Premium
Camptothecin and taxol: Discovery to clinic
Author(s) -
Wall Monroe E.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
medicinal research reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.868
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1098-1128
pISSN - 0198-6325
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-1128(199809)18:5<299::aid-med2>3.0.co;2-o
Subject(s) - camptothecin , drug discovery , medicine , pharmacology , biology , bioinformatics , biochemistry
Abstract Camptothecin (CPT) is a pentacyclic alkaloid isolated from wood and bark of Camptotheca acuminata. Initially it was found to be highly active in a number of mouse in vivo cancer assays. Subsequently, CPT was found to uniquely inhibit an enzyme, topoisomerase I, which is involved in DNA replication. A number of CPT analogs are in advanced clinical trial, and two, Topotecan and CPT‐11, have been approved for marketing by the FDA. Taxol, a taxane alkaloid, was isolated from Taxus brevifolia. Taxol is a highly cytotoxic compound active in several mouse antitumor assays. It was subsequently found to uniquely inhibit tubulin, a protein involved in mitosis. After clinical evaluation, it has become the drug of choice for treatment of ovarian cancer. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Med Res Rev, 18, No. 5, 299–314, 1998.