Synthesis and Anticancer Activity of Ergosterol Peroxide Hybrids With Paclitaxel Side Chain Inducing Apoptosis in Human Hepatoma Carcinoma Cells

The antitumor activities of natural paclitaxel (PTX), semisynthetic docetaxel, and cabazitaxel are highly dependent on their C-13 side chains. Therefore, using natural ergosterol peroxide (EP, 1) as the lead compound, two EP-PTX hybrids (EP-A2 and EP-B2) were prepared and their antitumor activities were evaluated against 4 kinds of human MCF-7, HepG2, HCT-116, and A549 cell lines in vitro. The results showed that both EP-A2 and EP-B2 inhibited the growth of all four kinds of tested tumor cell lines. For paclitaxel-resistant MCF-7 cells, both EP-A2 and EP-B2 showed significant inhibitory activity with relatively low IC50 values (9.39 μM and 8.60 μM, respectively). In addition, EP-B2 inhibited the growth of the HepG2 cells (IC50 = 7.82 μM) more successfully than EP. Preliminary studies of the mechanism suggest that EP-B2 could arrest the G1 phase transition in HepG2 cells. In addition, EP-B2 showed an obvious apoptosis-inducing effect in HepG2 cells, as detected by the Annexin V/PI binding assay and the Western blot assay. Hybrid EP-B2 has the potential to become a novel antitumor drug through further study of the mechanism of action and its structural modifications.

Synthesis and Cytotoxic Activity of Novel Ergosterol Peroxide Derivatives with Acrylate or Propionate Side Chain

A series of novel ergosterol peroxide derivatives with acrylate or propionate side chain were synthesized. All compounds 3a-n were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against four kinds of human carcinoma cell lines (HepG2, MCF-7, HCT-116, and A549). Most of the derivatives displayed stronger cytotoxicity than ergosterol peroxide parent. Among them, compound 3h with the highest potency against HepG2 cell line (IC50  =  2.70 μM), which was 7.47-fold more efficacious than ergosterol peroxide. The results suggested that the introduction of acrylate or propionate side chain at C-3 position of ergosterol peroxide is beneficial to enhance its cytotoxic activity. Compound 3h has potential to become a novel anti-tumor agent through further structural modification.

Synthesis and in vitro antimicrobial activity of new steroidal hydrazone derivatives

Background

For many years, various drugs have been used for the treatment of infectious diseases but some bacterial microorganisms have induced resistance to several drugs. In a search of new antimicrobial agents, a series of new steroidal hydrazones were designed and synthesized.

Result

The structures of the compounds were established based on the spectral data. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of some newly synthesized compounds against bacteria and fungi was studied.

Conclusion

New compounds showed better or similar antimicrobial activity. Designing more efficient steroidal hydrazones from ketosteroid based on the current study may successfully lead to the development of antimicrobial agent.

Graphical abstract

Design and Synthesis of Novel Betulin Derivatives Containing Thio-/Semicarbazone Moieties as Apoptotic Inducers through Mitochindria-Related Pathways

Two new series of betulin derivatives with semicarbazone (7a-g) or thiosemicarbazone (8a-g) groups at the C-28 position were synthesized. All compounds were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicities in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2), human breast carcinoma cells (MCF-7), human lung carcinoma cells (A549), human colorectal cells (HCT-116) and normal human gastric epithelial cells (GES-1). Among these compounds, 8f displayed the most potent cytotoxicity with an IC₅₀ value of 5.86 ± 0.61 μM against MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, the preliminary mechanism studies in MCF-7 cells showed that compound 8f could trigger the intracellular mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis pathway by losing MMP level, which was related with the upregulation of Bax, P53 and cytochrome c expression; the downregulation of Bcl-2 expression; activation of the expression levels of caspase-3, caspase-9, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9; and an increase in the amounts of intracellular reactive oxygen species. These results indicated that compound 8f may be used as a valuable skeleton structure for developing novel antitumor agents.

Novel Steroidal 5α,8α-Endoperoxide Derivatives with Semicarbazone/Thiosemicarbazone Side-chain as Apoptotic Inducers through an Intrinsic Apoptosis Pathway: Design, Synthesis and Biological Studies

A series of novel steroidal 5α,8α-endoperoxide derivatives bearing semicarbazone (7a–g) or thiosemicarbazone (7h–k) side chain were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxicities in four human cancer cell lines (HepG2, HCT-116, MCF-7, and A549) using the MTT assay in vitro. The results showed that compound 7j exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cells (IC₅₀ = 3.52 μM), being more potent than ergosterol peroxide. Further cellular mechanism studies in HepG2 cells indicated that compound 7j triggered the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis by decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), which was associated with up-regulation of Bax, down-regulation of Bcl-2, activation levels of the caspase cascade, and formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The above findings indicated that compound 7j may be used as a promising skeleton for antitumor agents with improved efficacy.