Abstract
Cancer is a disease caused by the abnormal proliferation and differentiation of cells governed by tumorigenic factors. Chemotherapy is one of the major cancer treatment strategies, and it functions by targeting the physiological capabilities of cancer cells, including sustained proliferation and angiogenesis, the evasion of programmed cell death, tissue invasion and metastasis. Remarkably, natural products have garnered increased attention in the chemotherapy drug discovery field because they are biologically friendly and have high therapeutic effects. Tetrandrine, isolated from the root of Stephania tetrandra S Moore, is a traditional Chinese clinical agent for silicosis, autoimmune disorders, inflammatory pulmonary diseases, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. Recently, the novel anti-tumor effects of tetrandrine have been widely investigated. More impressive is that tetrandrine affects multiple biological activities of cancer cells, including the inhibition of proliferation, angiogenesis, migration, and invasion; the induction of apoptosis and autophagy; the reversal of multidrug resistance (MDR); and the enhancement of radiation sensitization. This review focuses on introducing the latest information about the anti-tumor effects of tetrandrine on various cancers and its underlying mechanism. Moreover, we discuss the nanoparticle delivery system being developed for tetrandrine and the anti-tumor effects of other bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid derivatives on cancer cells. All current evidence demonstrates that tetrandrine is a promising candidate as a cancer chemotherapeutic.
Highlights
Cancer is a disease caused by the abnormal proliferation and differentiation of cells governed by tumorigenic factors
Most human tumors are characterized by six physiological capabilities that occur during tumor development, including self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to growth-inhibitory signals, evasion of programmed cell death, limitless replicative potential, sustained angiogenesis, and tissue invasion and metastasis [1]
Unlike surgery and radiotherapy, which target a particular body part to remove or kill cancer cells, chemotherapy works with lower negative impact on the entire body to inhibit tumor cells effectively, especially to prevent cancer cells from spreading to other parts of the body through metastasis
Summary
Cancer is a disease caused by the abnormal proliferation and differentiation of cells governed by tumorigenic factors. The inhibition of proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, and invasion; the induction of autophagy and apoptosis, and even differentiation; the reversal of MDR; and the enhancement of radiation sensitization in cancer cells all indicate that tetrandrine is a potential antineoplastic drug (Figure 1B).
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