Pranati Samadder

Cytotoxic properties of d-gluco-, d-galacto- and d-manno-configured 2-amino-2-deoxy-glycerolipids against epithelial cancer cell lines and BT-474 breast cancer stem cells

Glycosylated antitumor ether lipids (GAELs) 6 and 7 containing a α- or β-D-gluco-configured 2-amino-2-deoxy (2-NH2-Glc) sugar moiety linked to a glycerolipid aglycone kill cancer cell lines via a non-apoptotic mechanism that could be exploited to kill cancer stem cells. To test this hypothesis and develop novel potent GAEL analogs, we synthesized GAELS which contain D-galacto- and D-manno-configured 2-amino-2-deoxy sugar moieties (2-NH2-Gal or 2-NH2-Man) and investigated their cytotoxicity against human epithelial cancer cell lines and cancer stem cells derived from BT-474 breast cancer cells. Within the class of D-galacto-configured GAELs, we prepared both O- and S-glycosidic linkages as well as their corresponding α- and β-anomers and screened against breast (BT-474, JIMT-1 and BT-549), pancreas (MiaPaCa2) and prostate cancer (DU145, PC3) cancer cell lines. The α-anomeric 2-NH2-Gal-based lipid 1 was the most active of all the compounds tested with CC50 values of 4.4-8 μM and is the most active GAEL synthesized to date. The β-anomer 2 was 4->5-fold less active than 1. Replacement of the α-O-glycosidic by an α-S-glycosidic linkage resulted in a 2-4-fold reduction in activity, while the β-S-glycolipid 4 was inactive. In comparison, α-configured 2-NH2-Man-based glycerolipid 5 displayed very little activity with CC50 > 30 μM. The effect of the most active GAELs, 1, 6, or 7, on cancer stem cell viability revealed that all three inhibited the formation of tumorspheres from BT-474 cancer stem cell lines, caused the disintegration of preformed tumorspheres and resulted in total loss of cell viability of the cancer stem cells at concentrations of 20 μM. In contrast, the related antitumor ether lipid gold standard, edelfosine that is in clinical development was much less effective in preventing tumorsphere formation and affecting the viability of the cancer stem cells. Taken together our study demonstrates that α-GAEL anomers are more potent than their corresponding β-anomers and that the nature of the CHO moiety as well as the glycosidic bond significantly affects activity. The study also showed that GAELs are effective in killing CSCs while the apoptosis-inducing edelfosine is not.

Structure–Activity Relationships of Glucosamine-Derived Glycerolipids: the Role of the Anomeric Linkage, the Cationic Charge and the Glycero Moiety on the Antitumor Activity

The potent antitumor activity of 1‐O‐hexadecyl‐2‐O‐methyl‐3‐O‐(2′‐amino‐2′‐deoxy‐β‐D‐glucopyranosyl)‐sn‐glycerol (1) was previously shown to arise through an apoptosis‐independent pathway. Here, a systematic structure–activity study in which the effects of the anomeric linkage, the cationic charge and the glycero moiety on the antitumor activity is described. Eight analogues of 1 were synthesized, and their antitumor activity against breast (JIMT1 and BT549), pancreas (MiaPaCa2) and prostate (DU145, PC3) cancer was determined. 1‐O‐Hexadecyl‐2‐O‐methyl‐3‐O‐(2′‐amino‐2′‐deoxy‐α‐D‐glucopyranosyl)‐sn‐glycerol (2) consistently displayed the most potent activity against all five cell lines with CC50 values in the range of 6–10 μM. However, replacement of the O‐glycosidic linkage by a thioglycosidic linkage or replacement of the amino group by an azide or guanidino group leads to a threefold or greater decrease in potency. The glycero moiety also contributes to the overall activity of 1 and 2 but its effects are of lesser importance. Investigation into the mode of action of this class of compounds revealed that, in agreement with previous findings, the cytotoxic effects arise through induction of large acid vacuoles.

Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of Ether Glycerophospholipids Bearing a Carbamate Moiety at the sn‐2 Position: Selective Sensitivity Against Prostate Cancer Cell Lines

Analogues of 1‐O‐hexadecyl‐sn‐3‐glycerophosphonocholine (compounds 1–4) or sn‐3‐glycerophosphocholine (compound 5) bearing a carbamate or dicarbamate moiety at the sn‐2 position were synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against cancer cells derived from a variety of tissues. Although all of the compounds are antiproliferative, surprisingly the carbamates (1 and 2) are more effective against the hormone‐independent cell lines DU145 and PC3 than toward other cancer cell lines we examined. This selectivity was not observed with the dicarbamates (3 and 4). Phosphocholine carbamate analogue 5 is as effective against the prostate cancer cell lines as the corresponding phosphonocholine analogue 1. Cell death induced by 2′‐(trimethylammonio)ethyl 4‐hexadecyloxy‐3(R)‐N‐methylcarbamoyl‐1‐butanephosphonate (carbamate analogue 2) appeared to be mediated by apoptosis, as assessed by caspase activation and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. The in vivo activity of 2 was evaluated in a murine prostate cancer xenograft model. Oral and intravenous administration showed that 2 is effective in inhibiting the growth of PC3 tumors in Rag2M mice. Our studies show that the glycerolipid carbamates reported herein represent a class of prostate‐cancer‐selective cytotoxic agents.

Design, synthesis and antitumor properties of glycosylated antitumor ether lipid (GAEL)- chlorambucil-hybrids

Glycosylated antitumor ether lipids (GAELs) kill cancer cells and cancer stem cells via a novel, apoptosis-independent mechanism. In contrast, chlorambucil, a drug in clinical use for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia reacts with nucleophiles within the major groove of DNA, leading to apoptosis. We hypothesized that hybrid molecules that combine apoptosis-dependent and apoptosis-independent mode of actions in a single molecule may lead to enhanced antitumor activity. Here, we describe the antitumor activities of chlorambucil-linked glucosamine-derived glycerolipid hybrids and investigate the role of the chlorambucil moiety and the effect of cationic charge on the hybrid molecule. Three hybrids and two control GAELs were synthesized and their activities against breast (JIMT1, MDA-MB-231, BT474), pancreas (MiaPaCa2) and prostate (DU145, PC3) cancer cell lines were determined using MTS assay. Hybrid 3 displayed the most potent activity on DU145 at CC50 of 6.0 μM while hybrid 4 displayed the best activity on JIMT1 at 7.5 μM. Hybrid 5 exhibited no activity at the highest concentration tested (CC50 >20 μM), underscoring the significance of the cationic charge at C-2 position as previously reported. Although chlorambucil (2) itself showed very little activity against all the six cell lines (CC50 >150 μM), GAELs 6 and 7 which lack the chlorambucil moiety were consistently less active than 3 and 4, suggesting that the chlorambucil moiety contributes to the overall activity. The hybrids were however not as active as the parent GAEL 1 against MiaPaCa2 whereas 6 restored activity comparable to 1.

Synthesis and antitumor properties of a plasmalogen methyl ether analogue

Abstract Incorporation of a cis-O-vinyl linkage into the sn-1 position of glycerol gave a new antitumor ether lipid analogue of ET-18–OCH3 (2). We report here the synthesis of plasmalogen O-methyl ether 4 and its in vitro activity on epithelial cancer cells. The activity of 4 with respect to inhibition of the growth of several human breast cancer cells is slightly less than that of 2. Surprisingly, incubation of SKBr3 and BT-20 (human breast cancer cells) with varying concentrations of 4 resulted in a marked stimulation of cell growth. The induction of cellular proliferation was not transduced by the Edg-2, -4, or -7 subfamilies of G-protein-coupled receptors.

Replacing d-Glucosamine with Its l-Enantiomer in Glycosylated Antitumor Ether Lipids (GAELs) Retains Cytotoxic Effects against Epithelial Cancer Cells and Cancer Stem Cells

We describe metabolically inert l-glucosamine-based glycosylated antitumor ether lipids (L-GAELs) that retain the cytotoxic effects of the D-GAELs including the ability to kill BT-474 breast cancer stem cells (CSCs). When compared to adriamycin, cisplatin, and the anti-CSC agent salinomycin, L-GAELs display superior activity to kill cancer stem cells (CSCs). Mode of action studies indicate that L-GAELs like the D-GAELs kill cells via an apoptosis-independent mechanism that was not due to membranolytic effects.

