Abstract
The starfish Narcissia canariensis harvested from the coasts off Dakar, Senegal, was investigated for glycolipids (GL). This report deals with the isolation, characterization and biological activity of a fraction F13-3 separated from the GL mixture and selected according to its ability to inhibit KB cell proliferation after 72 hours of treatment. Firstly, a GL mixture F13 was obtained that accounted for 1.36% of starfish biomass (dry weight) and 0.36% of total lipids. The fraction F13-3 obtained from F13 contained three homologous GL identified as peracetylated derivatives on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic evidence. These contained a β-glucopyranoside as sugar head, a 9-methyl-branched 4,8,10-triunsaturated long-chain aminoalcohol as sphingoid base and amide-linked 2-hydroxy fatty acid chains. The majority (63%) had an amide-linked 2-hydroxydocosanoic acid chain and was identified as the ophidiacerebroside-C, firstly isolated from the starfish Ophidiaster ophidiamus. The minor components of F13-3 differed by one more or one less methylene group, and corresponded to ophidiacerebroside-B and -D. We found that F13-3 displayed an interesting cytotoxic activity over 24 hours on various adherent human cancerous cell lines (multiple myeloma, colorectal adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma multiforme) with an IC50 of around 20 μM.
Highlights
Nowadays, myeloma, glioblastoma and carcinomas are a real public health problem in the world with increasing mortality rates in developing countries.Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of the white blood cells known as plasma cells; it is characterized by skeletal destruction, renal failure, anemia and hypercalcemia
The common African starfish Narcissia canariensis was investigated for lipids and GL fractions
To determine the structure of the ceramide, F13-3 was subjected to an acidic methanolysis and the resulting reaction mixture was separated by partitioning between CH2Cl2 and H2O/MeOH into an aqueous phase containing methylglycosides and an organic phase containing 2-hydroxylated fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and sphingoid bases
Summary
Myeloma, glioblastoma and carcinomas are a real public health problem in the world with increasing mortality rates in developing countries. As myeloma cells develop mechanisms of resistance to most known treatments [3], the search for new efficient anti-cancerous compounds is needed. In most European and North American countries, incidence is approximately 2–3 new cases per 100,000 people per year. This malignancy of the central nervous system is fatal despite treatment with surgery and adjuvant therapy. Long-term control of these tumors is rarely achieved, despite surgical resection and external beam radiation therapy, and GBM recurs within 6–10 months with a median survival of approximately. This paper reports on the isolation of a GL fraction containing particular GSL named ophidiacerebrosides and the evaluation of their cytotoxic activity against various human cancer cell lines
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