Synergistic Effect of Cerium in Dual Photoinduced Ligand-to-Metal Charge Transfer and Lewis Acid Catalysis: Diastereoselective Alkylation of Coumarins

We report the dual role of cerium to promote the photoinduced ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) process for the generation of the alkyl radical and subsequent Lewis acid catalysis to construct stereodefined C-C bonds. This paradigm utilized ubiquitous carboxylic acids as alkyl radical surrogates and offers excellent diastereoselectivity for the formation of C-4 alkylated coumarins in good to excellent yield. UV-vis spectroscopy studies in combination with in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy are consistent with the proposed mechanism, supporting the participation of the Ce^IV-carboxylate complex in photoinduced LMCT and its subsequent homolysis to generate the alkyl radial through the exclusion of CO₂. Finally, the oxophilicity of cerium enables a two-point complexation with the in situ generated enolate intermediate and facilitates the diastereoselective protonation to form the desired product. Furthermore, this mild and atom-economical catalytic manifolds allow the late-stage modification of pharmaceuticals.

Stereoselective Synthesis of Dihydrocoumarins via [1,2]-Phospha-Brook Rearrangement in Three-Component Coupling Reaction of α-Ketoesters, o-Quinone Methides, and Dialkyl Phosphites

A highly regio- and diastereoselective approach for the synthesis of phosphate substituted dihydrocoumarins via Brønsted base catalyzed [1,2]-phospha-Brook rearrangement is reported. The two-step, one-pot Michael addition of α-phosphonyloxy enolates proceeds by coupling of dialkyl phosphite and α-ketoesters to o-quinone methides, followed by an intramolecular cyclization, providing 3,4-dihydrocoumarin frameworks.

A New Hybrid δ-Lactone Induces Apoptosis and Potentiates Anticancer Activity of Taxol in HL-60 Human Leukemia Cells

In the search for new drug candidates, researchers turn to natural substances isolated from plants which may be either used directly or may serve as a source for chemical modifications. An interesting strategy in the design of novel anticancer agents is based on the conjugation of two or more biologically active structural motifs into one hybrid compound. In this study, we investigated the anticancer potential of 4-benzyl-5,7-dimethoxy-4-methyl-3-methylidene-3,4-dihydro-2H-chroman-2-one (DL-247), a new hybrid molecule combining a chroman-2-one skeleton with an exo-methylidene bond conjugated with a carbonyl group, in human myeloid leukemia HL-60 cell line. The cytotoxicity of the new compound was tested using MTT assay. The effect of DL-247 on cell proliferation and apoptosis induction were studied by flow cytometry, fluorometric assay and ELISA analysis. DL-247 displayed high cytotoxic activity (IC₅₀ = 1.15 µM, after 24 h incubation), significantly inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis by both, the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. A combination of DL-247 with taxol exhibited a strong synergistic effect on DNA damage generation, apoptosis induction and inhibition of cell growth.

Coumarin-3-formylpyrazoles as 3-carbon synthons in cyclocondensation for the synthesis of spiro-fused pentacyclic spirooxindoles

Coumarin-3-formylpyrazoles have been synthesized and applied as 3-carbon synthons in reaction with 3-hydroxyoxindoles by using DABCO as the catalyst. A range of structurally diverse spiro-fused pentacyclic spirooxindoles, bearing a spirooxindole-γ-lactone and a 3,4-dihydrocoumarin substructure, could be smoothly obtained in good to excellent yields (up to 99%) with excellent diastereoselectivities (all cases >20 : 1 dr). The asymmetric version of this tandem reaction was preliminarily investigated by using chiral organocatalysts.

New Uracil Analogs with Exocyclic Methylidene Group as Potential Anticancer Agents

BACKGROUND

Hybrid molecules combining uracil skeleton with methylidene exo-cyclic group were designed in the search for novel anticancer drug candidates.

OBJECTIVE

Two series of racemic 5-methylidenedihydrouracils, either 1,3-disubstituted or 1,3,6-trisubstituted were synthesized and tested for their possible cytotoxic activity against two cancer cell lines (HL-60 and MCF-7) and two healthy cell lines (HUVEC and MCF-10A). The most cytotoxic analogs were re-synthesized as pure enantiomers. The analog designated as U-332 [(R)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-1-ethyl-5-methylidene-6-phenyldihydrouracil], which had a very low IC50 value in HL-60 cell line (0.77μM) and was the most selective towards cancer cells was chosen for further experiments on HL-60 cell line, in order to determine the possible mechanism involved in its antineoplastic action.

METHODS

Cytotoxic activities of compound was assessed by the MTT assay. In order to explore the mechanism of U-332 activity, we performed quantitative real-time PCR analysis of p53 and p21 genes. Apoptosis, cell proliferation and DNA damage in HL-60 cells were determined using the flow cytometry. The ability of U-332 to determine GADD45ɑ protein level in HL-60 cells incubated with U-332 was analyzed by ELISA test.

RESULTS

U-332 was shown to generate excessive DNA damage (70% of the cell population), leading to p53 activation, resulting in p21 down-regulation and a significant increase of GADD45α protein, responsible for the cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase.

