Novobiocin, a known DNA gyrase inhibitor, binds to a nucleotide-binding site located on the Cterminus of Hsp90 and induces degradation of Hsp90-dependent client proteins at ~700 μM in breast cancer cells (SkBr3). Although many analogues of novobiocin have been synthesized, it was only recently demonstrated that monomeric species can exhibit anti-proliferative activity against various cancer cell lines. To further refine the essential elements of the coumarin core, a series of modified coumarin derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for elucidation of structure-activity relationships for novobiocin as an anti-cancer agent. Results obtained from these studies have produced novobiocin analogues that manifest low micromolar activity against several cancer cell lines.

Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are one of the many classes of breakdown products of glucosinolates found in crucifers such as broccoli and are thought to be partially responsible for the reduced risk of degenerative diseases associated with the consumption of vegetables. The production of ITCs such as L-sulforaphane is dependent on the hydrolytic bioactivities of myrosinase, localized both within vegetable tissues and within flora of the human GI tract, and is associated with important cancer chemopreventive activities. We hypothesized that novel isothiocyanates with enhanced chemopreventive properties relative to L-sulforaphane could be identified and that their glucosinolate precursors could be synthesized. From a library of 30 synthetic ITCs, we identified several with bioactivities equal or superior to those of L-sulforaphane. The corresponding non-natural glucosinolate precursors to these novel ITCs were constructed and found to be substrates for myrosinase. By utilizing a novel RP-HPLC assay to monitor myrosinase-dependent hydrolysis reactions, 2,2-diphenylethyl glucosinolate and (biphenyl-2-yl)methyl glucosinolate were shown to exhibit 26.5 and 2.8 %, respectively, of the relative activity of sinigrin and produced their corresponding ITCs in varying yields. These data support the notion that non-natural glucosinolates can act as prodrugs for novel ITCs, with a mechanism of action reliant on their hydrolytic cleavage by myrosinase. Such non-natural glucosinolates may serve as very economical chemopreventive agents for individuals at risk for cancers of and around the GI tract.

Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are one of several hydrolysis products of glucosinolates, plant secondary metabolites which are substrates for the thioglucohydrolase myrosinase. Recent pursuits toward the development of synthetic, non-natural ITCs have consequently led to an exploration of generating these compounds from non-natural glucosinolate precursors. Evaluation of the myrosinase-dependent conversion of select non-natural glucosinolates to non-natural ITCs cannot be accomplished using established UV-Vis spectroscopic methods. To overcome this limitation, an alternative HPLC-based analytical approach was developed where initial reaction velocities were generated from non-linear reaction progress curves. Validation of this HPLC method was accomplished through parallel evaluation of three glucosinolates with UV-Vis methodology. The results of this study demonstrate that kinetic data is consistent between both analytical methods and that the tested glucosinolates respond similarly to both Michaelis–Menten and specific activity analyses. Consequently, this work resulted in the complete kinetic characterization of three glucosinolates with Sinapis alba myrosinase, with results that were consistent with previous reports.

The consumption of Brassica vegetables provides beneficial effects through organic isothiocyanates (ITCs), products of the enzymatic hydrolysis of glucosinolate secondary metabolites. The ITC l-sulforaphane (l-SFN) is the principle agent in broccoli that demonstrates several modes of anticancer action. While the anticancer properties of ITCs like l-SFN have been extensively studied and l-SFN has been the subject of multiple human clinical trials, the scope of this work has largely been limited to those derivatives found in nature. Previous studies have demonstrated that structural changes in an ITC can lead to marked differences in a compound's potency to 1) inhibit the growth of cancer cells, and 2) alter cellular transcriptional profiles. This study describes the preparation of a library of non-natural aryl ITCs and the development of a bifurcated screening approach to evaluate the dose- and time-dependence on antiproliferative and chemopreventive properties against human MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Antiproliferative effects were evaluated using a commercial MTS cell viability assay. Chemopreventive properties were evaluated using an antioxidant response element (ARE)-promoted luciferase reporter assay. The results of this study have led to the identification of 1) several key structure-activity relationships and 2) lead ITCs for continued development.

The data presented in this article are related to the research article, “HPLC-based enzyme kinetics assay for glucosinolate hydrolysis facilitate analysis of systems with both multiple reaction products and thermal enzyme denaturation” (C.K. Klingaman, M.J. Wagner, J.R. Brown, J.B. Klecker, E.H. Pauley, C.J. Noldner, J.R. Mays,) [1]. This data article describes (1) the synthesis and spectral characterization data of a non-natural glucosinolate analogue, 2,2-diphenylethyl glucosinolate, (2) HPLC standardization data for glucosinolate, isothiocyanate, nitrile, and amine analytes, (3) reaction progress curve data for enzymatic hydrolysis reactions with variable substrate concentration, enzyme concentration, buffer pH, and temperature, and (4) normalized initial velocities of hydrolysis/formation for analytes. These data provide a comprehensive description of the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of 2,2-diphenylethyl glucosinolate (5) and glucotropaeolin (6) under widely varied conditions.