Cytotoxic constituents of the roots of Ekmanianthe longiflora.

Bioactivity-directed fractionation of the CHCl(3) extract of the roots of Ekmanianthe longiflora resulted in the isolation of three new natural products, (2R,3R,4R)-3,4-dihydro-3, 4-dihydroxy-2-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-1(2H)-naphthalenone (1), (2S,3R, 4R)-3,4-dihydro-3, 4-dihydroxy-2-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-1(2H)-naphthalenone (2), and (2R, 3aR,9R,9aR)-9-hydroxy-2-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-2,3,3a,4,9 , 9a-hexahydro-naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4-one (3), together with the known compounds 2-(1-hydroxyethyl)naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-quinone (4), 2-acetylnaphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-quinone (5), dehydro-iso-alpha-lapachone (6), alpha-lapachone (7), catalponol, and epi-catalponol. The structures of 1-3 were determined using a combination of NMR spectroscopic techniques, and the absolute configurations of compounds 1 and 2 were obtained using Mosher ester methodology. Compounds 4-6 showed significant cytotoxicity in a panel of human cancer cells. alpha-Lapachone (7) exhibited only marginal activity, and catalponol and epi-catalponol were inactive in this regard. When tested at 72 mg/kg/injection in an in vivo mouse P-388 leukemia system, compound 4 was inactive (110% T/C).

Cytotoxic sesquiterpenoids from Ratibida columnifera.

Bioassay-directed fractionation of the flowers and leaves of Ratibida columnifera using a hormone-dependent human prostate (LNCaP) cancer cell line led to the isolation of 10 cytotoxic substances, composed of five novel xanthanolide derivatives (2-4, 7, and 8), a novel nerolidol derivative (9), and three known sesquiterpene lactones, 9alpha-hydroxy-seco-ratiferolide-5alpha-O-angelate+ ++ (1), 9alpha-hydroxy-seco-ratiferolide-5alpha-O-(2-methylbut yrate) (5), 9-oxo-seco-ratiferolide-5alpha-O-(2-methylbutyrate) (6), as well as a known flavonoid, hispidulin (10). On the basis of its cytotoxicity profile, compound 5 was selected for further biological evaluation, and was found to induce G1 arrest and slow S traverse time in parental wild type p53 A2780S cells, but only G2/M arrest in p53 mutant A2780R cells, with strong apoptosis shown for both cell lines. The activity of 5 was not mediated by the multidrug resistance (MDR) pump, and it was not active against several anticancer molecular targets (i.e., tubulin polymerization/depolymerization, topoisomerases, and DNA intercalation). While these results indicate that compound 5 acts as a cytotoxic agent via a novel mechanism, this substance was inactive in in vivo evaluations using the murine lung carcinoma (M109) and human colon carcinoma (HCT116) models.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of analogues of cryptolepine, an alkaloid isolated from the Suriname rainforest.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of an extract of a mixture of Microphilis guyanensis and Genipa americanacollected in the rainforest of Suriname yielded the known alkaloid cryptolepine (2) as the major active compound in a yeast bioassay for potential DNA-damaging agents; the same compound was later reisolated from M. guyanensis. The structure of cryptolepine was identified unambiguously by spectral data and by its total synthesis. Several cryptolepine derivatives (3-29, 32-41) were synthesized based on modifications of the C-2, N-5, N-10, and C-11 positions. Two cryptolepine dimers (30, 31) were also prepared. The structure modifications did not result in compounds with a higher potency than the parent compound cryptolepine in the yeast assay system, although some derivatives did show significant activity. Selected compounds (6, 7, 17, 22, 23, 26, and 27) were also tested for cytotoxicity in mammalian cell culture, and two compounds showed significant cytotoxic activity.

Preparation and characterization of monoclonal antibody conjugates of the calicheamicins: a novel and potent family of antitumor antibiotics.

The calicheamicin family of antitumor antibiotics are capable of producing double-stranded DNA breaks at sub-picomolar concentrations. Their potency suggested that the calicheamicins would be excellent candidates for targeted delivery and a hydrazide prepared from the most potent and abundant of the naturally occurring derivative, gamma 1I, was linked to oxidized sugars on CT-M-01, an internalizing anti-polyepithelial mucin antibody. The conjugates retained the immunoreactivity of the unmodified antibody and were specifically cytotoxic toward antigen positive tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. Hydrazide analogues of less potent calicheamicin derivatives were also prepared and conjugated to CT-M-01. Comparison of the therapeutic efficacy of the conjugates against the MX-1 xenograft tumor implanted s.c. in nude mice showed that conjugates of derivatives missing the rhamnose, a sugar residue that is part of the DNA binding region of the drug, were not as promising as antitumor therapies. However, conjugates of two derivatives, alpha 3I and N-acetyl-gamma 1I, in which the rhamnose residue is present but the amino sugar residue of the parent drug is either missing or modified, significantly inhibited tumor growth over a 4-fold dose range and produced long-term tumor-free survivors. Sterically hindering methyl groups adjacent to the disulfide in the linker further increased the therapeutic window of these potent conjugates.