Design and Synthesis of Pro-Apoptotic Compounds Inspired by Diatom Oxylipins

Marine Drugs

Giovanna Romano²  Emiliano Manzo³  Gian Luigi Russo¹  Giuliana d’Ippolito³  Adele Cutignano³  Maria Russo¹ 

[1] Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, Avellino 83100, Italy; E-Mails:;Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli 80121, Italy;Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, National Research Council, Pozzuoli 80078, Italy; E-Mails:

关键词: diatoms;    oxylipins;    chemical synthesis;    bioactivity;    apoptosis;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md11114527

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Oxylipins are a large and diverse family of fatty acid derivatives exhibiting different levels of oxidation of the carbon chain. They are involved in many biological functions in mammals, plants and diatoms. In this last group of organisms, they are suggested to play a role in the reproductive failure of copepod predators, showing clear pro-apoptotic effects on newborn nauplii. In this work, these compounds were tested for the ability to induce mitotic arrest in sea urchin embryos. We show for the first time that oxylipins have an increased efficacy in their corresponding methylated form. Natural oxylipins were also used as an inspiration for the rational design and synthesis of stable chemical analogs with apoptotic activity against tumor cell lines. This approach led to the synthesis of the linear C15-ketol (22) that was shown to induce apoptosis in human leukemia U-937 cells. These results are proof of the concept of the use of eco-physiological considerations as a platform to guide the search for novel drug candidates.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.