Advances in the Reasearch of a Steroidal Alkaloid Cyclopamine

Cyclopamine,a steroidal alkaloid,inhibits the hedgehog signaling pathway.It shows good anti-tumor activity.The authors give an overview on cyclopamine research from the following aspects:(1)the history of cyclopamine development,(2)physical and chemical properties of cyclopamine,(3)sources of cyclopamine,(4)functions of cyclopamine in hedgehog signalling pathway,(5)perspective in cyclopamine research.