Design and Synthesis of Novel Betulin Derivatives Containing Thio-/Semicarbazone Moieties as Apoptotic Inducers through Mitochindria-Related Pathways

Two new series of betulin derivatives with semicarbazone (7a–g) or thiosemicarbazone (8a–g) groups at the C-28 position were synthesized. All compounds were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicities in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2), human breast carcinoma cells (MCF-7), human lung carcinoma cells (A549), human colorectal cells (HCT-116) and normal human gastric epithelial cells (GES-1). Among these compounds, 8f displayed the most potent cytotoxicity with an IC₅₀ value of 5.86 ± 0.61 μM against MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, the preliminary mechanism studies in MCF-7 cells showed that compound 8f could trigger the intracellular mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis pathway by losing MMP level, which was related with the upregulation of Bax, P53 and cytochrome c expression; the downregulation of Bcl-2 expression; activation of the expression levels of caspase-3, caspase-9, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9; and an increase in the amounts of intracellular reactive oxygen species. These results indicated that compound 8f may be used as a valuable skeleton structure for developing novel antitumor agents.     

Dioxyxanthones from Polygala hongkongensis and Their Cytotoxicity

Two new dioxyxanthones, polyhongkongenoxanthones A and B(1 and 2) were isolated from the herbs of Polygala hongkongensis, together with six known xanthones. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence. The isolates were tested for their cytotoxicity against three tumor cell lines(HepG2, GLC-82 and MCF-7, HepG2=human hepatocellular carcinoma cells; GLC-82=human lung carcinoma cells; MCF-7= human breast carcinoma cells) by MTT assay, among which polyhongkongenoxanthone B(2), 1,7-dihydroxy-2,3- methylenedioxyxanthone(3) and 1,7-dihydroxy-3,4,8-trimethoxyxanthone(6) are potential antitumor candidate due to their significant cytotoxic effects on the three cell lines..     

Design,Synthesis, Spectroscopic Characterisation and In Vitro Cytostatic Evaluation of Novel Bis(coumarin-1,2,3-triazolyl)benzenes and Hybrid Coumarin-1,2,3-triazolyl-aryl Derivatives

In this work, a series of novel 1,2,3-triazolyl-coumarin hybrid systems were designed as potential antitumour agents. The structural modification of the coumarin ring was carried out by Cu(I)-catalysed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 7-azido-4-methylcoumarin and terminal aromatic alkynes to obtain 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazolyl-coumarin conjugates 2a–g, bis(1,2,3-triazolyl-coumarin)benzenes 2h–i and coumarin-1,2,3-triazolyl-benzazole hybrids 4a–b. The newly synthesised hybrid molecules were investigated for in vitro antitumour activity against five human cancer cell lines, colon carcinoma HCT116, breast carcinoma MCF-7, lung carcinoma H 460, human T-lymphocyte cells CEM, cervix carcinoma cells HeLa, as well as human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1). Most of these compounds showed moderate to pronounced cytotoxic activity, especially towards MCF-7 cell lines with IC₅₀ = 0.3–32 μM. In addition, compounds 2a–i and 4a–b were studied by UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and their basic photophysical parameters were determined.     

Main constituents from the seeds of Vietnamese Cnidium monnieri and cytotoxic activity

From the ethyl acetate extract of the seeds of Vietnamese Cnidium monnieri L., three coumarins, osthole (1), xanthotoxin (2), imperatorin (3) and a sterol, daucosterol (4) have been purified. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis. Furthermore, 8-(3-hidroxy-3-methylbutyl)-7-methoxycoumarin (5) was synthesised from osthole (1) with a good yield (80%). In addition, compound 1 and its synthesis product (5) show moderate and non-selective cytotoxic activities against four cancer cells, KB (a human epidermal carcinoma), MCF7 (human breast carcinoma), SK-LU-1 (human lung carcinoma) and HepG2 (hepatocellular carcinoma).     

