Antiangiogenic properties of lichen secondary metabolites

Abstract

Lichens are symbiotic organisms which are composed fungi and algae and/or cyanobacteria. They produce a variety of characteristic secondary metabolites. Such substances have various biological properties including antimicrobial, antiviral, and antitumor activities. Angiogenesis, the growth of new vessels from pre-existing vessels, contributes to numerous diseases including cancer, arthritis, atherosclerosis, infectious, and immune disorders. Antiangiogenic therapy is a promising approach for the treatment of such diseases by inhibiting the new vessel formation. Technological advances have led to the development of various antiangiogenic agents and have made possible antiangiogenic therapy in many diseases associated with angiogenesis. Some lichens and their metabolites are used in the drug industry, but many have not yet been tested for their antiangiogenic effects. The cytotoxic and angiogenic capacities of lichen-derived small molecules have been demonstrated in vivo and in vitro experiments. Therefore, some of them may be used as antiangiogenic agents in the future. The secondary compounds of lichen whose antiangiogenic effect has been studied in the literature are usnic acid, barbatolic acid, vulpinic acid, olivetoric acid, emodin, secalonic acid D, and parietin. In this article, we review the antiangiogenic effects and cellular targets of these lichen-derived metabolites.

Cytotoxic, anti-proliferative, and apoptotic evaluation of Ramalina sinensis (Ascomycota, Lecanoromycetes), lichenized fungus on oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line; in-vitro study

“…Yang et al also showed tamidoline has anti-cancer properties against colorectal cancer cells [ 31 ]. Many lichen-derived acids have acceptable anti-cancer properties, so some of these compounds, such as lecanoric acid and vulpinic acid, are much more effective than conventional drugs in reducing thyroidoxin levels [ 32 , 33 ].…”

UHPLC-MS Metabolomic Fingerprinting, Antioxidant, and Enzyme Inhibition Activities of Himantormia lugubris from Antarctica

“…Moreover, usnic acid in U. longissima is found in high concentrations and is evidenced with a significant effect on different cancer cell lines [37]. As for other chemical compounds, atranol was reported as a biologically active constituent of several lichens [38] including Stereocaulon azoreum and Stereocaulon vesubianum [39,40], and in Antarctic lichens in Everniopsis trulla [41], while barbatolic acid reported in Bryoria lichens [42] was reported to be active against breast cancer [43], showed antiangiogenic effects [44], and was previously reported in H. lugubris [45] while the compound 5,7-dihydroxy-6-methylphthalide was only reported to occur in Usnea florida [46] and Usnea antarctica [41]; the concentration of both compounds was 85.833 and 49.374 per gram of lichen, respectively (Table 2).…”

Turning Inside Out: Filamentous Fungal Secretion and Its Applications in Biotechnology, Agriculture, and the Clinic

“…Due to the wide variety of secondary metabolites identified from lichens, these organisms can be viewed as promising natural product libraries for new bioactive molecule discoveries. Indeed, over 300 secondary metabolites have been characterized from lichens, including depsides, depsidones, dibenzofurans, xanthones, among others, with antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, insecticidal, antiangiogenic, anticancer, and other properties (reviewed in [ 190 , 193 , 194 ]). An obvious challenge to the use of lichens as microbial cell factories to produce these metabolites is slow growth, technical difficulty of in vitro culture, and a lack of molecular tools [ 193 ].…”