Abstract
Prostaglandin A2-AcMe (1) and Prostaglandin A2 (2) were isolated from the octocoral Plexaura homomalla and three semisynthetic derivatives (3–5) were then obtained using a reduction protocol. All compounds were identified through one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Additionally, evaluation of in vitro cytotoxic activity against the breast (MDA-MB-213) and lung (A549) cancer cell lines, in combination with enzymatic activity and molecular docking studies with the enzymes p38α-kinase, Src-kinase, and topoisomerase IIα, were carried out for compounds 1–5 in order to explore their potential as inhibitors of cancer-related molecular targets. Results showed that prostaglandin A2 (2) was the most potent compound with an IC50 of 16.46 and 25.20 μg/mL against MDA-MB-213 and A549 cell lines, respectively. In addition, this compound also inhibited p38α-kinase in 49% and Src-kinase in 59% at 2.5 μM, whereas topoisomerase IIα was inhibited in 64% at 10 μM. Enzymatic activity was found to be consistent with molecular docking simulations, since compound 2 also showed the lowest docking scores against the topoisomerase IIα and Src-kinase (−8.7 and −8.9 kcal/mol, respectively). Thus, molecular docking led to establish some insights into the predicted binding modes. Results suggest that prostaglandin 2 can be considered as a potential lead for development inhibitors against some enzymes present in cancer processes.
Highlights
Cancer is a group of diseases that affect any part of the human body due to an excess of malignant cells
Octocoral Plexaura homomalla was collected from the Colombian Caribbean coast
These sub-fractions were submitted to column chromatography until obtaining the prostaglandin A2 -AcMe
Summary
Cancer is a group of diseases that affect any part of the human body due to an excess of malignant cells (called carcinogenic). There are various treatments, but due to the increased mortality rate, it is necessary to search for new alternatives, such as targeted therapies, which consist of the use of drugs that act against a type of cancer [2]. These drugs block the growth and proliferation of cancer cells by interfering with specific molecules such as enzymes. Many of these drugs have been obtained from marine micro and macro-organisms, as the case of cytarabine
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