In vitro PHOTOSENSITIZING PROPERTIES OF RHODAMINE 123 ON DIFFERENT HUMAN TUMOR CELL LINES

Abstract— In this study, human tumor cell lines of different origin (colon carcinoma HT29, breast carcinoma MCF7 and malignant melanoma M14) were incubated for 24 h at 37*deg;C with Rhodamine 123 (Rh123) at concentrations ranging up to 4 μg/ml;. Immediately after drug removal, light irradiation was delivered at 500 W/m² for 5 min using an argon laser. After irradiation, viable cells were counted and assayed for colony formation. When only Rh123 was administered, a 50% survival was obtained at about 2.77 μg/ml and 1.48 μg/ml; for HT29 and MCF7, respectively. After light irradiation, 50% survival doses decreased to 0.47 μg/ml and 0.18 μg/ml for the two carcinoma cell lines, respectively. In the case of malignant melanoma, the decrease in survival was relatively lower than those obtained with carcinoma cells: 50% survival dose was 3.54 μg/ml with Rh123 alone and 1.32 μ/ml after irradiation. The lower sensitivity of M14 melanoma cells seems to be related to different uptake and release of drug by these cells with respect to carcinoma lines.     

PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY WITH PHOTOFRIN II INDUCES PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH IN CARCINOMA CELL LINES

Abstract The mode of cell death following photodynamic therapy was investigated from the perspective of programmed cell death or apoptosis. Human prostate carcinoma cells (PC3), human non-small cell lung carcinoma (H322a) and rat mammary carcinoma (MTF7) were treated by photodynamic therapy. An examination of extracted cellular DNA by gel electrophoresis showed the characteristic DNA ladder indicative of internucleosomal cleavage of DNA during apoptosis. The magnitude of the response and the photodynamic therapy dosage required to induce DNA fragmentation were different in PC3 and MTF7. The MTF7 cells responded with rapid apoptosis at the dose of light and drug that yielded 50% cell death (LD₅₀). In contrast, PC3 showed only marginal response at the LD₅₀ but had a marked response at the LD₈₅. Thus, apoptosis did not ensue as quickly in PC3 as in MTF7. The H322a cells were killed by photodynamic therapy but failed to exhibit any apoptotic response. The results also suggested that apoptosis in these cell lines has a minor requirement for de novo protein synthesis and no requirement for de novo RNA synthesis. This study indicates that although apoptosis can occur during photodynamic therapy-induced cell death, this response is not universal for all cancer cell lines.     

Green synthesis of some tetrahydroquinoline derivatives and evaluation as anticancer agents

This study demonstrates the design and synthesis of heterocyclic compounds with diverse biological effects. Using an ionic liquid catalyst, a sonosynthetic approach for the assembly of bis-arylidene cycloalkanone derivatives (bis-chalcones) has been reported. Three cancer cell lines Hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG-2), Breast carcinoma cells (MCF-7), and Lung carcinoma cells (A-549) were utilized to investigate the antiproliferative effects of some selected samples. Many evaluated drugs exhibited good to moderate cytotoxicity against the examined cell lines. Notably, the IC₅₀ values for the S-alkyl derivatives ranged from 2.86 to 13.14 µg/mL.     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Uracil and 5-Fluorouracil-1-yl Acetic Acid-Colchicine Conjugate

A series of novel uracil and 5-fluorouracil-1-yl-acetic acid-colchicine derivatives(6a-6n) was synthesized via coupling uracil and 5-fluorouracil(5-FU) with C-10 analogues of colchicine. The antitumor activities of the target compounds against human hepatocellular carcinoma(BEL7402) cells, human ovary carcinoma(A2780) cells, human lung adenocarcinoma(A549) cells and human breast carcinoma(MCF7) cells were tested in vitro, and the structure-activity relationship(SAR) of the compounds was also studied. The bioassay results demonstrate that most of the tested compounds display significant activity and particularly, compounds 6a, 6e, 6h and 6l show more potent cytotoxic activities than 5-fluorouracil and colchicine. The results show that the new derivatives of colchicine are potential suppressors on human cancer.     

