The First 5'-Phosphorylated 1,2,3-Triazolyl Nucleoside Analogues with Uracil and Quinazoline-2,4-Dione Moieties: A Synthesis and Antiviral Evaluation.

A series of 5'-phosphorylated (dialkyl phosphates, diaryl phosphates, phosphoramidates, H-phosphonates, phosphates) 1,2,3-triazolyl nucleoside analogues in which the 1,2,3-triazole-4-yl-ß-D-ribofuranose fragment is attached via a methylene group or a butylene chain to the N-1 atom of the heterocycle moiety (uracil or quinazoline-2,4-dione) was synthesized. All compounds were evaluated for antiviral activity against influenza virus A/PR/8/34/(H1N1). Antiviral assays revealed three compounds, 13b, 14b, and 17a, which showed moderate activity against influenza virus A (H1N1) with IC50 values of 17.9 µM, 51 µM, and 25 µM, respectively. In the first two compounds, the quinazoline-2,4-dione moiety is attached via a methylene or a butylene linker, respectively, to the 1,2,3-triazole-4-yl-ß-D-ribofuranosyl fragment possessing a 5'-diphenyl phosphate substituent. In compound 17a, the uracil moiety is attached via the methylene unit to the 1,2,3-triazole-4-yl-ß-D-ribofuranosyl fragment possessing a 5'-(phenyl methoxy-L-alaninyl)phosphate substituent. The remaining compounds appeared to be inactive against influenza virus A/PR/8/34/(H1N1). The results of molecular docking simulations indirectly confirmed the literature data that the inhibition of viral replication is carried out not by nucleoside analogues themselves, but by their 5'-triphosphate derivatives.

Antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of ammonium derivatives of diterpenoids steviol and isosteviol.

Antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities of several ammonium derivatives of diterpenoids steviol and isosteviol have been investigated in vitro. The results have showed that these compounds possess high antibacterial activity against MRSA strains and cytotoxic effect against cancer cell lines MCF-7, M-HeLa, A-549, PC3, HepG2, T98G. Lead compounds 4 and 5 were detected, which, in the case of the MCF-7 cell line (human breast adenocarcinoma), showed IC50 at the doxorubicin level with a selectivity index of 5.0-5.2. Flow cytometry and laser confocal microscopy analysis demonstrated that the mechanism of cytotoxic effects of the tested compounds on MCF-7 cells could be associated with the induction of apoptosis along the mitochondrial pathway. At the same time, they did not cause hemolysis and showed only slight cytotoxicity with respect to normal human cells of embryonic lung (Wi-38). The obtained results allow us to consider the studied compounds as promising scaffolds for the design of new effective antibacterial drugs and anticancer agents targeting mitochondria.

Glycosides and Glycoconjugates of the Diterpenoid Isosteviol with a 1,2,3-Triazolyl Moiety: Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Evaluation.

Several glycoconjugates of the diterpenoid isosteviol (16-oxo-ent-beyeran-19-oic acid) with a 1,2,3-triazolyl moiety were synthesized, and their cytotoxicity was evaluated against some human cancer and normal cell lines. Most of the synthesized compounds demonstrated weak inhibitory activities against the M-HeLa and MCF-7 human cancer cell lines. Three lead compounds, 54, 56 and 57, exhibited high selective cytotoxic activity against M-HeLa cells (IC50 = 1.7-1.9 µM) that corresponded to the activity of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (IC50 = 3.0 µM). Moreover, the lead compounds were not cytotoxic with respect to a Chang liver human normal cell line (IC50 > 100 µM), whereas doxorubicin was cytotoxic to this cell line (IC50 = 3.0 µM). It was found that cytotoxic activity of the lead compounds is due to induction of apoptosis proceeding along the mitochondrial pathway. The present findings suggest that 1,2,3-triazolyl-ring-containing glycoconjugates of isosteviol are a promising scaffold for the design of novel anticancer agents.

Triphenylphosphonium Cations of the Diterpenoid Isosteviol: Synthesis and Antimitotic Activity in a Sea Urchin Embryo Model.

