Chaetocin: A review of its anticancer potentials and mechanisms

Chaetocin is a natural metabolite product with various biological activities and pharmacological functions iso-lated from Chaetomium species fungi belonging to the thiodiketopyrazines. Numerous studies have demon-strated a wide range of antitumor activities of chaetocin in vitro and in vivo. Several studies have demonstrated that chaetocin suppresses the growth and proliferation of various tumour cells by regulating multiple signalling pathways related to tumour initiation and progression, inducing cancer cell apoptosis (intrinsic and extrinsic), enhancing autophagy, inducing cell cycle arrest, and inhibiting tumour angiogenesis, invasion, and migration. The antitumor effects and molecular mechanisms of chaetocin are reviewed and analysed in this paper, and the prospective applications of chaetocin in cancer prevention and therapy are also discussed. This review aimed to summarize the recent advances in the antitumor activity of chaetocin and to provide a rationale for further exploring the potential application of chaetocin in overcoming cancer in the future.

Automated summary

Chaetocin is a natural metabolite isolated from Chaetomium species fungi, exhibiting a wide range of anti-tumor activities by suppressing tumor cell growth and proliferation through various pathways, inducing cell apoptosis, regulating cell cycle, and inhibiting tumor angiogenesis and invasion.