Research progress of Hedgehog signaling pathway inhibitors in anti-tumor field / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

Hedgehog （Hh） signaling pathway plays an important regulatory role in the process of cell proliferation， differentiation and tissue formation. Proper intensity and action time of Hh signal are crucial for the normal development of various tissues of the body， and its abnormal activation will lead to the occurrence and development of most malignant tumors， including breast cancer， liver cancer， pancreatic cancer， and lung cancer， which makes Hh signaling pathway an ideal target for anti-tumor drug research and development. At present， the main targets of Hh signaling pathway inhibitors include Hh ligand， receptor Smoothened （Smo） and transcription factor Gli. Among them， the compounds that depend on the Hh ligand pathway still remain at the stage of laboratory research because they cannot act on the non-classical Hh signaling pathway. The special structure of Smo protein enables it to combine with drugs efficiently and selectively， which is a powerful and effective drug target. Therefore， Smo selective inhibitors have been an active field of related research， and many Smo inhibitors have entered the clinical use or trial stage. Gli can regulate multiple carcinogenic genes， promote abnormal cell proliferation and lead to tumor， and can also cause feedback inhibition to Hh signaling pathway. Therefore， the development of drugs that can inhibit the activity of Gli has broad prospects. In the future， a combination of multiple pathway inhibitors can be designed to avoid drug resistance and other side effects.