Anticancer β-hairpin peptides: membrane-induced folding triggers activity

Several cationic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have recently been shown to display anticancer activity via a mechanism that usually entails the disruption of cancer cell membranes. In this work, we designed an 18-residue anticancer peptide, SVS-1, whose mechanism of action is designed to take advantage of the aberrant lipid composition presented on the outer leaflet of cancer cell membranes, which makes the surface of these cells electronegative relative to the surface of noncancerous cells. SVS-1 is designed to remain unfolded and inactive in aqueous solution but to preferentially fold at the surface of cancer cells, adopting an amphiphilic β-hairpin structure capable of membrane disruption. Membrane-induced folding is driven by electrostatic interaction between the peptide and the negatively charged membrane surface of cancer cells. SVS-1 is active against a variety of cancer cell lines such as A549 (lung carcinoma), KB (epidermal carcinoma), MCF-7 (breast carcinoma), and MDA-MB-436 (breast carcinoma). However, the cytotoxicity toward noncancerous cells having typical membrane compositions, such as HUVEC and erythrocytes, is low. CD spectroscopy, appropriately designed peptide controls, cell-based studies, liposome leakage assays, and electron microscopy support the intended mechanism of action, which leads to preferential killing of cancerous cells.     

The first fluorescent diboronic acid sensor specific for hepatocellular carcinoma cells expressing sialyl Lewis X

Carbohydrate antigens with subterminal fucosylation have been implicated in the development and progression of several cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Fluorescent sensors targeting fucosylated carbohydrate antigens could potentially be used for diagnostic and other applications. We have designed and synthesized a series of 26 diboronic acid compounds as potential fluorescent sensors for such carbohydrates. Among these compounds, 7q was able to fluorescently label cells expressing high levels of sLex (HEPG2) within a concentration range of 0.5 to 10 microM. This compound (7q) did not label cells expressing Lewis Y (HEP3B), nor cells without fucosylated antigens (COS7). This represents the first example of a fluorescent compound labeling cells based on cell surface carbohydrate structures.     

Bioguided Isolation and Antiproliferative Activity of Constituents from Smilax korthalsii A.D.C. Leaves

Ethyl acetate extract of Smilax korthalsii A.D.C. leaves exhibited antiproliferative activity on leukaemia carcinoma K562, hepatic liver cancer cells WRL and colorectal carcinoma with IC₅₀ of 125.20, 46.10 and 160.00 μM respectively. Isolation of the bioactive ethyl acetate extract of Smilax korthalsii A.D.C. leaves gave eight compounds; 3β‐hydroxyspirost‐5‐ene (diosgenin), 1 , β‐sitosterol, 2 , lup‐5,11,20‐trien‐23‐ol, 3 , uneicos‐9‐enoic acid, 4 , ethylheptadecan‐17‐oic‐9‐enoate, 5 , cis‐octadec‐9‐enoic acid, 6 , hexadec9‐enoic acid, 7 and 11‐methyltridec‐12‐en‐1‐ol, 8 . The isolated compounds were tested against four human cancer cell lines: leukaemia carcinoma, K‐562; hepatic liver cancer cells, WRL; colorectal carcinoma, COLO; and breast carcinoma, MCF‐7 using the MTT assay. Diosgenin 1 exhibited significant antiproliferative activity against all four cell lines (IC₅₀; K562=6.25, WRL=14.34, COLO=38.00, MCF‐7=12.40 μM), while compounds 3, 6 and 7 inhibited the growth of K‐562 at 20, 50 and 100 μM concentrations with IC₅₀ of 90.20, 75.92 and 50.72 μM respectively. Other isolated compounds also showed cytotoxic properties against K‐562, WRL and COLO, but showed low inhibition of MCF‐7.     

Bioactivity-guided study of antiproliferative activities of Salvia extracts

The cytotoxic activities of the n-hexane, chloroform and aqueous methanolic fractions prepared from the methanolic extract of the leaves of 23 Salvia taxa were studied for their cell growth-inhibitory activity against human cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa), skin carcinoma (A431) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7) cells using the MTT assay. The n-hexane fractions of six Salvia taxa (S. hispanica, S. nemorosa, S. nemorosa 1. albiflora, S. pratensis, S. recognita and S. ringens) and the chloroform fraction ofS. officinalis 1. albiflora produced over 50% growth inhibition of the skin carcinoma cell line. None of the tested extracts showed substantial (above 50%) antiproliferative effects against HeLa and MCF7 cells. S. ringens was the most powerful among the studied Salvia species with a 61.8% cell growth inhibitory activity on A431 cells. In the case of S. ringens, other plant parts were also tested for antiproliferative effect, and the highest activities were recorded for the root extract. This was subjected to bioactivity-guided fractionation, which yielded four abietane diterpenes (royleanone, horminone, 7-O-methyl-horminone and 7-acetyl-horminone), one triterpene (erythrodiol-3-acetate) and beta-sitosterol. Horminone, 7-acetyl-horminone and erythrodiol-3-acetate displayed marked concentration-dependent antiproliferative effects, while royleanone and 7-O-methyl-horminone produced weaker activities.     

