Cyclopamine: From Cyclops Lambs to Cancer Treatment

Authors

Stephen T. Lee, USDA ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory
Kevin D. Welch, USDA ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory
Kip E. Panter, USDA ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory
Dale R. Gardner, USDA ARS Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory
Massoud Garrossian, Logan Natural Products, Inc.
Cheng-Wei Tom Chang, Utah State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title

Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry

Publication Date

4-10-2014

Publisher

American Chemical Society

Volume

62

Issue

30

First Page

7355

Last Page

7362

Abstract

In the late 1960s, the steroidal alkaloid cyclopamine was isolated from the plant Veratrum californicum and identified as the teratogen responsible for craniofacial birth defects including cyclops in the offspring of sheep grazing on mountain ranges in the western United States. Cyclopamine was found to inhibit the hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, which plays a critical role in embryonic development. More recently, aberrant Hh signaling has been implicated in several types of cancer. Thus, inhibitors of the Hh signaling pathway, including cyclopamine derivatives, have been targeted as potential treatments for certain cancers and other diseases associated with the Hh signaling pathway. A brief history of cyclopamine and cyclopamine derivatives investigated for the treatment of cancer is presented.

Comments

PubMed PMID: 24754790

Recommended Citation

Lee, S.; Welch, K. D.; Panter, K. E.; Gardner, D. R.; Garrossian, M.; Chang, C.-W. T. "Cyclopamine: From Cyclops Lambs to Cancer Treatment." J. Agric. Food Chem. 2014, 62, 7355−7362. PubMed PMID: 24754790.