Drugs from Marine Sources: Modulation of TRAIL Induced Apoptosis in Cancer Cells

Abstract

There have been overwhelming advances in molecular oncology and data obtained through high-throughput technologies have started to shed light on wide ranging molecular mechanisms that underpin cancer progression. Increasingly it is being realized that marine micro-organisms and the biodiversity of plankton are rich sources of various anticancer compounds. Marine derived compounds play major roles in inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. More importantly, various agents have been noted to enhance TRAIL induced apoptosis in cancer cells by functionalizing intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. In this commentary, a list of marine derived compounds reported to induce apoptosis is discussed.

Marine Drugs Regulating Apoptosis Induced by Tumor Necrosis Factor-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL)

“…Restoration or enhancement of apoptosis induced by TRAIL in resistant cancer is a prerequisite for the use of TRAIL in the clinic [ 167 , 168 ]. Exploration of natural products derived from terrestrial plants and marine fauna or flora pharmacopeia is, thus, likely to provide potent and selective TRAIL-sensitizing compounds [ 169 , 170 , 171 , 172 ]. The marine environment is enriched with a wide variety of living organisms, including bacteria, actinobacteria, sponges, fungi, microalgae, soft corals, seaweeds and flowering plants, such as mangroves, which have been reported as unexplored source for the discovery of potential anti-cancer compounds [ 173 ], as well as anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antioxidants, or immunomodulatory activities [ 173 , 174 , 175 ].…”

“…This biomass diversity is considered as an unlimited source of structurally novel bioactive compounds, whose structural novelties, as well as variation in chemical features, confer to these organisms unique properties allowing them to survive in extreme marine environmental conditions, such as high salinity, temperature, or pressure [ 176 , 177 , 178 ]. Several natural marine products have been reported for their potent TRAIL-sensitizing effect in various TRAIL-resistant cancer cell lines ( Table 1 and Figure 4 ) [ 171 , 179 ].…”