Journal of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Medical Science) ›› 2024, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (3): 385-392.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8115.2024.03.012

• Review • Previous Articles    

Research progress in the anti-cancer activity and related mechanisms of arenobufagin

BAI Wenhui1(), SHEN Shukun2, WU Yingli1()   

  1. 1.Department of Pathophysiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University College of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai 200025, China
    2.Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People′s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200011, China
  • Received:2023-07-26 Accepted:2024-01-02 Online:2024-03-28 Published:2024-04-29
  • Contact: WU Yingli E-mail:baiwenhui@sjtu.edu.cn;wuyingli@shsmu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(82170145)

Abstract:

Toad venom is an active extract of toad, which is processed by distilling or drying at high temperature the venom secreted from the skin glands and ear-side glands of Toad Chinensis. As a natural product that has been used to treat diseases in China for thousands of years, toad venom has many pharmacological effects such as heart strengthening, analgesia, anti-myocardial ischemia, anti-endotoxin shock, and anti-cancer. Arenobufagin (ARE) is one of the main chemical components of toad venom, and its anti-cancer mechanism has been increasingly clarified in the past decade. ARE can play an anti-cancer role through a variety of ways, such as inducing apoptosis and/or autophagy of cancer cells, necrosis, and cell cycle arrest, inhibiting cancer cell migration and invasion, and inhibiting angiogenesis. The current research on ARE mainly focuses on the selective toxicity of cancer cells and the molecular mechanism of anti-cancer, mostly at the cellular and animal levels. Due to the large toxic and side effects of ARE, unclear targets and unclear pharmacokinetic characteristics, ARE has not yet entered the clinical application in Western medicine. This article summarizes relevant research results on the anti-cancer activity and molecular mechanism of ARE, and its combination with other anti-cancer drugs in order to provide a new direction for improving the anti-cancer mechanism of ARE.

Key words: arenobufagin (ARE), toad venom, anti-cancer, molecular mechanism

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