A concise and efficient total synthesis of sanggenol F (1) in racemic form has been completed via a sequence of 15 steps with an overall yield of 3.1%, starting from commercially available 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone. Meanwhile, a semisynthesis of sanggenol F racemate has also been achieved in 11.1% overall yield via 7 steps with naturally-occurring morin (2) as the starting material. One step and a stepwise approach were employed to construct the two prenyl side chains at 2- and 6-positions by Claisen rearrangement reaction.Download high-res image (99KB)Download full-size image

A series of novel hydantoin-bridged analogues of combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) were designed, synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activities in vitro and in vivo. The most potent compound 8d, showed potent cytotoxicity against four human cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 0.186–0.279 μM, and possessed the efficacy of inhibiting tubulin polymerization, disrupting in vitro vascularization, blocking cell cycle in G2/M phase and inducing cell apoptosis. In the nude mice xenograft model, 8d significantly inhibited the tumor growth and showed low toxicity. Further chiral separation proved (R)-(−)-8d to be the preferential enantiomer with IC50 values of 0.081–0.157 M. These results indicated that the hydantoin derivatives merit further investigation as potential anticancer agents that inhibit tubulin polymerization.Download high-res image (46KB)Download full-size image

A series of chiral β-lactam bridged analogues (3-substituted 1,4-diaryl-2-azetidinones) of combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) were synthesized asymmetrically, and their antitumor activities were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The cocrystal structure of tubulin in complex with compound 9 was determined by X-ray crystallography, which showed that 9 binds to the same site as colchicine with similar binding mode, and the absolute configuration of its C-4 was first identified and demonstrated to be critically important for their antiproliferative activities.

Two series of novel 1,5-naphthyridine and 1,6-naphthyridine derivatives were designed and synthesized based on the c-Met kinase inhibitor MK-2461 under the guidance of scaffold hopping strategy. All were tested on c-Met kinase and in vitro anti-tumor activities against Hela and A549 cell lines. The results indicated that 1,6-naphthyridine was a more promising c-Met inhibitory structure core compared with 1,5-naphthyridine. Among them, 26b and 26c showed the best enzymic and cytotoxic activities. The western blot experiments implied that the cytotoxic activity of 26c might be partially through suppressing the phosphorylation of c-Met kinase.

A series of novel amide and thioester conjugates between Danshensu and cysteine derivatives have been designed and synthesized based on the strategy of “medicinal chemical hybridization”. Pharmacological evaluation indicated that the amide conjugates 3a/4a/17a and thioester conjugates 6a–d exhibited obvious protective effects on H2O2-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Pretreated with these conjugates could increase glutathione (GSH) activity and decrease malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Further study on mechanism of compound 4a revealed that it was related to its mitochondrial-protective effect and regulation of apoptosis-related proteins expression (Bax, p53, PARP, caspase-3, caspase-9 and Bcl-2). These results indicate that these Danshensu-cysteine analog conjugates possess significant cardiovascular-protective effects and merit further investigation.Graphical abstractThe synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of a series of novel amide and thioester conjugates between Danshensu and cysteine derivatives have been reported and 3a/4a/17a/6a–d demonstrated significant cardiovascular-protective effect.Highlights► A series of conjugates between Danshensu and cysteine have been synthesized. ► The bioactivity assay showed significant protective effect on H2O2-induced HUVECs. ► The mechanism may be related to their anti-oxidative and anti-apoptotic properties.

The synthesis and bioactivities of Danshensu derivatives (R)-methyl 2-acetoxy-3-(3,4-diacetoxyphenyl)propanoate (1a), (R)-methyl 2-acetoxy-3-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)propanoate (1b) and their racemates 7 and 10 were reported in this paper. These derivatives were designed to improve their chemical stability and liposolubility by protecting Danshensu’s phenolic hydroxyl groups with acetyl or methylene which could be readily hydrolyzed to release bioactive Danshensu. The asymmetric synthesis of 1a and 1b were achieved by catalytic hydrogenation of (Z)-methyl 2-acetoxy-3-(3,4-diacetoxyphenyl)-2-propenoate (6a) and (Z)-methyl 2-acetoxy-3-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-propenoate (6b) in excellent enantiomeric excesses (92% ee and 98% ee, respectively) and good yields (>89%). An unexpected intermediate product, (Z)-2-acetoxy-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)acrylic acid (4c) was obtained with high chemoselectivity in 86% yield by keeping the reaction temperature at 60 °C and its structure was identified by X-ray single crystal diffraction analysis. 1a, 1b and their racemates 7, 10 as well as 4c exhibited potent protective activities against hypoxia-induced cellular damage. The in vitro test showed that all these compounds could increase cell viability, and inhibit lipid hyperoxidation. Furthermore, 1a and 4c could inhibit apoptosis by regulating the expression of apoptosis-related molecule in gene and protein levels, up-regulating the expression of bcl-2 and down-regulating bax and caspase-3. The in vivo test indicated that 4c exhibited anti-myocardial ischemic effects featured by reducing infarction size and increasing the level of the intracellular enzymes detectable in serum. Therefore, these Danshensu derivatives may be good drug candidates for anti-myocardial ischemia therapy and merit further investigation.Two novel chiral Danshensu derivatives (1a–b) and their racemates have been designed and synthesized. Primary pharmacological evaluation showed that these Danshensu derivatives possessed potent cardioprotective activities by blocking oxidative stress and apoptotic pathways.