The modification of natural or semisynthetic triterpenoids with amines can be explored as a promising strategy for improving their pharmacological properties. Here, we report the design and synthesis of 11 novel amide derivatives of soloxolone methyl (SM), a cyano enone-bearing derivative of 18βH-glycyrrhetinic acid. Analysis of their bioactivities in vitro and in silico revealed their high toxicity against a panel of tumor cells (average IC50(24h) = 3.7 µM) and showed that the formation of amide moieties at the C-30 position of soloxolone did not enhance the cytotoxicity of derivatives toward tumor cells compared to SM, though it can impart an ability to pass across the blood–brain barrier. Further HPLC–MS/MS and mechanistic studies verified significant brain accumulation of hit compound 12 (soloxolone tryptamide) in a murine model and showed its high anti-glioblastoma potential. It was found that 12 induced ROS-dependent and autophagy-independent death of U87 and U118 glioblastoma cells via mitochondrial apoptosis and effectively blocked their clonogenicity, motility and capacity to form vessel-like structures. Further in vivo study demonstrated that intraperitoneal injection of 12 at a dosage of 20 mg/kg effectively inhibited the growth of U87 glioblastoma in a mouse xenograft model, reducing the proliferative potential of the tumor and leading to a depletion of collagen content and normalization of blood vessels in tumor tissue. The obtained results clearly demonstrate that 12 can be considered as a promising leading compound for drug development in glioblastoma treatment.
天然或半合成三萜类物质与胺类的修饰可以作为改善其药理学性质的有前途的策略。在这里,我们报道了11种新型苏洛酮甲基(SM)酰胺衍生物的设计和合成,这是一种含有氰基烯酮的18βH-甘草酸衍生物。体外和体内模拟分析表明,它们对一系列肿瘤细胞具有高毒性(平均IC50(24小时)= 3.7μM),并且显示在苏洛酮的C-30位置形成酰胺基团不会增强衍生物对肿瘤细胞的细胞毒性,尽管它可以赋予其穿越血脑屏障的能力。进一步的HPLC-MS/MS和机制研究验证了命中化合物12(苏洛酮色胺)在小鼠模型中的显著脑积累,并显示其高抗胶质母细胞瘤潜力。发现12通过线粒体凋亡诱导ROS依赖性和自噬无关性死亡U87和U118胶质母细胞瘤细胞,并有效阻止了它们的克隆形成能力、运动性和形成血管样结构的能力。进一步的体内研究表明,腹腔注射12剂量为20 mg/kg可以有效抑制小鼠异种移植模型中U87胶质母细胞瘤的生长,减少肿瘤的增殖潜力,并导致肿瘤组织中胶原含量的耗竭和血管的正常化。所得结果清楚地表明12可以被视为胶质母细胞瘤治疗药物开发的有前途的领先化合物。