A series of novel triphenylphosphonium (TPP) cations of the diterpenoid isosteviol (1, 16-oxo-ent-beyeran-19-oic acid) have been synthesized and evaluated in an in vivo phenotypic sea urchin embryo assay for antimitotic activity. The TPP moiety was applied as a carrier to provide selective accumulation of a connected compound into mitochondria. When applied to fertilized eggs, the targeted isosteviol TPP conjugates induced mitotic arrest with the formation of aberrant multipolar mitotic spindles, whereas both isosteviol and the methyltriphenylphosphonium cation were inactive. The structure-activity relationship study revealed the essential role of the TPP group for the realization of the isosteviol effect, while the chemical structure and the length of the linker only slightly influenced the antimitotic potency. The results obtained using the sea urchin embryo model suggested that TPP conjugates of isosteviol induced mitotic spindle defects and mitotic arrest presumably by affecting mitochondrial DNA. Since targeting mitochondria is considered as an encouraging strategy for cancer therapy, TPP-isosteviol conjugates may represent promising candidates for further design as anticancer agents.

Synthesis, cytotoxicity and antioxidant activity of new conjugates of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine with α-aminophosphonates.

A series of the first conjugates of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine with α-aminophosphonates was synthesized using the Kabachnik-Fields reaction, the Pudovik reaction, a copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction (CuAAC) and evaluated for the in vitro cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines M - HeLa, HuTu-80, A549, PANC-1, MCF-7, T98G and normal lung fibroblast cells WI-38. The tested conjugates, with exception of compound 21b, considered as a lead compound, were either inactive against the used cancer cells or showed moderate cytotoxicity in the range of IC50 values 33-80 µM. The lead compound 21b, being non cytotoxic against normal human cells WI-38 (IC50 = 90 µM), demonstrated good activity (IC50 = 17 µM) against breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7) which to be 1.5 times higher than the activity of the used reference anticancer drug tamoxifen (IC50 = 25.0 µM). A flexible receptor molecular docking simulation showed that the cytotoxicity of the synthesized conjugates of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine with α-aminophosphonates against breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cell line is due to their ability to inhibit EGFR kinase domain. In addition, it was found that conjugates 22a and 22b demonstrated antioxidant activity that was not typical for α-aminophosphonates.

Supramolecular design of biocompatible nanocontainers based on amphiphilic derivatives of a natural compound isosteviol.

Two diterpenoid surfactants with ammonium head groups and bromide (S1) or tosylate (S2) counterions have been synthesized. Exploration of these biomimetic species made it possible to demonstrate that even minor structural changes beyond their chemical nature may dramatically affect their solution behavior. While their aggregation thresholds differ inconsiderably, morphological behavior and affinity to lipid bilayer are strongly dependent on the counterion nature. Compound S2 demonstrates properties of typical surfactants and forms small micelle-like aggregates above critical micelle concentration. For surfactant S1, two critical concentrations and two types of aggregates occur. Structural transitions have been observed between small micelles and aggregates with higher aggregation numbers and hydrodynamic diameter of ca. 150 nm. Unlike S2, surfactant S1 is shown to integrate with liposomes based on dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, resulting in a decrease of the temperature of the main phase transition. Both surfactants demonstrate an effective complexation capacity toward oligonucleotide (ONu), which is supported by recharging the surfactant-ONu complexes and the ethidium bromide exclusion at a low N/P ratio. Meanwhile, a very weak complexation of plasmid DNA with the surfactants has been revealed in the gel electrophoresis experiment. The DNA transfer to bacterial cells mediated by the surfactant S1 is shown to depend on the protocol used. In the case of the electroporation, the inhibition of the cell transformation occurs in the presence of the surfactant, while upon the chemical treatment no surfactant effect has been observed. The variability in the morphology, the biocompatibility, the nanoscale dimension and the high binding capacity toward the DNA decamer make it possible to nominate the designed surfactants as promising carriers for biosubstrates or as a helper surfactant for the mixed liposome-surfactant nanocontainers.

Synthesis and antituberculosis activity of novel unfolded and macrocyclic derivatives of ent-kaurane steviol.

New derivatives of steviol 1, the aglycone of the glycosides of Stevia rebaudiana, including a novel class of semisynthetic diterpenoids, namely macrocyclic ent-kauranes were synthesized. These compounds possess antituberculosis activity inhibiting the in vitro growth of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (H37R(V) strain) with MIC 5-20 µg/ml that is close to MIC 1 µg/ml demonstrated by antituberculosis drug isoniazid in control experiment. For the first time it was found that the change of ent-kaurane geometry (as in steviol 1) of tetracyclic diterpenoid skeleton to ent-beyerane one (as in isosteviol 2) influences on antituberculosis activity.

Synthesis and cytotoxicity of the conjugates of diterpenoid isosteviol and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine.

A series of conjugates of diterpenoid isosteviol (16-oxo-ent-beyeran-19-oic acid) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine was synthesised and their cytotoxicity against several human cancer cell lines (M-Hela, MCF-7, Hep G2, Panc-1, PC-3), as well as normal human cell lines (WI-38, Chang liver) was assayed. Most of the conjugates were found to be cytotoxic against the mentioned cancer cell lines in the range of IC50 values 13-89 µM. Two lead compounds 14a and 14b showed selective cytotoxicity against M-Hela (IC50 13 and 14 µM) that was two times as high as the cytotoxicity of the anti-cancer drug Tamoxifen in control (IC50 28 µM). It was found that cytotoxic activity of the lead compounds against M-Hela cells is due to induction of apoptosis.

Synthesis and anti-cancer activities of glycosides and glycoconjugates of diterpenoid isosteviol.

A series of glycosides and glycoconjugates of diterpenoid isosteviol (16-oxo-ent-beyeran-19-oic acid) with various monosaccharide residues were synthesized and their cytotoxicity against some human cancer and normal cell lines was assayed. Most of the synthesized compounds demonstrated moderate to significant cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines M-HeLa and MCF-7. Three lead compounds exhibited selective cytotoxic activities against M-HeLa (IC50 = 10.0-15.1 µM) that were three times better than the cytotoxicity of the anti-cancer drug Tamoxifen (IC50 = 28.0 µM). Moreover, the lead compounds were not cytotoxic with respect to the normal human cell line Chang liver (IC50 > 100 µM), whereas Tamoxifen inhibited the viability of normal human Chang liver cells with an IC50 value of 46.0 µM. It was determined that the cytotoxicity of the lead compounds was due to induction of apoptosis proceeding along the mitochondrial pathway. The cytotoxic activity of the synthesized compounds substantially depended on the nature of the monosaccharide residue and its position, that is, whether the monosaccharide residue was attached directly to the isosteviol skeleton or was moved away from it by means of a polymethylene linker.

Synthesis and antituberculosis activity of the first macrocyclic glycoterpenoids comprising glucosamine and diterpenoid isosteviol.

The first macrocyclic glycoterpenoids comprising glucosamine and diterpenoid isosteviol moieties were synthesized and evaluated for inhibition activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.

Novel biomimetic systems based on amphiphilic compounds with a diterpenoid fragment: role of counterions in self-assembly.

Novel biomimetic systems are designed based on cationic surfactants composed of an isosteviol moiety and different counterions, namely bromide (S1) and tosylate (S2). The counterion structure is shown to play a crucial role in the surfactant association. A number of methods used provide evidence that only one type of aggregate, i.e., micelles are observed in the S2 systems, while a concentration-dependent association occurs in the case of S1. The DLS and fluorescence anisotropy measurements reveal that the micelle-vesicle-micelle transitions probably occur with the S1 system. The occurrence of small aggregates near the critical micelle concentration with radii of 2.5 nm is supported by NMR self-diffusion data. The Orange OT solubilization results strongly support the idea of a second threshold in the S1 system around 0.025 mM and provide evidence that hydrophobic domains occur in the aggregates. The latter property and the capacity to integrate with the lipid bilayer make it possible to suggest the newly synthesized surfactants as effective nanocontainers for hydrophobic guests.