Gold(III) compounds as new family of anticancer drugs

Gold(III) complexes are emerging as a new class of metal complexes with outstanding cytotoxic properties and are presently being evaluated as potential antitumor agents. This renewed interest is the result of recent studies in which various gold(III) complexes have been shown to be stable under physiological conditions and to manifest relevant antiproliferative properties against selected human tumor cell lines. The pharmacological investigation of some representative gold(III) complexes has been extended to consider their effects on the cell cycle and to reveal induction of apoptosis. Remarkably, preliminary studies suggest that the interactions in vitro of gold(Ill) complexes with calf thymus DNA are weak whereas significant binding to model proteins takes place. Our findings imply that the mechanism of action of cytotoxic gold(Ill) complexes might be substantially different from that of clinically established platinum compounds.