Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
7.8
5.6
Journals
IJMS
Special Issues
Novel Strategies to Improve Antineoplastic Activity of Drugs in Cancer...
ijms-logo
Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for IJMS Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Novel Strategies to Improve Antineoplastic Activity of Drugs in Cancer Progression

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2024 | Viewed by 10027

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Angela Stefanachi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: BCR-ABL inhibitors; HDAC inhibitors; CB2 modulators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Classical chemotherapy is often associated with tumoral cell resistance phenomena or with systemic toxicity in patients, and for this reason, new strategies have been developed to overcome these issues. Some initial approaches consisted in the combination of drugs, endowed with a diverse mechanism of action, to overcome tumor resistance to antineoplastic drugs, while more recently, thanks to the target therapy approach, drugs able to selectively hit a specific molecular mechanism of the tumor cells have been developed, with a convenient improvement of their therapeutic index. The last strategy includes, among others, the development of tyrosine kinases inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, antibody drug conjugates (ADC), antisense, and siRNA.

Moreover, the complexity of cancer progression has demonstrated that single-target drugs are often unable to gain a complete therapeutic effect, and so, the development of multi-target drugs, directed at more than one target, has been demonstrated to be of high interest. Computational studies have helped scientists in this challenge against tumor disease, as well as all the drug delivery technologies, with particular attention to site-directed ones.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect reports regarding all the recent strategies, directed at the improvement of antineoplastic activity of drugs in cancer progression, engaging all the expertise needed for the development of new anticancer drugs: medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology, and computational and drug delivery studies. Original research, reviews, opinion papers, or short communications are welcome.

Dr. Angela Stefanachi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cancer
  • antineoplastic drugs
  • target therapy
  • drug delivery
  • computational studies
  • MDR
  • multitarget drugs

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

15 pages, 2110 KiB  
Article
A New ABCB1 Inhibitor Enhances the Anticancer Effect of Doxorubicin in Both In Vitro and In Vivo Models of NSCLC
by Maria Pia Adorni, Maricla Galetti, Silvia La Monica, Matteo Incerti, Alessandro Ruffoni, Lisa Elviri, Ilaria Zanotti, Bianca Papotti, Delia Cavallo, Roberta Alfieri, Pier Giorgio Petronini and Franco Bernini
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(2), 989; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24020989 - 04 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1865
Abstract
In tumors, the multi drug resistance phenomenon may occur through the efflux of chemotherapeutic drugs out of cancer cells, impeding their accumulation, and eventually reducing their toxicity. This process is mediated by transporters overexpressed in the plasma membranes of tumor cells, among which [...] Read more.
In tumors, the multi drug resistance phenomenon may occur through the efflux of chemotherapeutic drugs out of cancer cells, impeding their accumulation, and eventually reducing their toxicity. This process is mediated by transporters overexpressed in the plasma membranes of tumor cells, among which is the P-glycoprotein/multidrug resistance 1/ATP-binding cassette B1 (P-gp/MDR1/ABCB1). The aim of this study was to explore the effect of a new molecule, called AIF-1, on ABCB1 activity. In a cellular model of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), AIF-1 significantly inhibited ABCB1 activity, which was evaluated by the fluorimetric measurement of the intracellular accumulation of calcein. AIF-1 also significantly increased the intracellular content of doxorubicin, which was evaluated by confocal microscopy and LC-MS/MS analysis. This effect translated to higher cytotoxicity of doxorubicin and reduced cellular proliferation. Finally, in a murine xenograft model, the tumor volume increased by 267% and 148% on average in mice treated with vehicle and doxorubicin alone, respectively. After the co-administration of doxorubicin with AIF-1, tumor volume increased by only 13.4%. In conclusion, these results suggest enhancement of the efficacy of the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin by AIF-1, laying the basis for the future development of new ABCB1 inhibitors for tumor treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Strategies to Improve Antineoplastic Activity of Drugs in Cancer Progression)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

