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Mylabris Phalerata (Chinese Blister Beetle) on Hematological Malignancies

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Abstract

The therapeutic approach to hematological malignancies is based on chemotherapy using anticancer drugs, but such treatment has serious side effects, and some complications (e.g. serious infection and bleeding) associated with use of these drugs can be fatal. Therefore, investigators have sought out new less toxic agents targeted against the molecules responsible for the pathogenesis of the hematological malignancies. Natural compounds appear to be safer than some recently released anticancer drugs, and such compounds are promising for the development of novel compounds with improved clinical activities. Cantharidin (CTD) is the active ingredient of Mylabris phalerata (Chinese blister beetle), and is one of many natural products used in traditional Chinese medicine for cancer treatment. CTD is a selective inhibitor of PP1 (protein phosphatase 1) and PP2A, and as such is necessary for growth inhibition of tumor cells. In addition, the cytotoxic activity of CTD is likely to be associated with PP1 and PP2A activity. Therefore, a number of investigations of the effects of CTD on cancer cells have been carried out to date. Although CTD and its derivatives have been synthesized and examined in terms of their participation in antitumor processes in various cancer cell lines, there has been little progress in terms of clinical applications. Thus, it will be necessary to address the molecular modes of action of CTD in tumor cells, including hematological malignant cells. To address the molecular modes of action of CTD in tumor cells, several genes functionally related to cell proliferation or apoptosis were recently identified by cDNA microarray analysis in CTD-treated cells. It is possible that CTD will eventually contribute to the development of molecular-targeted therapies and individualized treatment strategies for the patients with hematological malignancies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hematology, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, 1981 Kamoda, 350-8550, Saitama, Kawagoe, Japan

    Masahiro Kizaki & Morihiko Sagawa

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  1. Masahiro Kizaki
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  2. Morihiko Sagawa
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Correspondence to Masahiro Kizaki .

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  1. Dept. Clinical Oncology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gascoigne Road 30, Kowloon, Hong Kong/PR China

    William C.S. Cho

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Kizaki, M., Sagawa, M. (2011). Mylabris Phalerata (Chinese Blister Beetle) on Hematological Malignancies. In: Cho, W. (eds) Evidence-based Anticancer Materia Medica. Evidence-based Anticancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0526-5_17

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