| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2112668 | Cancer Letters | 2014 | 16 Pages |
•Deregulation of the epigenetic machinery is a hallmark of cancer.•Natural marine compounds possess epigenetic modulatory activities.•Natural marine compounds provide potent anti-cancer drugs.•Epigenetic activity of largazole, psammaplin, trichostatin, azumamide are described.
Cancer remains a major public health problem in our society. The development of potent novel anti-cancer drugs selective for tumor cells is therefore still required. Deregulation of the epigenetic machinery including DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs is a hallmark of cancer, which provides potential new therapeutic targets. Natural products or their derivatives represent a major class of anti-cancer drugs in the arsenal available to the clinician. However, regarding epigenetically active anti-cancer agents for clinics, the oceans represent a largely untapped resource. This review focuses on marine natural compounds with epigenetic activities and their synthetic derivatives displaying anti-cancer properties including largazole, psammaplins, trichostatins and azumamides.