Synthesis and antitumor activity of some new pyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidines

New series of pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives 7a-i, 11a-c and Schiff bases 13a-c were synthesized and screened for their in vitro antitumor activity against three human carcinoma cell lines, namely colorectal carcinoma (HCT116), prostate adenocarcinoma (PC-3) and liver carcinoma (HepG-2) using MTT cytotoxicity assay at 100 μg/mL. Some of the tested compounds displayed good anticancer activities against HCT-116 and PC-3 cells. Whereas, compounds 7d and 11a showed better antitumor activity than the rest of the compounds against both cell lines. A structure-activity relationship (SAR) has been discussed and structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed by different spectral data (MS, IR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR) and elemental analysis.     

Synthesis of tricyclic pyrazolopyrimidine arylidene ester derivatives and their cytotoxic and molecular docking evaluations

Our research team has synthesized 33 tricyclic pyrazolopyrimidine arylidene ester derivatives using the lead compound CAM551 as a starting point. This was achieved by a designed five-step synthesis strategy. The synthesized compounds' inhibitory activities against HT-116 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line and HGC27 human gastric cancer cells were assessed through traditional MTT assays. The designed and synthesized compounds demonstrated superior inhibition against both types of cancer cells. Additionally, compound 7b , which contains a long-chain substituent, exhibited improved inhibition against hepatocellular carcinoma cells and a greater safety profile. These findings indicate that compound 7b has the potential as an antitumor lead compound for future research.     

Cytotoxic constituents from Podocarpus fasciculus

A new diterpene, 16-hydroxy communic acid (1), along with thirty one known compounds including five norditerpenes (2-6), twenty two flavonoids containing four biflavonoids (7-10), nine monoflavonoids (11-19) and nine flavanoid glycosides (20-28), as well as four phenolic constituents (29-32) were isolated from the 95% ethanolic extract of Podocarpus fasciculus. The structure of 1 was elucidated using spectral methods. Of these isolates, nagilactone C (2) showed the most significant inhibitory effects against DLD cells (human colon carcinoma) (ED(50)=2.57 microg/ml) and compounds 7, 8, 10, 11, and 12 had moderate cytotoxic activity against human KB (human oral epithelium carcinoma), Hela (human cervical carcinoma), Hepa (human hepatoma), DLD (colon carcinoma), and A-549 (human lung carcinoma) tumor cell lines. Preliminary structure-activity relationship studies of the isolated diterpenoids and biflavonoids are discussed.     

Cell Culture Characterization of Prooxidative Chain-Transfer Agents as Novel Cytostatic Drugs

Prooxidative therapy is a well-established concept in infectiology and parasitology, in which prooxidative drugs like artemisinin and metronidazole play a pivotal clinical role. Theoretical considerations and earlier studies have indicated that prooxidative therapy might also represent a promising strategy in oncology. Here, we have investigated a novel class of prooxidative drugs, namely chain-transfer agents, as cytostatic agents in a series of human tumor cell lines in vitro. We have found that different chain-transfer agents of the lipophilic thiol class (like dodecane-1-thiol) elicited half-maximal effective concentrations in the low micromolar range in SY5Y cells (human neuroblastoma), Hela cells (human cervical carcinoma), HEK293 cells (immortalized human kidney), MCF7 cells (human breast carcinoma), and C2C12 cells (mouse myoblast). In contrast, HepG2 cells (human hepatocellular carcinoma) were resistant to toxicity, presumably through their high detoxification capacity for thiol groups. Cytotoxicity was undiminished by hypoxic culture conditions, but substantially lowered after cellular differentiation. Compared to four disparate, clinically used reference compounds in vitro (doxorubicin, actinomycin D, 5-fluorouracil, and hydroxyurea), chain-transfer agents emerged as comparably potent on a molar basis and on a maximum-effect basis. Our results indicate that chain-transfer agents possess a promising baseline profile as cytostatic drugs and should be explored further for anti-tumor chemotherapy.     

