Keduo Qian

Plant-derived triterpenoids and analogues as antitumor and Anti-HIV agents

Covering: January 2006 to December 2008 This article reviews the antitumor and anti-HIV activities of naturally occurring triterpenoids, including the lupane, ursane, oleanane, lanostane, dammarane, and miscellaneous scaffolds. Structure–activity relationships of selected natural compounds and their synthetic derivatives are also discussed.

Perspectives on Biologically Active Camptothecin Derivatives

Camptothecins (CPTs) are cytotoxic natural alkaloids that specifically target DNA topoisomerase I. Research on CPTs has undergone a significant evolution from the initial discovery of CPT in the late 1960s through the study of synthetic small‐molecule derivatives to investigation of macromolecular constructs and formulations. Over the past years, intensive medicinal chemistry efforts have generated numerous CPT derivatives. Three derivatives, topotecan, irinotecan, and belotecan, are currently prescribed as anticancer drugs, and several related compounds are now in clinical trials. Interest in other biological effects, besides anticancer activity, of CPTs is also growing exponentially, as indicated by the large number of publications on the subject during the last decades. Therefore, the main focus of the present review is to provide an ample but condensed overview on various biological activities of CPT derivatives, in addition to continued up‐to‐date coverage of anticancer effects.

Novel N-(3-carboxyl-9-benzyl-β-carboline-1-yl)ethylamino acids: Synthesis, anti-tumor evaluation, intercalating determination, 3D QSAR analysis and docking investigation

Sixteen novel N-(3-carboxyl-9-benzyl-beta-carboline-1-yl)ethylamino acids (6a-p) were synthesized as intercalating lead compounds. In the in vitro cytotoxic assay their IC(50) values against five human carcinoma cell lines ranged from 10.95 microM to about 400 microM. On S180 mouse model eight of them exhibited anti-tumor action, four of them showed the same anti-tumor potency as that of cytarabine. The preliminary toxicity evaluation revealed that the LD(50) values of 6a-p should be more than 500 mg/kg. With CT DNA as model system an intercalating mechanism was explored. Using 3D QSAR analysis the relationship of the in vivo anti-tumor activity and the structure was quantitatively described. By docking 6a-p onto d(CGATCG)(2) oligonucleotides the intercalation was demonstrated.

Recent Progress on C-4-Modified Podophyllotoxin Analogs as Potent Antitumor Agents

Podophyllotoxin (PPT), as well as its congeners and derivatives, exhibits pronounced biological activities, especially antineoplastic effects. Its strong inhibitory effect on tumor cell growth led to the development of three of the most highly prescribed anticancer drugs in the world, etoposide, teniposide, and the water‐soluble prodrug etoposide phosphate. Their clinical success as well as intriguing mechanism of action stimulated great interest in further modification of PPT for better antitumor activity. The C‐4 position has been a major target for structural derivatization aimed at either producing more potent compounds or overcoming drug resistance. Accordingly, numerous PPT derivatives have been prepared via hemisynthesis and important structure–activity relationship (SAR) correlations have been identified. Several resulting compounds, including GL‐331, TOP‐53, and NK611, reached clinical trials. Some excellent reviews on the distribution, sources, applications, synthesis, and SAR of PPT have been published. This review focuses on a second generation of new etoposide‐related drugs and provides detailed coverage of the current status and recent development of C‐4‐modified PPT analogs as anticancer clinical trial candidates.

5-Hydroxymethyl-2-furfural, a clinical trials agent for sickle cell anemia, and its mono/di-glucosides from classically processed steamed Rehmanniae Radix

Rehmanniae Radix (Di Huang) is one of the most important traditional Chinese medicines (TCM), and is used for multiple therapeutic purposes. In our investigation of the chemical constituents of Rehmanniae Radix, steamed roots were prepared by the classical processing method. Reversed-phase HPLC of the 50% MeOH extract of steamed Rehmanniae Radix yielded three 5-hydroxymethylfurfural derivatives. The new furfural disaccharide 5-(α-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→6)-α-d-glucopyranosyloxymethyl)-2-furancarboxaldehyde (1) was isolated and characterized, together with its known aglycone 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (3), which is currently in sickle cell anemia Phase I clinical trials, and its corresponding monosaccharide 5-(α-d-glucopyranosyloxymethyl)-2-furancarboxaldehyde (2), which was isolated as a natural product for the first time. The presence of these three compounds, particularly 3, which were not found in the unprocessed extract of Rehmanniae Radix, could substantiate the traditional medicinal use of steamed Rehmanniae Radix.

New betulinic acid derivatives for bevirimat-resistant human immunodeficiency virus type-1.

