Classification of Chemotherapeutic Agents According to their Mechanisms of Action

1976 ◽  
pp. 36-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Clarysse ◽  
Yvon Kenis ◽  
Georges Mathé
Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 1109
Author(s):  
Cristina Adriana Dehelean ◽  
Iasmina Marcovici ◽  
Codruta Soica ◽  
Marius Mioc ◽  
Dorina Coricovac ◽  
...  

Despite the recent advances in the field of chemically synthetized pharmaceutical agents, nature remains the main supplier of bioactive molecules. The research of natural products is a valuable approach for the discovery and development of novel biologically active compounds possessing unique structures and mechanisms of action. Although their use belongs to the traditional treatment regimes, plant-derived compounds still cover a large portion of the current-day pharmaceutical agents. Their medical importance is well recognized in the field of oncology, especially as an alternative to the limitations of conventional chemotherapy (severe side effects and inefficacy due to the occurrence of multi-drug resistance). This review offers a comprehensive perspective of the first blockbuster chemotherapeutic agents of natural origin’s (e.g. taxol, vincristine, doxorubicin) mechanism of action using 3D representation. In addition is portrayed the step-by-step evolution from preclinical to clinical evaluation of the most recently studied natural compounds with potent antitumor activity (e.g. resveratrol, curcumin, betulinic acid, etc.) in terms of anticancer mechanisms of action and the possible indications as chemotherapeutic or chemopreventive agents and sensitizers. Finally, this review describes several efficient platforms for the encapsulation and targeted delivery of natural compounds in cancer treatment


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-69
Author(s):  
Amanda Marrone ◽  
William T. Tran

AbstractBackgroundThe combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy is rooted in its ability to help achieve locoregional and systemic control, therefore increasing the overall disease-free survival of patients. Understanding the mechanistic actions of cytotoxic agents and their targets on the cell cycle, as well as the governing pharmacokinetic principles can improve treatment delivery. The adjuvant treatment setting can overcome barriers such as hypoxia and genetically driven treatment resistance.PurposeThe purpose of this review is to present theoretical frameworks behind the chemoradiation paradigm and to describe current chemoradiation practices in radiation oncology.MethodologyA review was conducted using the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health database (PubMed) using the following search keywords: chemoradiation, spatial cooperation, chemotherapeutic agents, pharmacokinetics, anti-vascular agents, tumour vasculature and tumour hypoxia.Results and conclusionsCurrent research has reported several rationales for the beneficial combination of radiation and chemotherapy to eradicate oncological diseases. Mechanisms of action and biological approaches are showing that concurrent treatments, as well as novel agents such as anti-vascular and anti-angiogenic agents may benefit improved treatment outcomes by reducing micro hypoxic environments in tumours. In addition, chemotherapy administered in tandem with radiation enhances cell-killing effects by targeting the cell cycle.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-90
Author(s):  
G. M. Solovyan ◽  
T. V. Mikhalieva

The lecture is devoted to one of the most difficult problems of modern cardiology – the use of antiarrhythmic therapy in clinical practice. The basic mechanisms of arrhythmias, aspects of their onset, maintenance and termination are briefly described. The current evidence on the electrophysiological mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias – re-entry, abnormal impulse formation, and trigger activity – is presented. The article contains information about the remodeling of ion channels properties. The Sicilian gambit is analyzed, in which the mechanisms of arrhythmias are compared to the mechanisms of anti-arrhythmic action of drugs. Classification of anti-arrhythmic drugs, their mechanisms of action, indications and contraindications, side effects, and interaction with other drugs are presented.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1957 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 1109-1123
Author(s):  
M. A. Ogryzlo ◽  
H. A. Smythe

