DNA topoisomerase inhibitors

Abstract

DNA topoisomerases (Topo) are ubiquitous enzymes in eukaryotic cell and prokaryotic cell. They are crucial for cellular genetic processes, such as replication, recombination, transcription, chromosome condensation, and the maintenance of genome stability by catalyzing the passage of individual DNA strands (topoisomerase I) or double helices (topoisomerase II) through one another. In accordance, topoisomerases are over expressed in cancer cell growth and thus are important cellular targets for anticancer drugs. The structures and biological functions of topoisomerases are discussed in this review. Moreover, some recent progresses of organic compounds and metal complexes as DNA topoisomerase inhibitors are discussed in detail.