11 pages, 1008 KiB  
Review
Drug Repositioning for Refractory Benign Tumors of the Central Nervous System
by Ryota Tamura
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(16), 12997; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241612997 - 20 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1354
Abstract
Drug repositioning (DR) is the process of identifying novel therapeutic potentials for already-approved drugs and discovering new therapies for untreated diseases. DR can play an important role in optimizing the pre-clinical process of developing novel drugs by saving time and cost compared with [...] Read more.
Drug repositioning (DR) is the process of identifying novel therapeutic potentials for already-approved drugs and discovering new therapies for untreated diseases. DR can play an important role in optimizing the pre-clinical process of developing novel drugs by saving time and cost compared with the process of de novo drug discovery. Although the number of publications related to DR has rapidly increased, most therapeutic approaches were reported for malignant tumors. Surgical resection represents the definitive treatment for benign tumors of the central nervous system (BTCNS). However, treatment options remain limited for surgery-, chemotherapy- and radiation-refractory BTCNS, as well as malignant tumors. Meningioma, pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET), and schwannoma are the most common BTCNS. The treatment strategy using DR may be applied for refractory BTCNS, such as Grade 2 meningiomas, neurofibromatosis type 2-related schwannomatosis, and PitNETs with cavernous sinus invasion. In the setting of BTCNS, stable disease can provide significant benefit to the patient. DR may provide a longer duration of survival without disease progression for patients with refractory BTCNS. This article reviews the utility of DR for refractory BTCNS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Strategies to Improve Antineoplastic Activity of Drugs in Cancer Progression)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

28 pages, 9570 KiB  
Review
Multicomponent Reaction-Assisted Drug Discovery: A Time- and Cost-Effective Green Approach Speeding Up Identification and Optimization of Anticancer Drugs
by Giovanni Graziano, Angela Stefanachi, Marialessandra Contino, Rubén Prieto-Díaz, Alessia Ligresti, Poulami Kumar, Antonio Scilimati, Eddy Sotelo and Francesco Leonetti
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(7), 6581; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24076581 - 01 Apr 2023
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3687
Abstract
Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) have emerged as a powerful strategy in synthetic organic chemistry due to their widespread applications in drug discovery and development. MCRs are flexible transformations in which three or more substrates react to form structurally complex products with high atomic efficiency. [...] Read more.
Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) have emerged as a powerful strategy in synthetic organic chemistry due to their widespread applications in drug discovery and development. MCRs are flexible transformations in which three or more substrates react to form structurally complex products with high atomic efficiency. They are being increasingly appreciated as a highly exploratory and evolutionary tool by the medicinal chemistry community, opening the door to more sustainable, cost-effective and rapid synthesis of biologically active molecules. In recent years, MCR-based synthetic strategies have found extensive application in the field of drug discovery, and several anticancer drugs have been synthesized through MCRs. In this review, we present an overview of representative and recent literature examples documenting different approaches and applications of MCRs in the development of new anticancer drugs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Strategies to Improve Antineoplastic Activity of Drugs in Cancer Progression)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 2688 KiB  
Review
Salicylanilides and Their Anticancer Properties
by Tereza Kauerová, María-Jesús Pérez-Pérez and Peter Kollar
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(2), 1728; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24021728 - 15 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2515
Abstract
Salicylanilides are pharmacologically active compounds with a wide spectrum of biological effects. Halogenated salicylanilides, which have been used for decades in human and veterinary medicine as anthelmintics, have recently emerged as candidates for drug repurposing in oncology. The most prominent example of salicylanilide [...] Read more.
Salicylanilides are pharmacologically active compounds with a wide spectrum of biological effects. Halogenated salicylanilides, which have been used for decades in human and veterinary medicine as anthelmintics, have recently emerged as candidates for drug repurposing in oncology. The most prominent example of salicylanilide anthelmintic, that is intensively studied for its potential anticancer properties, is niclosamide. Nevertheless, recent studies have discovered extensive anticancer potential in a number of other salicylanilides. This potential of their anticancer action is mediated most likely by diverse mechanisms of action such as uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation, inhibition of protein tyrosine kinase epidermal growth factor receptor, modulation of different signaling pathways as Wnt/β-catenin, mTORC1, STAT3, NF-κB and Notch signaling pathways or induction of B-Raf V600E inhibition. Here we provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge about the proposed mechanisms of action of anticancer activity of salicylanilides based on preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies, or structural requirements for such an activity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Strategies to Improve Antineoplastic Activity of Drugs in Cancer Progression)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop