Activity of D-glucarate analogues: synergistic antiproliferative effects with retinoid in cultured human mammary tumor cells appear to specifically require the D-glucarate structure.

D-Glucarate has shown modest chemopreventive and synergistic chemopreventive effects with retinoids in a number of tumor models as well as a similar antiproliferative effect in MCF-7 human tumor cells in culture. It has been postulated that D-glucarate exerts some of its effects by equilibrium conversion to D-glucarolactone, a potent beta-glucuronidase inhibitor. In the present study, D-glucarate and a number of its analogues, including D-glucarolactone, were evaluated as antiproliferatives in the MCF-7 model with and without added retinoid. Results suggest that the effects of glucarate are reasonably specific for its structure and may not require conversion to glucarolactone.