Hydroxytyrosol-derived compounds: a basis for the creation of new pharmacological agents for cancer prevention and therapy

Hydroxytyrosol [2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethanol, HTyr] is a phenolic compound found in olive leaves and fruits and extra-virgin olive oil, which has well-known strong antioxidant and radical-scavenging properties. Recently, it has received particular attention for its antiproliferative and apoptotic activities and its anti-inflammatory properties. During the past few years, more efforts have been focused on synthesizing HTyr-derived compounds with enhanced biological activities for their potential use in different chronic degenerative diseases. In this paper, we report a dissertation on the current knowledge of selected synthetic HTyr derivatives and analogues and their potential use in cancer prevention and therapy, which are related to their antioxidant, antiproliferative/apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory properties. On the basis of the perspective of using HTyr-derived compounds as anticancer agents, we have taken into account only studies that were performed in experimental cell-based models.5n

The combined treatment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells with thymolymphotropin and interleukin 2 increases PPD-driven T-cell proliferation and IL-2 induced cellular cytotoxicity against HIV-infected cells.

Two in vitro systems (the DNA synthetic response to mycobacterial antigens and cytotoxicity against lymphoid cells) were used to analyse the effect of thymolymphotropin (TLT) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Purified protein derivative of mycobacteria (PPD)-driven T-cell proliferation in low-responder donors was increased by the combined treatment with TLT and suboptimal doses of recombinant interleukin 2 (IL-2). Similarly, the activities of natural killer (NK) cells and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells have been enhanced in PBMC cultures pretreated with TLT. Also, TLT showed an enhancing effect on the development of LAK cells capable of lysing Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed B-lymphocytes infected or uninfected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)