An Insight about Doxorubicin induced Neurotoxicity

Abstract

Dox (chemical formula: C27H29NO11). It is the active ingredient in the anthracycline class of antibiotics, which are among the most potent chemotherapeutic drugs. It is highly effective against a wide spectrum of malignancies involving both hematological and solid tumors including lymphoma, gastric cancer, small cell lung cancer, sarcoma, and breast cancer. This review aims to summarize the neurotoxic effects of doxorubicin in preclinical (in vitro and in vivo) research. Furthermore, more and more literature reports in the field of basic and clinical research indicate that DOX exposure may induce neurotoxicity, especially in synaptic processes associated with hippocampal neurotransmission. It is known that DOX has a weak ability to penetrate through the BBB. At this point, it is worth mentioning that the mechanism of BBB-mediated drug resistance is complicated by the interaction of P-glycoprotein (P-gp, ABCB1) and breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP, ABCG2), which is successful in removing molecules and drugs from the CNS.