Gallium (III) Complexes in Cancer Chemotherapy

Gallium, the group 13 metal, has been found to be potentially useful in fighting against cancers since last century. The trivalent Ga(III) shares most chemical properties except redox activity with Fe(III), so that it acts as a competitive inhibitor of Fe(III) in vitro and in vivo, which contributes...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of inorganic chemistry 2022-02, Vol.2022 (6), p.n/a
Main Authors: Peng, Xin‐Xin, Gao, Song, Zhang, Jun‐Long
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cancer
Chemical properties
Circulatory system
Ferritin
Gallium
Inorganic chemistry
Iron mimics
Metal complexes
Modes of action
Reductases
Speciation
Transferrin
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Gallium, the group 13 metal, has been found to be potentially useful in fighting against cancers since last century. The trivalent Ga(III) shares most chemical properties except redox activity with Fe(III), so that it acts as a competitive inhibitor of Fe(III) in vitro and in vivo, which contributes to its antineoplastic activity. As an Fe(III) mimic, Ga(III) can be uptaken into cells through transferrin and be stored in ferritin. Furthermore, it disrupts Fe‐dependent processes, for example, by inhibiting the activity of ribonucleotide reductase and Fe‐containing proteins in the respiratory chain. To solve the problems of complex Ga(III) speciation in the circulatory system, a large number of ligands were applied to form Ga(III) complexes, supplying multiple functions. In this review, we summarized the anticancer mechanisms of Ga(III) and introduce numerous Ga(III) complexes with great antineoplastic potential. The trivalent Ga(III) shares most chemical properties except redox activity with Fe(III), so that it acts as a competitive inhibitor of Fe(III) in the human body, which contributes to its antineoplastic activity. As an Fe(III) mimic, Ga(III) can be uptaken into cells through transferrin and be stored in ferritin. Furthermore, it disrupts Fe‐dependent processes by occupying the Fe(III) sites in biomolecules, for example, inhibiting the activity of ribonucleotide reductase and Fe‐containing proteins in the respiratory chain. To solve the problems of complex Ga(III) speciation in the circulatory system, a large number of ligands were applied to form Ga(III) complexes, preventing hydrolysis and precipitation of Ga(III) ions, offering multiple functions and anticancer mechanisms.
ISSN:1434-1948
1099-0682
DOI:10.1002/ejic.202100953