Bonandi E, Mori M, Infante P, Basili I, Di Marcotullio L, Calcaterra A, Catti F, Botta B, Passarella D. Design and Synthesis of New Withaferin A Inspired Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitors.
Chemistry 2021;
27:8350-8357. [PMID:
33811701 PMCID:
PMC8251939 DOI:
10.1002/chem.202100315]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Withanolides constitute a well-known family of plant-based alkaloids characterised by widespread biological properties, including the ability of interfering with Hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway. Following our interest in natural products and in anticancer compounds, we report here the synthesis of a new class of Hh signalling pathway inhibitors, inspired by withaferin A, the first isolated member of withanolides. The decoration of our scaffolds was rationally supported by in silico studies, while functional evaluation revealed promising candidates, confirming once again the importance of natural products as inspiration source for the discovery of novel bioactive compounds. A stereoselective approach, based on Brown chemistry, allowed the obtainment and the functional evaluation of the enantiopure hit compounds.
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