CONCLUSION

U-332 can be used as a potential lead compound in the further development of novel uracil analogs as anticancer agents.

Synthesis and Chemical Properties of 3-Phosphono-coumarins and 1,2-Benzoxaphosphorins as Precursors for Bioactive Compounds

Coumarins are an important class of natural heterocyclic compounds that have attracted considerable synthetic and pharmacological interest due to their various biological activities. This review emphasizes on the synthetic methods for the preparation of dialkyl 2-oxo-2H-1-benzo- pyran-3-phosphonates and alkyl 1,2-benzoxaphosphorin-3-carboxylates. Their chemical properties as acceptors in conjugate addition reactions, [2+2] and [3+2] cycloaddition reactions are discussed.

Preparation of Enantiomeric β-(2',5'-Dimethylphenyl)Bromolactones, Their Antiproliferative Activity and Effect on Biological Membranes

Three novel enantiomeric pairs of bromolactones possesing a 2,5-dimethylphenyl substituent at the β-position of the lactone ring have been synthesized from corresponding enantiomeric (E)-3-(2',5'-dimethylphenyl)hex-4-enoic acids (4) by kinetically controlled bromolactonization with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS). γ-Bromo-δ-lactones (5) were isolated as the major products. Absolute configurations of stereogenic centers of γ-bromo-δ-lactones (5) were assigned based on X-ray analysis; configurations of cis δ-bromo-γ-lactones (6) and trans δ-bromo-γ-lactones (7) were determined based on mechanism of bromolactonization. Synthesized compounds exhibited significant antiproliferative activity towards the four canine cancer cell lines (D17, CLBL-1, CLB70, and GL-1) and one human cancer line (Jurkat). Classifying the compounds in terms of activity, the most active were enantiomers of trans δ-bromo-γ-lactones (7) followed by enantiomers of cis isomer (6) and enantiomeric γ-bromo-δ-lactones (5). Higher activity was observed for all stereoisomers with S configuration at C-4 in comparison with their enantiomers with 4R configuration. Synthesized compounds did not induce hemolysis of erythrocytes. The results of the interaction of bromolactones with red blood cell membranes suggest that these compounds incorporate into biological membranes, concentrating mainly in the hydrophilic part of the bilayer but have practically no influence on fluidity in the hydrophobic region. The differences in interactions with the membrane between particular enantiomers were observed only for γ-lactones: stronger interactions were found for enantiomer 4R,5R,6S of cis γ-lactone (6) and for enantiomer 4S,5R,6S of trans γ-lactone (7).

Involvement of a coumarin analog AD-013 in the DNA damage response pathways in MCF-7 cells

Coumarin is a plant-derived compound but as such has no medical uses. Several synthetic coumarin analogs have been shown to possess anti-proliferative activity and to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. Here, we explored DNA damage responses in MCF-7 cells treated with our novel synthetic hybrid compound AD-013, which integrates a coumarin moiety and an α-methylene-δ-lactone motif. The mRNA expression of several genes engaged in DNA-damage-induced responses was assessed by quantitative real-time PCR. The protein levels of a few members of phosphoinositide-3-kinases family (ATM, ATR and DNA-PK) and BRCA1 were assessed by ELISA, while p53 was evaluated by western blot method. AD-013 down-regulated DNA-PK gene expression but increased the level of ATM/ATR and p53. The new analog completely inhibited BRCA1 and greatly decreased the activity of BRCA1 protein, engaged in DNA damage repair. Exposure of MCF-7 cells to a coumarin analog AD-013 led to DNA damage and decreased expression of several repair-associated genes.

Involvement of α-methylene-γ- and δ-lactones in the suppression of multidrug resistance in MCF-7 cells

BACKGROUND

The development of multidrug resistance to chemotherapy remains a challenge in the treatment of cancer and is a major factor causing failure of many forms of chemotherapy. The ATP binding cassette (ABC) family of proteins are efflux pumps that transport various potentially dangerous substances out of the cells. Several of the ABC transporters are related to chemoresistance, as the rapidly dividing malignant cells use them to protect themselves from medical interventions. Inhibitors of ABC transporters have the potential to enhance the efficacy of anticancer drugs. Two new synthetic compounds, AD-06 and AD-013, were tested as possible multidrug resistance inhibitors in MCF-7 cells.

METHODS

The cytotoxicity of new compounds was tested in MCF-7 and MCF-10A cell lines using the MTT method. Gene expression was measured by real-time PCR and changes in the protein levels were evaluated by flow cytometry and ELISA. A method based on the use of a fluorescent dye, being a marker of the ABC transporter activity, was used for screening the tested compounds as potential multidrug resistance inhibitors.

RESULTS

AD-06 and AD-013 down-regulated NF-κB mRNA levels and decreased the population of cells with activated NF-κB. Both compounds were found to be strong ABCB1 and ABCG2 transporter inhibitors. They showed synergistic effects when incubated with taxol or oxaliplatin.

CONCLUSIONS

α-Methylene-γ- and -δ-lactones AD-06 and AD-013 are promising lead structures for further development as multidrug resistance inhibitors.