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Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry

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ISSN (Print): 1871-5206
ISSN (Online): 1875-5992

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Research Article

Synthesis of 5-Alkynyltetrandrine Derivatives and Evaluation of their Anticancer Activity on A549 Cell Lines

Author(s): Nana Niu, Tingli Qu, Jinfang Xu, Xiaolin Lu, Graham J. Bodwell* and Zhengbao Zhao*

Volume 19, Issue 12, 2019

Page: [1454 - 1462] Pages: 9

DOI: 10.2174/1871520619666190408132249

Price: $65

Abstract

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies and thus the development of novel therapeutic agents for managing lung cancer is imperative. Tetrandrine, a bis-benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from Stephania tetrandra S. Moore, has been found to exert cytotoxic effects on cancerous cells.

Methods: A series of 5-alkynyltetrandrine derivatives was synthesized via the Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions and evaluated as potential anti-tumor agents. The anti-tumor activities of 12 compounds on lung cancer cells (A549) were evaluated using the MTT method. The population of apoptotic cells was measured using a TUNEL assay. Real-time PCR quantified the gene expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, survivin and caspase-3. The content of Cyt-C was detected using a Human Cyt-C ELISA kit.

Results: Most of these compounds exhibited better activities than tetrandrine itself on A549 cells. Among them, compound 7 showed the highest cytotoxicity among the tested compounds against human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells with an IC50 of 2.94 µM. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicated that compound 7 induced apoptosis of human lung cancer A549 cells and increased the level of the proapoptotic gene Bax, release of Cyt-C from mitochondria and activation of caspase-3 genes.

Conclusion: The results suggest that compound 7 exerts its antitumor activity against A549 cells through the induction of the intrinsic (mitochondrial) apoptotic pathway. These findings will contribute to the future design of more effective anti-tumor agents in lung cancer therapy.

Keywords: Tetrandrine, Sonogashira coupling, A549 cells, anti-tumor activity, MTT, apoptosis.

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