plitidepsin

A cyclic depsipeptide isolated from the marine tunicate Aplidium albicans. Plitidepsin displays a broad spectrum of antitumor activities, inducing apoptosis by triggering mitochondrial cytochrome c release, initiating the Fas/DC95, JNK pathway and activating caspase 3 activation. This agent also inhibits elongation factor 1-a, thereby interfering with protein synthesis, and induces G1 arrest and G2 blockade, thereby inhibiting tumor cell growth.