A Mini-Review on Thalidomide: Chemistry, Mechanisms of Action, Therapeutic Potential and Anti-Angiogenic Properties in Multiple Myeloma

Thalidomide is a drug with interesting therapeutic properties but also with severe side effects which require a careful and monitored use. Potential immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and sedative properties make thalidomide a good candidate for the treatment of several diseases such as multiple myeloma. Through an increase in the degradation of TNF alpha-mRNA, thalidomide reduces the production of TNF alpha by monocytes and macrophages stimulated by lipopolysaccharide or by T lymphocytes induced by mitogenic stimuli. The decreased level of TNF alpha alters the mechanisms of intracellular transduction by preventing the activation of NF-kB and by decreasing the synthesis of proteins, in particular IL-6, involved in cell proliferation, inflammation, angiogenesis and protection from apoptosis. Furthermore, thalidomide affects VEGF levels by down-regulating its expression. Nowadays, new safer and less toxic drugs, analogs of thalidomide, are emerging as beneficial for a more targeted treatment of multiple myeloma and several other diseases such as Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, erythema nodosum leprosum, graft-versus-host disease.