Design and synthesis of 6,20-epoxy A-ring modified oridonin derivatives with antitumor activity through extrinsic and mitochondrial pathways

Abstract

Oridonin is an antitumor ent-kaurane diterpenoid that medicinal chemists have been paying close attention to in recent years. Herein, a novel 6,20-epoxy A-ring modified oridonin derivative 2 was obtained by a 6-step synthesis. A series of 14-O derivatives of 2 (EpskA1-EpskA24) were synthesized to further enhance the activity. Based on their cytotoxicity against MCF-7, A549 and L-02 cells, EpskA9, EpskA10 and EpskA21 were chosen for further screening to obtain a wider antitumor spectrum. Collectively, EpskA21 showed the most potent antiproliferative activity, inhibiting proliferation and migration, and inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in MCF-7 and MIA-PaCa-2 cells. With the help of network pharmacology analysis, apoptosis-related proteins were selected and further tested by western blot assay. The inhibition of PI3K/AKT and an increase in the levels of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, Cyt-C, cleaved-Caspase-9, cleaved-Caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP was observed, indicating that EpskA21 induced apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway. Given that an increase in DR5 expression and activated Caspase-8 were also observed, the extrinsic apoptosis pathway might also be related to the antitumor effect.