The synthesis and biological evaluation of sanguinarine derivatives as anti-non-small cell lung cancer agents

Doxorubicin-sanguinarine nanoparticles: formulation and evaluation of breast cancer cell apoptosis and cell cycle

BACKGROUND

Therapeutic resistance fails cancer treatment. Drug-nanoparticle combinations overcome resistance. Sanguinarine-conjugated nanoparticles may boost sanguinarine's anticancer effects.

METHODS

Sanguinarine, HPMC-NPs, and doxorubicin were tested on Adriamycin-resistant MCF-7/ADR breast cancer cells, parent-sensitive MCF-7, and MCR-5 normal cells (DX).

RESULTS

Regular distribution, 156 nm diameter, <1 μm average size, 100% intensity-SN is therapeutic. Furthermore, the obtained NPs showed PDI = 0.145, zeta-potential=-37.6, and EE%=90.5%. DX sensitized MCF-7 cells (IC50 = 1.4 μM) more than MCF-7/ADR cells (IC50 = 27 μM) with RR = 19.3. SA and SN were more toxic to MCF-7/ADR cells (overexpressed with P-gp) than their sensitive parent MCF-7 cells (IC50 = 4 μM, RR = 0.6 and 0.6 μM, RR = 0.7). MCR-5 normal lung cells were more resistant to SA (IC50 = 7.2 μM) and SN (IC50 = 1.6 μM) with a selection index > 2. Synergistic cytotoxic interactions reduced the IC50 from 27 μM to 1.6 (CI = 0.1) and 0.9 (CI = 0.4) after DX and nontoxic dosages (IC20) of SA and SN. DS and SN killed 27.1% and 39.4% more cells than DX (7.7%), SA (4.9%), SN (5.5%), or untreated control (0.3%). DS and DSN lowered CCND1 and survival in MCF-7/ADR cells while raising p21 and Casp3 gene and protein expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Cellular and molecular studies suggested adjuvant chemosensitizers SA and SN to reverse MDR in breast cancer cells.

Synthesis and Antileukemia Activity Evaluation of Benzophenanthridine Alkaloid Derivatives

Thirty-three benzophenanthridine alkaloid derivatives (1a–1u and 2a–2l) were synthesized, and their cytotoxic activities against two leukemia cell lines (Jurkat Clone E6-1 and THP-1) were evaluated in vitro using a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Nine of these derivatives (1i–l, 2a, and 2i–l) with IC₅₀ values in the range of 0.18–7.94 μM showed significant inhibitory effects on the proliferation of both cancer cell lines. Analysis of the primary structure–activity relationships revealed that different substituent groups at the C-6 position might have an effect on the antileukemia activity of the corresponding compounds. In addition, the groups at the C-7 and C-8 positions could influence the antileukemia activity. Among these compounds, 2j showed the strongest in vitro antiproliferative activity against Jurkat Clone E6-1 and THP-1 cells with good IC₅₀ values (0.52 ± 0.03 μM and 0.48 ± 0.03 μM, respectively), slightly induced apoptosis, and arrested the cell-cycle, all of which suggests that compound 2j may represent a potentially useful start point to undergo further optimization toward a lead compound.