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Theonella: A Treasure Trove of Structurally Unique and Biologically Active Sterols
Carmen Festa1, Simona De Marino1, Angela Zampella1
1Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples, Via Domenico Montesano, 49, 80131 Naples, Italy.
Marine Drugs
|May 26, 2023
Summary
Marine sponges like Theonella spp. are rich sources of unique bioactive sterols. This review highlights their structures, activities, and potential for developing new human disease therapies.
Area of Science:
- Marine natural products chemistry
- Medicinal chemistry
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Marine invertebrates, particularly sponges like Theonella spp., are prolific sources of structurally diverse bioactive secondary metabolites.
- Sterols represent a significant class of compounds isolated from Theonella spp., exhibiting unique structural features and potent biological activities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent reports on sterols isolated from Theonella spp.
- To describe their structural characteristics and biological activities.
- To discuss total syntheses and medicinal chemistry modifications of key sterols.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of sterols from Theonella spp.
- Analysis of structural features and biological activities.
- Discussion of total synthesis and structure-activity relationships.
Main Results:
- Theonella spp. yield a variety of sterols with significant biological activities, including cytotoxicity and effects on nuclear receptors.
- Total syntheses of solomonsterols A and B were achieved.
- Medicinal chemistry modifications of theonellasterol and conicasterol demonstrated altered biological activities.
Conclusions:
- Marine bioactive sterols from Theonella spp. are promising candidates for preclinical evaluation.
- These compounds offer potential for developing novel therapeutic approaches to human diseases.
- Natural product libraries remain valuable for discovering new drug leads.
Keywords:
Theonellacytotoxic activitymarine spongenuclear receptor ligandssecondary metabolitessterolsstructure–activity relationship (SAR)More Related Videos
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