Abstract
Tanshinone II-A (TSN) is the most abundant diterpene quinone isolated from Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza), which has been used in treating cardiovascular diseases for more than 2000 years in China. Interest in its versatile protective effects in cardiovascular, metabolic, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancers has been growing over the last decade. TSN is a multi-target drug, whose molecular targets include transcription factors, scavenger receptors, ion channels, kinases, pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins, growth factors, inflammatory mediators, microRNA, and others. More recently, enhanced or synergistic effects can be observed when TSN is used in combination therapy with cardioprotective and anti-cancer drugs. These combination therapy regimens may open new therapeutic avenues for the treatment of various kinds of human diseases.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the contribution of investigators dedicated to the isolation, preparation, and pharmacological characterization of tanshinones and their derivatives, and we apologize to those investigators whose work we could not cite due to reference limit. This work was supported by research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81072641, No. 81273499), the National Science and Technology Major Project of China “Key New Drug Creation and Manufacturing Program” (No. 2011ZX09401-307) Team Item of Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (No. S2011030003190), Major Project of Guangdong Province (No. 2008A030201013, No. 2012A080201007), Major Project of Department of Education of Guangdong Province (No.CXZD1006), and ‘‘New Investigator Award” from Ministry of Education of China.