Prospective Anticancer Agents Research Articles

Evaluation of Perylenediimide Derivatives for Potential Therapeutic Benefits on Cancer Chemotherapy

Perylene derivatives, known to have potential therapeutic benefits on particular cancer types as photosensitizers, may also function as small-molecule inhibitors with promising therapeutic value for diverse diseases. This recently recognized biological activity was attributed to their capacity to modulate the function of various enzymes as biological targets in vitro. Although the inhibitory activity on glutathione transferase and Src tyrosine kinase is important in determining the anticancer potential of compounds for target-specific drug design and development, to date, there are no successful inhibitors of this kind. Moreover, there are only a few studies about the effects of perylene derivatives on glutathione transferase and various kinases. In this study, four novel perylene compounds, N,N'-disubstituted perylenediimides and their 1,7-dibromo derivatives, were synthesized and evaluated for their biological activities. Here, among the compounds analyzed, one of them was identified with strong glutathione transferase inhibition and two with dual activity for both glutathione transferase and c-src inhibition. These results revealed that perylene derivatives may be employed as potential chemosensitizers to prevent chemotherapy-dependent drug resistance and identified as prospective anticancer agents with dual activity on both glutathione transferase and c-src enzymes.

Direct Semi-Synthesis of the Anticancer Lead-Drug Protoapigenone from Apigenin, and Synthesis of Further New Cytotoxic Protoflavone Derivatives

Protoapigenone, a natural flavonoid possessing an unusual p-quinol moiety on its B-ring, is a novel prospective anticancer agent with low toxicity that is currently in development. The first economical, one-step synthesis of protoapigenone from apigenin is described on up to gram scale. 13 new 1′-O-alkylflavone analogs were also synthesized, either from apigenin or β-naphthoflavone. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of each compound was tested on six human cancer cell lines (HepG2, Hep3B, Ca9-22, A549, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). In the case of 1′-O-alkyl-protoapigenone derivatives, structure-activity relationships were found depending on the side-chain, and protoapigenone 1′-O-butyl ether was found to exert significantly stronger activity against three of the cell lines (Hep3B, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) than its non-substituted analog, protoapigenone itself. In contrast to this, all β-naphthoflavone derivatives bearing the same pharmacophore on their B-ring showed decreased cytotoxic activities when substituted with an O-alkyl side-chain at position 1′, comparing to that of the non-substituted compound.

Andrographolide: A New Plant‐Derived Antineoplastic Entity on Horizon

Plant-derived natural products occupy an important position in the area of cancer chemotherapy. Molecules such as vincristine, vinblastine, paclitaxel, camptothecin derivatives, epipodophyllotoxin, and so forth, are invaluable contributions of nature to modern medicine. However, the quest to find out novel therapeutic compounds for cancer treatment and management is a never-ending venture; and diverse plant species are persistently being studied for identification of prospective anticancer agents. In this regard, Andrographis paniculata Nees, a well-known plant of Indian and Chinese traditional system of medicines, has drawn attention of researchers in recent times. Andrographolide, the principal bioactive chemical constituent of the plant has shown credible anticancer potential in various investigations around the globe. In vitro studies demonstrate the capability of the compound of inducing cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis in a variety of cancer cells at different concentrations. Andrographolide also shows potent immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenic activities in tumorous tissues. Synthetic analogues of the compound have also been created and analyzed, which have also shown similar activities. Although it is too early to predict its future in cancer chemotherapy, the prologue strongly recommends further research on this molecule to assess its potential as a prospective anticancer agent.

Sensitivity of Cancer Cells to Truncated Diphtheria Toxin

BackgroundDiphtheria toxin (DT) has been utilized as a prospective anti-cancer agent for the targeted delivery of cytotoxic therapy to otherwise untreatable neoplasia. DT is an extremely potent toxin for which the entry of a single molecule into a cell can be lethal. DT has been targeted to cancer cells by deleting the cell receptor-binding domain and combining the remaining catalytic portion with targeting proteins that selectively bind to the surface of cancer cells. It has been assumed that “receptorless” DT cannot bind to and kill cells. In the present study, we report that “receptorless” recombinant DT385 is in fact cytotoxic to a variety of cancer cell lines.Methods In vitro cytotoxicity of DT385 was measured by cell proliferation, cell staining and apoptosis assays. For in vivo studies, the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) system was used to evaluate the effect of DT385 on angiogenesis. The CAM and mouse model system was used to evaluate the effect of DT385 on HEp3 and Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) tumor growth, respectively.ResultsOf 18 human cancer cell lines tested, 15 were affected by DT385 with IC50 ranging from 0.12–2.8 µM. Furthermore, high concentrations of DT385 failed to affect growth arrested cells. The cellular toxicity of DT385 was due to the inhibition of protein synthesis and induction of apoptosis. In vivo, DT385 diminished angiogenesis and decreased tumor growth in the CAM system, and inhibited the subcutaneous growth of LLC tumors in mice.ConclusionDT385 possesses anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activity and may have potential as a therapeutic agent.

Mutation and a high-throughput screening method for improving the production of Epothilones of Sorangium

The epothilones are highly promising prospective anticancer agents that are produced by the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum. We mutated the epothilone producing S. cellulosum strain So0157-2 to improve the production of epothilones. For evaluation in high-throughput of a large number of mutants, we developed a simple microtiter method for primary screening. Using the classical UV-mutation method plus selection pressures, the production capacity was increased about 0.5 approximately 2.5 times the starting strain. The mutants with higher production and different phenotypes were further subjected to recursive protoplast fusions and the fusants products were screened under multi-selection pressure. Furthermore, the production was greatly increased by the genome shuffling. For epothilone B, the production of one fusant was increased about 130 times compared to the starting strain, increasing from 0.8 mg l(-1) to 104 mg l(-1).

Synthesis of Novel Pyrazolopyrrolizinones as Prospective Anticancer Agents.

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Synthesis of Novel Pyrazolopyrrolizinones as Prospective Anticancer Agents

Herein we describe the access of novel pyrazolopyrrolizinones from commercial arylacetonitriles. The first step conducts to the corresponding aminoester which was first submitted to Clauson-Kaas procedure. Amidification and cyclisation afford then the first examples of the expected heterocycles. In order to improve the sequence and to obtain N-substituted isomers, 3-aryl-5-(pyrrolidin-1-ylcarbonyl)-4-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)-1H-pyrazoles (5) were alkylated and conduct to two different N-substituted pyrazoles. These novel products were separated by chromatography and clearly identified using different analytical techniques. Application of the cyclisation procedure conducts then to the two corresponding final title products.