Discodermia cytotoxic activity

Following the first report of tumor promotion by okadaic acid, additional tumor promoters of the okadaic acid activity class have been identified, e.g., microcystin [513,514], and calyculin derivatives, Fig. (63) reported in marine sponges such as Discodermia calyx [515] and Theonella swinhoei [516] as potent inhibitors of tumor cell proliferation. A two-sponge association, Poecillastra sp. and Jaspis sp., yielded cytotoxic toxins which exhibited selective activity against several tumoral cell lines [517],... 

Discodermolide (36) is a cytotoxic polyketide isolated in low yield from the Caribbean sponge Discodermia dissoluta 44), The recent discovery that discodermolide shares the same microtubule-stabilising mechanism of antimitotic action as the clinically important anticancer drug, Taxol (paclitaxel), and retains activity against Taxol -resistant cancer cells has stimulated considerable interest (45,46). Due to the scarce supply of the natural material, the development of an efficient total synthesis (47-52) of (+)-discodermolide is needed to provide useful quantities for further testing, as well as enabling access to structurally simplified analogues. 

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