Xiao Zhiyan, Vance John R, Bastow Kenneth F, Brossi Arnold, Wang Hui-Kang, Lee Kuo-Hsiung
Natural Products Laboratory, School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7360, USA.
Bioorg Med Chem. 2004 Jun 15;12(12):3363-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2004.03.056.
Eight 4'-ester epipodophyllotoxin derivatives (9-16) were designed and synthesized with the aim to overcome drug-resistance and improve water-solubility simultaneously. These compounds were superior to etoposide (1) in causing cellular protein-linked DNA breaks and inhibiting KB and 1-resistant KB-7d cell replication. Compounds 9 and 10 showed significant inhibitory activity against DNA topoisomerase II in vitro. Compound 10 also exhibited an in vitro DNA cleavage pattern similar to that of GL-331 (5). A hypothetical model on the action mode of 1-analogues is proposed based on the results.