Scaffold Hopping of Pristimerin Provides Derivatives Containing a Privileged Quinoxaline Substructure as Potent Autophagy Inducers in Breast Cancer Cells.
Xuefeng Fu, Yang Jiao, Yao Feng, Fengwei Lin, Bing Zhang, Qing Mao, Jiahui Wang, Wen Jiang, Yanhua Mou, Han Wang, Shaojie Wang
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Pristimerin is a natural triterpenoid that has received much attention from medicinal chemists for its multiple biological activities. However, structural modifications of pristimerin, especially those aimed at discovering antitumor agents, are relatively limited. In this study, two series of pristimerin derivatives containing phenyloxazole and quinoxaline moieties, respectively, were designed via the scaffold hopping strategy. The target compounds were synthesized and analyzed for their cytotoxic activities in vitro using the MTT assay. The most potent cytotoxic compound (21o) significantly inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 cells with an IC50 value of 2.0 μM, 1.5-fold more potent than pristimerin (IC50 = 3.0 μM). Compared with pristimerin, compound 21o displayed the greatest improvement in selectivity (25.7-fold) against the MCF-7 and MCF-10A cell lines. Transmission electron microscopy, monodansylcadaverine and DCFH-DA staining, Western blotting, and different inhibitor assays were performed to elucidate the mechanism of action of compound 21o. Compound 21o induced autophagy-mediated cell death in MCF-7 cells by activating the ROS/JNK signaling pathway. Therefore, incorporating a quinoxaline substructure into pristimerin could be advantageous for enhancing its cytotoxic activity. Compound 21o may serve as a lead compound for developing new therapies to treat breast cancer.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Natural Products invites and publishes papers that make substantial and scholarly contributions to the area of natural products research. Contributions may relate to the chemistry and/or biochemistry of naturally occurring compounds or the biology of living systems from which they are obtained.
Specifically, there may be articles that describe secondary metabolites of microorganisms, including antibiotics and mycotoxins; physiologically active compounds from terrestrial and marine plants and animals; biochemical studies, including biosynthesis and microbiological transformations; fermentation and plant tissue culture; the isolation, structure elucidation, and chemical synthesis of novel compounds from nature; and the pharmacology of compounds of natural origin.
When new compounds are reported, manuscripts describing their biological activity are much preferred.
Specifically, there may be articles that describe secondary metabolites of microorganisms, including antibiotics and mycotoxins; physiologically active compounds from terrestrial and marine plants and animals; biochemical studies, including biosynthesis and microbiological transformations; fermentation and plant tissue culture; the isolation, structure elucidation, and chemical synthesis of novel compounds from nature; and the pharmacology of compounds of natural origin.