Attention is drawn to the difficulties that may be encountered in the positive identification and classification of many patients suspected of suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus. Much of this is due to a lack of specific criteria, either clinical or pathologic, for the diagnosis of the disease. The problem has been made more difficult by the recognition of a number of other syndromes that bear a superficial resemblance to systemic lupus erythematosus, yet differ in clinical manifestations, natural course, prognosis and other respects. A feature common to the group is the presence of the L.E. cell phenomenon. The related conditions differ from lupus enythematosus in that the L.E. phenomenon may only be demonstrable intermittently especially during severe exacerbations of the disease, while at the same time disturbances in the electrophoretic pattern of the serum proteins may be much more profound. In systemic rheumatoid disease the prognosis without steroid therapy is better than in systemic lupus erythematosus, although the morbidity may be great. The reactions which follow administration of certain chemotherapeutic agents are of considerable interest, particularly in view of the similarity to lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, and the reversibility on withdrawal of the offending agent. The relationship of these syndromes to each other and to classical systemic lupus erythematosus has not yet been resolved, and inclusion of them under the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus at this time must be regarded as premature.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. e2020010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Ballas

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an extremely heterogeneous disease that has been associated with global morbidity and early mortality. More effective and inexpensive therapiesare needed. During the last five years the landscape of the pharmacotherapy of SCD has changed dramatically. Currently, there are at least 50 drugs that have been used or under consideration to use for the treatment of SCD. These fall into 3 categories: the first category includes the three drugs (Hydroxyurea, L-Glutamine and Crizanlizumab tmca) that have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on successful clinical trials. The second category includes 22 drugs that failed, discontinued or terminated for now and the third category includes 25 drugs that are actively being considered for the treatment of SCD. New therapies targeting multiple pathways in its complex pathophysiology have been achieved or are under continued investigation. The emerging trend seems to be the use of multimodal drugs (i.e. drugs that have different mechanisms of action) to treat SCD similar to the use of multiple chemotherapeutic agents to treat cancer.


2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milla Marques Hermidorff ◽  
Gabriela de Oliveira Faria ◽  
Gabriela de Cassia Sousa Amâncio ◽  
Leonardo Vinícius Monteiro de Assis ◽  
Mauro César Isoldi

Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists of aldosterone (spironolactone and eplerenone) display beneficial effects in the treatment of cardiopathies; however, many of these responses are independent of this antagonism. The mechanisms of action of these drugs are not well known; few studies have comparatively evaluated whether eplerenone as well as spironolactone display cardioprotective effects independent of the blockade of aldosterone. To study these mechanisms, which lead to cardioprotective responses, and to evaluate comparatively their effects in vitro, we have evaluated the proliferative effect of spironolactone and eplerenone in primary culture of cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts of neonatal Wistar rats in the presence and absence of aldosterone. Spironolactone and eplerenone promoted proliferation of cardiomyocyte even in the absence of aldosterone, suggesting a signaling pathway independent of the antagonism over aldosterone. Spironolactone was able to reduce the proliferation of fibroblasts and to reverse the proliferation promoted by aldosterone, which was also displayed by eplerenone. To elucidate the biochemical pathways evoked by these drugs, we sought to analyze Ca2+, cAMP, and cGMP, and the activity of PKC and ERK1/2. Spironolactone and eplerenone increased the levels of Ca2+, cGMP and activity of ERK 1/2, and reversed the action of aldosterone on the activity of PKC and ERK1/2. Interestingly, only spironolactone increased the levels of cAMP. Our data support the fact that in addition to aldosterone, both spironolactone and eplerenone display rapid responses (non-genomic) such as an increase on cAMP, Ca2+, and cGMP by spironolactone, and Ca2+ and cGMP by eplerenone. We have observed a more consistent cardioprotection promoted by spironolactone; however, these effects have yet to be tested clinically. Therefore, our data show that these drugs do not only act as an antagonist of MR, but could lead to a new pharmacological classification of these drugs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Gong ◽  
Jie Fu ◽  
Lexuan Shi ◽  
Xin Chen ◽  
Xin Zong

Animal antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), known as broad-spectrum and high-efficiency antibacterial activity, are important effector molecules in innate immune system. AMPs not only have antimicrobial, antiviral and antitumor effects but also exhibit important effects in vivo, such as anti-inflammatory response, recruiting immune cells, promoting epithelial damage repair, and promoting phagocytosis of bacteria. However, research on the application of AMPs is incomplete and controversial. This review mainly introduces the classification of AMPs, biological functions, as well as the mechanisms of action, expression rules, and nutrition regulation from three perspectives, aiming to provide important information for the application of AMPs.


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