|
|
 |
 |
| |
 Printable version |
Anticancer drug-induced apoptosis |
Hématologie. Volume 3, Number 2, 146-54, Mars - Avril 1997, Mini-revues et revues
|
 Résumé
Article gratuit
|
Author(s) : Ali Bettaïeb, Guy Laurent |
Summary : Over the last decades, it was generally believed that the cytotoxicity of antitumor agents was straightly correlated with the amount of drug-induced cellular lesions. Accordingly, pharmacologists have examined the means by which they can improve drug-target interactions either by increasing the intracellular concentration of active compounds or by decreasing detoxification processes. However, several evidences stemming from both clinical and experimental experiences, strongly suggested that drug-induced lesions may result in different cellular responses which greatly influence cytotoxicity. More recently, it has been shown that, in some but not all cellular models, antitumor agents induce apoptosis, an irreversible process which leads to a rapid and complete elimination of tumor cells. However, further studies also demonstrated that apoptosis induced by antitumor agents is highly regulated by multiple signalling pathways which are themselves influenced by oncogenes, protein kinase activities, external stimuli and the oxydative balance. Therefore, it appears that cell death commitment is controlled by both external and internal factors which interfere downstream of drug-target interaction. The characterization of these factors may provide novel targets for modulating drug-activated intracellular signalling pathways in order to promote apoptosis in drug-resistant cells. |
Keywords : apoptosis, antitumor agents, transduction signal, pharmacology. |
|
