Pyridoacridine alkaloids from marine origin: Sources and anticancer activity

Abstract

The pyridoacridines are a group of highly colored, polycyclic aromatic natural products isolated from marine invertebrates, especially marine sponges and tunicates. As a class, the pyridoacridines are considered DNA binding molecules and have been characterized mainly on the basis of their cytotoxicity, even though they may possess other interesting biological activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiparasitic and insecticidal activities. Recent reports have demonstrated that the individual pyridoacridines can vary dramatically in their molecular mechanism of cell killing. It was suggested that both core structure and substituents can have significant influences on the electronic distribution and topology of the molecule of these compounds, which ultimately affect the mechanism underlying their biological activities. This chapter covers structures and sources of the isolated marine pyridoacridine alkaloids, as well as the mechanisms underlying the cytotoxicity of certain naturally occurring marine pyridoacridines.