatives against the proliferation
and drug resistance of CSCs, their working mechanisms and related structure-
activity relationships.
Conclusion: Meanwhile, in this survey, several natural products with diverse cellular targets
such as the naphthoquinone shikonin and the stilbene resveratrol were characterized
as promising lead compounds for future development.