Five new neo-clerodane diterpenoid alkaloids from Scutellaria barbata with cytotoxic activities

Five new neo-clerodane diterpenoid alkaloids, named scutebarbatine G (1), 6,7-di-O-nicotinoylscutebarbatine G (2), 6-O-nicotinoyl-7-O-acetylscutebarbatine G (3), scutebarbatine H (4) and 7-O-nicotinoylscutebarbatine H (5) were isolated from the whole plant of Scutellaria barbata D. DON. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods including extensive 1D and 2D NMR analyses. In vitro, compounds 1-5 showed significant cytotoxic activities against three human cancer lines, namely, HONE-1 nasopharyngeal, KB oral epidermoid carcinoma, and HT29 colorectal carcinoma cells, and gave IC(50) values in the range 3.4-8.5 microM.     

Synthesis and in vitro cytotoxic evaluation of aminoquinones structurally related to marine isoquinolinequinones

The synthesis of 4-methoxycarbonyl-3-methylisoquinolinequinone (1) and a variety of its substitution products with amino-, alkylamino and halogen groups on the quinone nucleus is reported. The series of 6-, 7- and 6,7-subtituted isoquinolinequinones were evaluated in vitro for their cytotoxic activity using the MTT colorimetric method. All the newly synthesized compounds showed moderate to high potency against MRC-5 healthy lung fibroblasts and four human tumor cell lines: AGS gastric adenocarcinoma, SK-MES-1 lung, J82 bladder carcinoma, and HL-60 leukemia cells. Among the series, compounds 4b, 12 and 13 exhibited interesting antitumor activity against human gastric adenocarcinoma, human lung and human bladder carcinoma cancer cells. 7-Amino-6-bromoisoquinoline-5,8-quinone (13) was found to be the most promising active compound against the tested cancer cell lines, with IC?? values in the 0.21-0.49 μM range, lower than the anti-cancer agent etoposide used as reference.     

Synthesis, cytotoxicities and DNA-binding affinities of benzofuran-3-ols and their fused analogs

A series of benzofuropyrazoles 2a-i were synthesized in 10-92% from the reaction of 2-aroylbenzofuran-3-ols 1a-i with hydrazine hydrate, and screened for their antitumor activities toward four human solid tumor cell lines, including gastric carcinoma cells MKN45, hepatocellular carcinoma cells HepG2, breast cancer cells MCF-7, and lung cancer cells A549. The results indicated that both compounds 1a-i and 2a-i displayed moderate antitumor activities. Among them, compound 2e exhibited potent inhibitory activity toward all the four tumor cell lines. In addition, compounds 1e and 2e showed strong DNA-binding affinities, and induced an increase in the viscosity of calf-thymus DNA, suggesting that they might act as an intercalator.     

Lewis acid-mediated cross-coupling reaction of 7-azaindoles and aldehydes: Cytotoxic evaluation of C3-linked bis-7-azaindoles

The synthesis of 3,3′-bis-7-indolylmethane derivatives is important for their further development as pharmaceutical compounds and other synthetic purposes. Herein, we describe the zinc- or acid-mediated cross-coupling reaction of 7-azaindoles with aldehydes, such as paraformaldehyde, alkyl aldehydes, aryl aldehydes, enal, and α-ketoaldehyde, providing the corresponding C3-linked bis-7-azaindole derivatives, which are a crucial class towards the development of novel bioactive compounds. High levels of site selectivity and functional group tolerance were observed. Synthesized 3,3′-bis-7-azaindole derivatives were evaluated against human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7) and human ovarian carcinoma cells (SKOV-3), respectively. Notably, compounds 3s and 4e displayed promising anticancer properties competitive with anticancer doxorubicin as a positive control.