Apoptins: selective anticancer agents

Oscar M Rollano Peñaloza; Magdalena Lewandowska; Joerg Stetefeld; Karolina Ossysek; Mariusz Madej; Joanna Bereta; Mateusz Sobczak; Shahla Shojaei; Saeid Ghavami; Marek J Łos

doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2014.07.003

Apoptins: selective anticancer agents

Trends Mol Med. 2014 Sep;20(9):519-28. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2014.07.003. Epub 2014 Aug 19.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department Clinical & Experimental Medicine, Division of Cell Biology, and Integrative Regenerative Medical Center, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Instituto de Biologia Molecular y Biotecnologia, La Paz, Bolivia.
² Department of Pathology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
⁴ Department of Cell Biochemistry, Faculty of Biochemistry Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
⁵ Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Biochemistry Biophysics and Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
⁶ Department of Biochemistry, Recombinant Protein Laboratory, Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
⁷ Department of Human Anatomy & Cell Science, College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Manitoba Institute of Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; Health Policy Research Centre, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran.
⁸ Department Clinical & Experimental Medicine, Division of Cell Biology, and Integrative Regenerative Medical Center, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; Department of Pathology, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland. Electronic address: marek.los@liu.se.

PMID: 25164066
DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2014.07.003

Abstract

Therapies that selectively target cancer cells for death have been the center of intense research recently. One potential therapy may involve apoptin proteins, which are able to induce apoptosis in cancer cells leaving normal cells unharmed. Apoptin was originally discovered in the Chicken anemia virus (CAV); however, human gyroviruses (HGyV) have recently been found that also harbor apoptin-like proteins. Although the cancer cell specific activity of these apoptins appears to be well conserved, the precise functions and mechanisms of action are yet to be fully elucidated. Strategies for both delivering apoptin to treat tumors and disseminating the protein inside the tumor body are now being developed, and have shown promise in preclinical animal studies.

Keywords: CDK2; anaphase-promoting complex; anticancer agents; protein kinase C; protein phosphatase 2A.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage
Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
Apoptosis / drug effects
Capsid Proteins / pharmacology*
Capsid Proteins / physiology
Cell Death / drug effects
Chicken anemia virus / chemistry
Drug Delivery Systems / methods*
Gyrovirus / chemistry
Humans
Viral Proteins / isolation & purification
Viral Proteins / pharmacology

Substances

Antineoplastic Agents
Capsid Proteins
VP3 protein, Chicken anemia virus
Viral Proteins