Antitumor pigments from marine bacteria

Abstract

Transformation of normal cells to malignant cells is known to occur as a result of mutagenesis, which has as a consequence the uncontrollable and abnormal multiplication of these cells within the body. Chemotherapy, the use of biologically active chemical compounds to interrupt and stop the growth of cancer cells, remains one of the most effective ways to cure cancer. However, the lack of effective chemotherapeutic drugs that can completely annihilate cancer cells remains an unsolved problem for modern science. Finding those desirable bioactive compounds has become a challenging task for researchers facing the limited efficacy of drugs used in clinical practice. Another challenge for the treatment of cancer is the ability of cancer cells to develop chemoresistance against drugs. Therefore, highly effective chemical compounds that can selectively eliminate tumor cells while not affecting normal cells are still in urgent demand. The newly designed drugs should preferably have selective inhibitory effects toward molecules that initiate anti-apoptotic mechanisms, while inducing pro-apoptotic proteins (Almond and Cohen 2002).