A series of newly synthesized hydroxylated analogues of triethyldesmosdumotin B (TEDB) with a bicyclic B-ring exhibited a significantly different mode of action for affecting microtubule dynamics and spindle formation but had the same antiproliferative activity spectrum, including activity against multidrug-resistant tumors. These analogues efficiently induced cell cycle arrest at prometaphase and caused formation of immature multipolar spindles. 6′-Hydroxyl TEDB-TB (8) disrupted bipolar spindle formation but had a negligible effect on interphase microtubules. On the basis of the predicted binding modes of the new compounds with tubulin dimer, compound 4 forms three hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) only with α-tubulin at the colchicine site; in contrast, 8 forms H-bonds with both α- and β-tubulin. We predict that, when a compound/ligand, such as 8, forms H-bonds to both α- and β-tubulins, spindle formation is disrupted more than the dynamics of interphase microtubules. This result may reflect the well-known greater dynamicity of spindle microtubules as compared with interphase microtubules.

Three novel 1-alkyldaphnane-type diterpenes, stelleralides A–C (4–6), and five known compounds were isolated from the roots of Stellera chamaejasme L. The structures of 4–6 were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses. Several isolated compounds showed potent anti-HIV activity. Compound 4 showed extremely potent anti-HIV activity (EC90 0.40 nM) with the lowest cytotoxicity (IC50 4.3 μM), and appears to be a promising compound for development into anti-AIDS clinical trial candidates.

Twenty-eight compounds related to dehydrozingerone (1), isoeugenol (3), and 2-hydroxychalcone (4) were synthesized and evaluated in vitro against human tumor cell replication. Except for isoeugenol analogs 27−35, most compounds exhibited moderate or strong cytotoxic activity against KB, KB-VCR (a multi-drug resistant derivative), and A549 cell lines. In particular, chalcone 15 showed significant cytotoxic activity against the A549 cell line with an IC 50 value of 0.6 μg/mL. Furthermore, dehydrozingerone analog 11 and chalcones 16 and 17 showed significant and similar cytotoxic activity against both KB (IC 50 values of 2.0, 1.0, and 2.0 μg/mL, respectively) and KB-VCR (IC 50 values of 1.9, 1.0, and 2.0 μg/mL, respectively) cells, suggesting that they are not substrates for the p-glycoprotein drug efflux pump.Dehydrozingerone (1), isolated from ginger (Zingiber officinale), 1,2 is a well known phenolic natural product with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antitumor promoting activities. 3 It is the structural half analog, as well as biosynthetic intermediate, 4 of curcumin (2), which possesses various remarkable bioactivities such as cytotoxic effects on cancer cell lines 5-8 and induction of apoptotic cell death in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 and human oral squamous carcinoma HSC-4 cells. 9 Dehydrozingerone (1), isoeugenol (3) and 2-hydroxychalcone (4) (Figure 1) have similar structures (acetyl, methyl and benzoyl, respectively, attached to a styrene skeleton). Both 3 and 4 are also prominent bioactive compounds. 10,11 Thus, we expected that 1-analogs should show a wide range of pharmacological activities. In spite of the interesting and simple structure of 1, we found only a few literature reports on analog syntheses and structure-activity relationships (SAR), 12,13 although we recently reported the cytotoxic effects of curcumin analogs. 7,14,15 It is known that the presence of a prenyl or geranyl group on flavonoids, including chalcones, can lead to a remarkable increase in bioactivity. 16,17 As dehydrozingerone (1) is structurally related to chalcones, the introduction of a prenyl or geranyl group on any position of 1 might also increase activity. In fact, most prenylflavonoids and geranylflavonoids as well as related compounds are known to have potent cytotoxic effects. 18-21 Furthermore, with respect to cancer research, a prenyl moiety has been demonstrated to be essential for chemopreventive

C9-Substituted phenanthrene-based tylophorine derivatives (PBTs) (13-36) were synthesized and evaluated as in vitro anticancer agents against the human A549 lung cancer cell line. Twelve active compounds were further examined against DU-145 (prostate), ZR-751 (breast), KB (nasopharyngeal), and KB-Vin (multidrug resistant KB subline) human cancer cell lines. They showed potent cytotoxic activity against both wild type and matched multidrug resistant KB cell lines, and displayed notable selectivity toward DU-145 (prostate) and ZR-751 (breast) cancer cell lines. The mode of action of this class may be distinctly different from that of other cancer chemotherapeutic compounds. Three PBT analogs were also evaluated in a murine model. Compound 24b showed modest in vivo antitumor activity against human A549 xenograft in nude mice as well as potent in vitro cytotoxic activity, and thus, is a promising anticancer lead compound.

