ABSTRACT
Several aromatic seleno lactones have been synthesized and shown to possess significant inhibitory activity against human colon tumor-8r cells in culture at concentrations lower than 1 mM. Although all of the compounds tested were found to be active, 5-hydroxy-3-[(phenylseleno)methyl]hydrocoumarinoctanoate (3d) and 5-hydroxy-3-[(phenylseleno)methyl]hydrocoumarindecanoate (3e) were found to be the most effective in inhibiting cell growth. In situ formation of the corresponding alpha-methylene lactones is postulated to account for the cytotoxic activity in this class of compounds.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents/chemical synthesis , Coumarins/chemical synthesis , Selenium/chemical synthesis , Cell Line , Cell Survival/drug effects , Colonic Neoplasms , Coumarins/toxicity , Humans , Indicators and Reagents , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Selenium/toxicity , Structure-Activity RelationshipABSTRACT
A cell wall deficient form of an alpha-haemolytic streptococcus was grown from a prolonged monolayer cell culture of a lymph node taken from a patient with Whipple's disease. Serological cross reactivity was shown between the organism and the material within Whipple's disease macrophages positive for diastase-resistant periodic acid-Schiff (D./P.A.S.). In vitro studies characterized the organism as a facultative intracellular parasite which caused the accumulation within cells of D./P.A.S.-positive material. These results suggest that a pathogenic bacterium is the essential aetiological agent and that the culture of Whipple's disease tissues in hypertonic media may have practical value.
