Cinnamamide, an antitumor agent with low cytotoxicity acting on matrix metalloproteinase

PCl3-mediated transesterification and aminolysis of tert-butyl esters via acid chloride formation

A PCl3-mediated conversion of tert-butyl esters into esters and amides in one-pot under air is developed. This novel protocol is highlighted by the synthesis of skeletons of bioactive molecules and gram-scale reactions. Mechanistic studies revealed that this transformation involves the formation of an acid chloride in situ, which is followed by reactions with alcohols or amines to afford the desired products.

Visible-light-promoted oxidation/condensation of benzyl alcohols with dialkylacetamides to cinnamides

An oxidative cross-coupling reaction of benzyl alcohols with dialkylacetamides was developed to construct cinnamides under visible-light-enabled photocatalytic conditions.

Synthesis of DNA interactive C3-trans-cinnamide linked β-carboline conjugates as potential cytotoxic and DNA topoisomerase I inhibitors

A series of new C3-trans-cinnamide linked β-carboline conjugates has been synthesized by coupling between various β-carboline amines and substituted cinnamic acids. Evaluation of their anti-proliferative activity against a panel of selected human cancer cell lines such as A549 (lung cancer), MCF-7 (breast cancer), B16 (melanoma), HeLa (cervical cancer) and a normal cell line NIH3T3 (mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line), suggested that the newly designed conjugates are considerably active against all the tested cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values 13-45 nM. Moreover, the conjugates 8v and 8x were the most active against MCF-7 cells (14.05 nM and 13.84 nM respectively) and also even potent on other cell lines tested. Further, detailed investigations such as cell cycle analysis, apoptosis induction study, topoisomerase I inhibition assay, DNA binding affinity and docking studies revealed that these new conjugates are DNA interactive topoisomerase I inhibitors.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of N-(4-phenylthiazol-2-yl)cinnamamide derivatives as novel potential anti-tumor agents

In this study, a series of novel N-(4-phenylthiazol-2-yl)-cinnamamide derivatives (7a–8n) were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-proliferative activities in vitro.

Design, synthesis and antifungal/insecticidal evaluation of novel cinnamide derivatives

Twenty novel cinnamamide derivatives were designed and synthesized using as lead compound pyrimorph, whose morpholine moiety was replaced by β-phenylethylamine. All the compounds were characterized by their spectroscopic data. The fungicidal and insecticidal activities were also evaluated. The preliminary results showed that all the title compounds had certain fungicidal activities against seven plant pathogens at a concentration of 50 μg/mL, and compounds 11a and 11l showed inhibition ratios of up to 90% against R. solani. Most of the title compounds exhibited moderate nematicidal activities. In general, the morpholine ring may be replaced by other amines and a chlorine atom in the pyridine ring is helpful to fungicidal activity.

Helical encapsulation of graphene nanoribbon into carbon nanotube

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to study interaction between the graphene nanoribbon (GNR) and single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT). The GNR enters the SWCNT spontaneously to display a helical configuration which is quite similar to the chloroplast in the spirogyra cell. This unique phenomenon results from the combined action of the van der Waals potential well and the π-π stacking interaction. The size of SWCNT and GNR should satisfy some certain conditions in the helical encapsulation process. A DNA-like double helix would be formed inside the SWCNT with the encapsulation of two GNRs. A water cluster enclosed in the SWCNT has great effect on the formation of the GNR helix in the tube. Furthermore, we also studied the possibility that the spontaneous encapsulation of GNR is used for substance delivery. The expected outcome of these properties is to provide novel strategies to design nanoscale carriers and reaction devices.

Caffeic acid phenyl ester in propolis is a strong inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and invasion inhibitor: Isolation and identification

BACKGROUND

Propolis has been used as a folk medicine and has several proven biological activities. Herbal remedies recommended for cancer therapies in Korea.

METHODS

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9-inhibitory activity of propolis has been assessed. CAPE as an acting compound was isolated and molecular structure was determined. Anti-invasion activity of CAPE was assayed using hepatocarcinoma cells.

RESULTS

Propolis ethanol extracts showed a strong inhibitory effect of MMP-9 activity, which is known to be involved in tumor cell invasion and metastasis in a concentration-dependent manner on zymography. Assay guided fractionation led to the isolation of a caffeic acid phenyl ester (CAPE) as the compound responsible for the anti-MMP-9 activity. CAPE was obtained by reversed-phase HPLC, and its structure was elucidated by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry. The purified CAPE inhibited MMP-9 activity with the IC(50) of 1.0-2.0 nmol/l.

CONCLUSIONS

CAPE possesses selective antiproliferative activity toward hepatocaricoma cell line Hep3B, but not primary cultured mouse hepatocytes.

Anticancer activity of sodium caffeate and its mechanism

AIM

To study the anticancer activity of sodium caffeate (SC).

METHODS

A nucleoside transport assay was used to analyze the inhibitory effects of SC on nucleoside rescue. The MTT assay was used to measure cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to measure the apoptosis of BEC-7402 induced by SC and the cell cycle distribution change. Western blotting analysis was employed to investigate Bcl-2, caspase and Bax expression. Intracellular Ca2+ and mitochondrial membrane potential were determined by flow cytometry. In vivo anti-tumor activity was measured using a tumor transplantation model in mice.

RESULTS

SC inhibited the nucleoside transport of BEL-7402 cells with an IC(50) of 1.02 microg/mL. SC inhibited tumor cell proliferation with an IC50 between 100 microg/mL and 200 microg/mL. SC induced BEL-7402 cell apoptosis in a time- and dose-dependent manner, which was induced by arresting cells in S phase. The in vivo study showed that tumor growth was inhibited in a dose-dependent manner. Activated caspase-3 and Bax expression were up-regulated after treatment with SC, while Bcl-2 expression was down-regulated. Intracellular Ca2+ was increased while mitochondrial membrane potential was decreased by SC.

CONCLUSION

SC is a new anticancer agent with promising potential.

Inhibitory effect of methanol extract of Euonymus alatus on matrix metalloproteinase-9

Various extracts prepared from stems of Euonymus alatus were tested for cytotoxic activity on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, Hep3B cells using the XTT assay method. Also, the extracts were investigated the inhibitory effects on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 activity using gelatin zymography. The methanol extract, hexane and ethyl acetate fraction exhibited weak cytotoxic activity (IC(50) of >100 microg/ml). However, butanol (IC(50)=65 microg/ml) and chloroform (IC(50)=85 microg/ml) fraction exhibited strongly cytotoxic activity. Gelatin zymography showed that the Hep3B cells secreted matrix metalloproteinase (MMP), probably including MMP-9, which may be involved in tumor cell invasion and metastasis. The butanol fraction showed stronger inhibitory effect of proteolytic activity than other fractions. Also, the butanol fraction was able to decrease the proteolytic activity of MMP-9 in a concentration-dependent manner on zymography. These results suggest that the butanol fraction from E. alatus has highly inhibitory effect on MMP-9 in comparatively low cytotoxicity.