Endoplasmic reticulum stress: an arising target for metal-based anticancer agents

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Oncology
• Materials Science

Background:

• The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a key cellular organelle implicated in cancer progression.
• ER stress induction is a validated strategy for anticancer drug development.
• Metal complexes offer tunable properties for targeted therapeutic interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current research on metal complexes as inducers of endoplasmic reticulum stress for cancer treatment.
• To provide an overview of ER function in cancer and methods for detecting ER stress.
• To summarize findings on metal-based anticancer agents that leverage ER stress pathways.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies investigating metal complexes and ER stress.
• Analysis of experimental methods for ER stress detection.
• Summary of in vitro and in vivo data for metal-based anticancer agents.

Main Results:

• Dozens of metal complexes have demonstrated ER stress-inducing anticancer activity.
• Many metal complexes exhibit potent in vitro (nanomolar) and in vivo (tumor inhibition) efficacy.
• Structural features of metal complexes correlate with their ER stress-inducing biological activity.

Conclusions:

• Metal complexes are a promising class of agents for inducing ER stress in cancer therapy.
• Targeting the ER with metal complexes offers selectivity and potential for immunogenic cell death.
• Further research into structural trends can optimize metal-based ER stress inducers for clinical application.