Design, synthesis and evaluation of cytotoxic properties of bisamino glucosylated antitumor ether lipids against cancer cells and cancer stem cells

Glycosylated antitumor ether lipids (GAELs) are a class of amphiphilic antitumor agents that kill cancer cells by a non-apoptotic pathway. Previous studies have shown that 2-amino-2-deoxy-D-gluco-based GAELs such as α-GLN and β-GLN show greatly improved antitumor activity against epithelial cancer cells and stem cells. To further optimize the bioactivity, we prepared a series of diamino-D-gluco-based GAELs and their analogs, and screened them against a panel of human epithelial cancer cell lines and cancer stem cells. Most of the new GAEL analogs are more potent than chlorambucil, cisplatin and salinomycin. The most potent bisamine-based GAEL analogs 1, 2, 4 and 8 showed 2- to 3-fold enhanced cytotoxicity against various cancer cell lines when compared to β-GLN, indicating that the addition of a second amino group enhances the cytotoxic effect. The effect of the most active dicationic GAELs 1 and 4 on cancer stem cells isolated from breast (BT-474) and prostate (DU-145) cell lines revealed that the two GAELs inhibited the formation of tumor spheres and resulted in >95% loss of viability of the cancer stem cells at 5 μM. Activity of GAEL 1 against BT-474 cancer stem cells is superior to that of salinomycin.

Amphiphilic Modulation of Glycosylated Antitumor Ether Lipids Results in a Potent Triamino Scaffold against Epithelial Cancer Cell Lines and BT474 Cancer Stem Cells

The problems of resistance to apoptosis-inducing drugs, recurrence, and metastases that have bedeviled cancer treatment have been attributed to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in tumors, and there is currently no clinically indicated drug for their eradication. We previously reported that glycosylated antitumor ether lipids (GAELs) display potent activity against CSCs. Here, we show that by carefully modulating the amphiphilic nature of a monoamine-based GAEL, we can generate a potent triamino scaffold that is active against a panel of hard-to-kill epithelial cancer cell lines (including triple-negative breast) and BT474 CSCs. The most active compound of this set, which acts via a nonmembranolytic, nonapoptotic caspase-independent mechanism, is more effective than cisplatin and doxorubicin against these cell lines and more potent than salinomycin against BT474 CSCs. Understanding the combination of factors crucial for the enhanced cytotoxicity of GAELs opens new avenues to develop potent compounds against drug-resistant cancer cells and CSCs.

Novel glycolipid agents for killing cisplatin-resistant human epithelial ovarian cancer cells

BackgroundChemotherapy resistance is one of the major factors contributing to mortality from human epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Identifying drugs that can effectively kill chemotherapy-resistant EOC cells would be a major advance in reducing mortality. Glycosylated antitumour ether lipids (GAELs) are synthetic glycolipids that are cytotoxic to a wide range of cancer cells. They appear to induce cancer cell death in an apoptosis-independent manner.MethodsHerein, the effectiveness of two GAELs, GLN and MO-101, in killing chemotherapy-sensitive and –resistant EOC cells lines and primary cell samples was tested using monolayer, non-adherent aggregate, and non-adherent spheroid cultures.ResultsOur results show that EOC cells exhibit a differential sensitivity to the GAELs. Strikingly, both GAELs are capable of inducing EOC cell death in chemotherapy-sensitive and –resistant cells grown as monolayer or non-adherent cultures. Mechanistic studies provide evidence that apoptotic-cell death (caspase activation) contributes to, but is not completely responsible for, GAEL-induced cell killing in the A2780-cp EOC cell line, but not primary EOC cell samples.ConclusionsStudies using primary EOC cell samples supports previously published work showing a GAEL-induced caspase-independent mechanism of death. GAELs hold promise for development as novel compounds to combat EOC mortality due to chemotherapy resistance.