Protoapigenone (1), isolated from Thelypteris torresiana, previously showed significant cytotoxic activity against five human cancer cell lines. In a continued structure-activity relationship study, the first total synthesis and modification of 1 were achieved. All synthesized compounds and related intermediates were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against five human cancer cell lines, HepG2, Hep3B, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7 and A549. Among them, 24 showed 2.2-14.2 fold greater cytotoxicity than 1 and naphthyl A-ring analogs remarkably enhanced the activity.

Esterification of glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) with dehydrozingerone (DZ) resulted in a novel cytotoxic GA-DZ conjugate. Based on this exciting finding, we conjugated eleven different DZ analogs with GA or other triterpenoids, including oleanoic acid (OA) or ursolic acid (UA). In an in vitro anti-cancer assay using nine different human tumor cell lines, most of the GA-DZ conjugates showed significant potency. Particularly, compounds 5, 29, and 30 showed significant cytotoxic effects against LN-Cap, 1A9, and KB cells with ED(50) values of 0.6, 0.8, and 0.9 microM, respectively. Similar conjugates between DZ and OA or UA were inactive suggesting that the GA component is critical for activity. Notably, although GA-DZ conjugates showed potent cytotoxic activity, the individual components (GA and DZ analogs) were inactive. Thus, GA-DZ conjugates are new chemical entities and represent interesting hits for anti-cancer drug discovery and development.

This study investigated tumor-associated macrophages activity in the microenvironment of renal cell carcinoma. Via a co-culture with macrophage-like cells differentiated from human monocyte cell line THP-1 and U937 cells, the migration ability of ACHN and Caki-1 cells, which are human renal cell carcinoma cell line cells, was significantly increased, as was the epithelial–mesenchymal transition change. A chemokine array identified the CCL20-CCR6 axis as a concentration-dependent signal in ACHN and Caki-1 cell migration. Akt in the ACHN and Caki-1 cells was activated by macrophage-like cells, and the CCL20 neutralizing antibody suppressed migration ability, epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and Akt phosphorylation in the ACHN and Caki-1 cells. Akt inhibitor AZD5363 also decreased the epithelial–mesenchymal transition change and migration ability in the ACHN and Caki-1 cells. In 42 renal cell carcinoma tissues, patients with CCR6 and macrophage infiltration indicated poor prognoses. In the tumor microenvironment of renal cell carcinoma, cancer cells are activated by CCL20 secreted by tumor-associated macrophages through Akt activation, followed by epithelial–mesenchymal transition and an acquired migration ability. Thus, inhibition of the CCL20-CCR6 axis may be a potential therapeutic strategy for renal cell carcinoma.

In our previous study, neo-tanshinlactone (1) showed potent and selective anti-breast cancer activity. To explore the SAR of 1, nine analogues (15-18, 24-28) were designed and synthesized. Together with 1 and tamoxifen (TAM), all newly synthesized compounds and some intermediates were evaluated for in vitro anticancer activity against several human tumor cell lines. Compounds without a ring D did not show promising activity, while compounds with a methylated furan ring D showed better activity than those with unsubstituted furan or hydroxy-dihydrofuran rings. Among all newly synthesized compounds, compound 15 with an ethyl group at the 4-position showed the best activity and selectivity with ED50 values of 0.45 and 0.18 microg/mL against MCF-7 and ZR-75-1 (ER+) and 13.5 and 10.0 microg/mL against MDA MB-231 and HS 587-1 (ER-), respectively. Furthermore, 15 also showed potent activity against SK-BR-3 (ER-, HER2+) with an ED50 value of 0.10 microg/mL. Our preliminary SAR studies showed that a methylated furan ring D and the C-4 substituent in ring A are critical for anti-breast cancer activity. Further development of 1 and 15 as anti-breast cancer drug candidates is warranted.