ABSTRACT
Thorough simplification of vinca alkaloids based on pharmacophore similarity has been conducted. A concise process for the syntheses of target compounds was successfully developed with yields from poor to excellent (19-98%). Cell growth inhibitory activities of these synthesized compounds were evaluated in five cancer cell lines including MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, HepG2, HepG2/ADM and K562. Almost all compounds exhibited moderate antitumor activity with optimal IC50 value of 0.89 ± 0.07 µM in MCF-7 cells. Investigation of structure-activity relationship (SAR) indicates that electron-withdraw substituents on the ring contribute to the enhancement of the antitumor activities. The simplified vinca alkaloids are confirmed as antimitotic agents, which inhibit the polymerization of tubulin just like vinblastine.
Subject(s)
Antimitotic Agents/pharmacology , Vinca Alkaloids/pharmacology , Antimitotic Agents/chemical synthesis , Antimitotic Agents/chemistry , Cell Cycle/drug effects , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Crystallography, X-Ray , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor , Hep G2 Cells , Humans , K562 Cells , MCF-7 Cells , Models, Molecular , Molecular Structure , Structure-Activity Relationship , Vinca Alkaloids/chemical synthesis , Vinca Alkaloids/chemistryABSTRACT
Two new vinblastine-type N-oxide alkaloids, 17-desacetoxyvinblastine N'b-oxide (1) and 20'-deoxyvinblastine N'b-oxide (2), were isolated from the leaves of Catharanthus roseus. The structures of 1 and 2 were established by the analysis of their nuclear magnetic resonance and HR-ESI-MS spectroscopic data. All alkaloids were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell line, human colorectal carcinoma (Lovo) cell line and human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cell line by the MTT method in vitro, respectively. The results showed that cytotoxic activities of alkaloids 1 and 2 exhibited moderate inhibitory activity on the proliferation of three cancer cells.