Finding NEMO (inhibitors) the search for marine pharmacophores targeting the nuclear factor-kappa B

Since the early 1960's, marine organisms have provided natural products chemists with a rich source of novel and very diverse metabolites with unprecedented chemical structures. Over the last few decades, significant effort has been placed on the pharmacological evaluation of marine secondary metabolites. This scientific endeavour, which is often referred to as the search for "Drugs from the Sea", has lead to the discovery of numerous anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial compounds, several of which are currently in clinical trials. In the present review, we discuss the potential of marine natural products as pharmacophores for the inhibition of the nuclear factor-kappa B which has recently been recognized as an important molecular target in both anticancer and anti-inflammatory drug discovery. In particular, we focus on marine natural products with lactone moieties, which cover a third of all the currently known NF-kappa B inhibitors of marine origin.