%0 Journal Article
%T Novel Colchicine Derivatives and their Anti-cancer Activity.
%A Johnson L
%A Goping IS
%A Rieger A
%A Mane JY
%A Huzil T
%A Banerjee A
%A Luduena R
%A Hassani B
%A Winter P
%A Tuszynski JA
%J Curr Top Med Chem
%V 17
%N 22
%D 2017
%M 28056740
%F 3.57
%R 10.2174/1568026617666170104143618
%X In this paper we provide an overview of the status of various colchicine derivatives in preclinical development with special focus on their anti-cancer activity. We discuss several groups of compounds that have been designed to differentially bind with specific affinities for tubulin β isotypes, especially in regard to βIII, which is commonly over-expressed in cancer. Computational prediction, protein-based and cell-based assays are summarized as well as some animal tests conducted on these compounds. It is concluded that an untapped potential exists for exploiting the colchicine scaffold as a pharmacophore with the possibility of increasing its affinity for tubulin isotypes overexpressed in cancer and decreasing it for normal cells thereby widening the therapeutic window.