Molecular and cellular toxicological profiling of DNA bis-intercalator, quinoxaline compounds: echinomycin as the versatile lead

AbstractOf quinoxaline compounds, echinomycin is classically known as an antitumor agent which binds to DNA via a mechanism of bis-intercalation. In addition to intercalation, quinoxaline compounds such as echinomycin, echinomycin derivatives or analogues might control anomalous cellular proliferation in eukaryotes via specifically triggering cellular signaling pathways in mitochondria, as well as under hypoxia. Further, since echinomycin was proven to be a specific inhibitor of HIF-1 α, these novel mechanisms could be clinically applied in the development of therapeutics against cancer, infection, obesity, fibrosis, and autoimmune disease. Herein, this review focuses on the current toxicological profiles of echinomycin as well its potential applications in medicine.
Source: Molecular and Cellular Toxicology - Category: Cytology Source Type: research