Abstract

Lymphoma is a cancerous tumour that develops from the lymphatic hematopoietic system. Although it is more likely to occur in lymph nodes, it can invade almost any tissues and organs in the body due to lymphatic system flow, making treatment ineffective, particularly in non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Tumor targeted therapy has received a lot of attention in recent years. Drugs that target tumour cells can precisely attack tumours while causing minimal damage to normal cells. As demonstrated in the research of antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), small molecules should have a suitable half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value as a key aspect of tumour targeted drugs, so the selection of small molecules is critical and also challenging for drug development.

Throughout the long history of antitumor research, many active ingredients extracted from plants and microorganisms have demonstrated potent antitumor activity. Microtubules (MTs), which play an important role in mitosis, are frequently used as cancer therapy targets [1]. Ansamitocin P3 is a maytansine analogue discovered in Nocardia species. It has been shown to disrupt microtubule assembly by binding to tubulin at the same site as vinblastine. Following ansamitocin P3 treatment, cells were arrested in the mitotic phase and apoptosis was induced. Despite its high cytotoxicity, ansamitocin P3 has not been approved for clinical use due to severe side effects and a limited therapeutic spectrum.