Aziridines from alkenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside derivatives: Stereoselective synthesis and in vitro selective anticancer activity

<em></em><em>In Vitro</em> Anticancer Activity and Mechanism of Action of an Aziridinyl Galactopyranoside

“…We previously reported that AzGalp displayed selective cytotoxicity against lung cancer, breast cancer and melanoma cells (4). In this study, we showed that AzGalp displayed also selective cytotoxic activity against other solid cancer cell lines, such as liver cancer HepG2 cells and osteosarcoma U2OS cells, and against hematological malignancies, such as acute promyelocytic leukemia HL60 and NB4 cells.…”

“…We previously screened a series of new aziridines β-D-galactopyranoside derivatives for selective anticancer activity and identified AzGalp as the most promising compound (4). In this article, we study possible mechanisms involved in the cytotoxicity of this aziridine and evaluate its selective anticancer activity in additional cancer cells and normal cells.…”

“…2-Methyl-2,3-[N-(4-methylbenzenesulfonyl)imino]propyl 2,3-di-O-benzyl-4,6-O-(S)-benzylidene-β-D-galactopyranoside (AzGalp) was synthesized as described previously (4). All other compounds used in this work were obtained from Sigma.…”

“…The aziridine group is present in the structure of useful reaction intermediates in organic chemistry and also in a variety of secondary metabolites from plants and microorganisms (3,4). Many of these compounds have displayed anticancer activity (5)(6)(7)(8).…”

“…Previously, we carried out a preliminary screening of a new series of aziridines from alkenyl-β-Dgalactorpyranoside derivatives for selective cytotoxic activity against A549 human lung cancer cell line and MRC-5 human lung normal cell line using the MTT assay (4). Several aziridine-containing compounds showed notable selectivity against A549 lung cancer cell line.…”