Table 6.
Some bioactive compounds of tunicates utilized in clinical trials.
| Bioactive Compound | Tunicate Species | Natural Product or Derivative | Biosynthetic Class of Agent | Molecular Target | Disease Area | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trabectedin (ET-743/Ecteinascidine 743/Yondelis©) | Ecteinascidia turbinate | Natural product | NRPS-derived alkaloid | Minor groove of DNA | Cancer | [128] |
| Lurbinectedin (PM01183/Zepzelca©) | Ecteinascidia turbinat | Derivative; trabectedin analog | NRPS-alkaloid | Minor groove of DNA and nucleotide excision repair | Cancer | [129] |
| Midostaurine (PKC-412/CGP41251/Rydapt©) | Tunicates | Semisynthetic analogue of staurosporine | Indolocarbazole | Flt-3 and PKC | Cancer | [130] |
| Plitidepsin (dehydrodidemnin B/Aplidine©) | Aplidium albicans | Natural product | Cyclic depsipeptide | Rac1 and JNK activation | Cancer | [104,131] |
| Lestaurtinib (CEP-701) | Tunicates | Synthetic analogue of Staurosporine | Indolocarbazole | Flt-3, JAK-2, Trk-A, Trk-B, and Trk-C | Cancer | [132] |
| Enzastaurin (LY317615) | Ascidian | Synthetic analogue of Staurosporine | Indolocarbazole | PKCβ and GSK-3β | Cancer | NCT00332202 |
| Becatecarin (NSC 655649) | Tunicates | Synthetic analogue of Staurosporine | Indolocarbazole | Potent stabilizers of DNA | Cancer | [133] |
| Didemnin B | Trididemnum solidum | Natural product | Cyclic depsipeptide | Anti-viral agent | Cancer | [134] |
CTN: clinical trial number.