Bevirimat (1, BVM) is an anti-HIV agent that blocks HIV-1 replication by interfering with HIV-1 Gag-SP1 processing at a late stage of viral maturation. However, clinical trials of 1 have revealed a high baseline drug resistance that is attributed to naturally occurring polymorphisms in HIV-1 Gag. To overcome the drug resistance, 28 new derivatives of 1 were synthesized and tested against compound 1-resistant (BVM-R) HIV-1 variants. Among them, compound 6 exhibited much improved activity against several HIV-1 strains carrying BVM-R polymorphisms. Compound 6 was at least 20-fold more potent than 1 against the replication of NL4-3/V370A, which carries the most prevalent clinical BVM-R polymorphism in HIV-1 Gag-SP1. Thus, compound 6 merits further development as a potential anti-AIDS clinical trial candidate.

Design, synthesis, and preclinical evaluations of novel 4-substituted 1,5-diarylanilines as potent HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) drug candidates.

Twenty-one new 4-substituted diarylaniline compounds (DAANs) (series 13, 14, and 15) were designed, synthesized, and evaluated against wild-type and drug resistant HIV-1 viral strains. As a result, approximately a dozen new DAANs showed high potency with low nano- to subnanomolar EC(50) values ranging from 0.2 to 10 nM. The three most promising compounds 14e, 14h, and 15h exhibited high potency against wild-type and drug-resistant viral strains with EC(50) values at the subnanomolar level (0.29-0.87 nM) and were comparable to or more potent than the new NNRTI drug riplivirine (2) in the same assays. Druglike physicochemical property assessments revealed that the most active DAANs (EC(50) < 10 nM) have better aqueous solubility (>1-90 μg/mL at pH 7.4 and pH 2) and metabolic stability in vitro than 2, as well as desirable log P values (<5) and polar surface areas (PSA) (<140 Å(2)). These promising results warrant further development of this novel compound class as potential potent anti-AIDS clinical trial candidates.

Design, Synthesis, and Preclinical Evaluation of New 5,6- (or 6,7-) Disubstituted-2-(fluorophenyl)quinolin-4-one Derivatives as Potent Antitumor Agents

Our previous exploration of 2-phenylquinolin-4-ones (2-PQs) has led to an anticancer drug candidate 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-6,7-methylenedioxyquinolin-4-one monosodium phosphate (CHM-1-P-Na). In order to develop additional new drug candidates, novel 2-PQs were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for cytotoxic activity. Most analogues, including 1b, 2a,b, 3a,b, 4a,b, and 5a,b, exhibited significant inhibitory activity (IC(50) of 0.03-8.2 μM) against all tested tumor cell lines. As one of the most potent analogue, 2-(3-fluorophenyl)-5-hydroxy-6-methoxyquinolin-4-one (3b) selectively inhibited 14 out of 60 cancer cell lines in a National Cancer Institute (NCI) evaluation. Preliminary mechanism of action study suggested that 3b had a significant effect on the tyrosine autophosphorylation of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R). Safety pharmacology profiling of 3b showed no significant effect on normal biological functions of most enzymes tested. Furthermore, sodium 2-(3-fluorophenyl)-6-methoxy-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinolin-5-yl phosphate (15), the monophosphate of 3b, exceeded the activity of doxorubicin and was comparable to CHM-1-P-Na in a Hep3B xenograft nude mice model. In summary, 15 is a promising clinical candidate and is currently under preclinical study.

Stelleralides A–C, Novel Potent Anti-HIV Daphnane-Type Diterpenoids from Stellera chamaejasme L.

Three novel 1-alkyldaphnane-type diterpenes, stelleralides A-C (4-6), and five known compounds were isolated from the roots of Stellera chamaejasme L. The structures of 4-6 were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses. Several isolated compounds showed potent anti-HIV activity. Compound 4 showed extremely potent anti-HIV activity (EC(90) 0.40 nM) with the lowest cytotoxicity (IC(50) 4.3 μM) and appears to be a promising compound for development into anti-AIDS clinical trial candidates.

Antitumor agents 292. Design, synthesis and pharmacological study of S- and O-substituted 7-mercapto- or hydroxy-coumarins and chromones as potent cytotoxic agents.

Thirty-five S- and O-substituted 7-mercaptocoumarin (9-23) and 7-hydroxy- or 7-mercapto-chromone (24-43) analogs were designed, synthesized and evaluated in vitro against four human tumor cell lines [KB (nasopharyngeal), KB-vin (vincristine-resistant subline), A549 (lung) and DU145 (prostate)] with paclitaxel as the positive control. Many of the synthesized compounds exhibited potent cytotoxic activity. Among them, compounds 10 and 18 showed broad spectrum activity with GI(50) values ranging from 0.92 to 2.11 μM and 2.06-14.07 μM, respectively. However, 33, a 3-brominated compound, displayed significant and selective inhibition against MDR KB-vin with a GI(50) of 5.84 μM. Regardless of the size of the 7-alkoxy group, 2-α-bromoethyl-8-bromomethyl compounds (40-43) exhibited increased cytotoxicity compared with 2-ethyl-8-bromomethyl compounds (36-39). Moreover, in a preliminary pharmacological study, 10 not only remarkably increased cellular apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner, but also clearly induced A549 cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. Thus, these coumarin derivatives merit investigation as novel potential antitumor agents with further structural modification to produce an optimal lead compound and elucidate the detailed pharmacological mechanism(s).