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Marine-Derived Agents in Anticancer Targeting and Therapy

A Special Issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397) belonging to the section "Marine Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 December 2026 | Viewed by 2192

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
Interests: synthesis of heterocyclic compounds; antitumor agents; cystic fibrosis; kinases; antimitotic agents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
Interests: anticancer compounds; synthesis of bioactive molecules; heterocyclic scaffolds; antiviral agents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is a great pleasure to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, titled “Marine-Derived Agents in Anticancer Targeting and Therapy”.

Progress in cancer biology and in the identification of molecular pathways underlying tumor growth have significantly advanced targeted cancer therapy. Nevertheless, therapeutic resistance remains a major challenge, highlighting the need for novel compounds capable of selectively modulating oncogenic pathways through novel mechanisms of action. In this context, marine environments represent a great source of molecules with innovative scaffolds, remarkable chemical diversity, and peculiar structural features to inspire rational design and synthesis of novel anticancer agents. This originality offers valuable opportunities for the identification of marine-derived compounds as promising targeted therapies with improved selectivity.

The Special Issue, “Marine-Derived Agents in Anticancer Targeting and Therapy”, welcomes high-quality original research articles and reviews focusing on known or novel marine-derived bioactive compounds with anticancer potential, also inspiring drug discovery processes. Studies elucidating biological targets, mechanisms of action, computational analyzes and structure–activity relationships are particularly encouraged, with the aim of highlighting the emerging role of marine natural products in advancing effective and selective anticancer therapeutics.

Prof. Dr. Paola Barraja
Dr. Alessandra Montalbano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • marine natural products
  • marine-derived compounds
  • anticancer therapy
  • targeted cancer therapy
  • chemical synthesis
  • structure–activity relationship (SAR)
  • oncogenic pathways
  • molecular targets
  • drug discovery and development

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 1812 KB  
Article
Barettin Suppresses Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Proliferation via Topoisomerase IIα Inhibition
by Caleb A. Seekins, Monique R. Archuleta, Alexandria E. Evans, Julia Podgorski, Jerry E. Carr, Vishal Kaleeswaran, Kayla B. Nguyen, Matthew E. Flowers, Christopher Hulme, Todd W. Vanderah, Paco Cárdenas, John M. Streicher, Nam Y. Lee and Christopher Cartmell
Mar. Drugs 2026, 24(6), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/md24060201 - 7 Jun 2026
Viewed by 1549
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a highly lethal malignancy with few therapeutic options. Topoisomerase IIα (TOPO2α) is frequently overexpressed in PDAC and is associated with poor clinical outcomes, yet current TOPO2α-directed therapies are constrained by limited efficacy and toxicity. Barettin, a brominated indole-containing [...] Read more.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a highly lethal malignancy with few therapeutic options. Topoisomerase IIα (TOPO2α) is frequently overexpressed in PDAC and is associated with poor clinical outcomes, yet current TOPO2α-directed therapies are constrained by limited efficacy and toxicity. Barettin, a brominated indole-containing diketopiperazine isolated from the marine sponge Geodia barretti, has not previously been evaluated against PDAC-relevant targets. Here, we identify barettin as a TOPO2α inhibitor using an integrated phenotypic, computational, and biochemical approach. Barettin exerts a cytostatic, non-toxic effect, selectively suppressing proliferation in a subset of PDAC models while showing reduced activity in others, revealing context-dependent efficacy and biological selectivity. Consistent with this, barettin inhibits TOPO2α-mediated DNA decatenation in vitro, demonstrating direct interference with enzyme activity. These findings support barettin as a selective inhibitor of a cancer-relevant proliferative pathway, uncovering a potential vulnerability in a subset of PDAC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine-Derived Agents in Anticancer Targeting and Therapy)
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