Design, Synthesis, and Cell Lines Studies of Oleanolic Acid—Hydrogen Sulfide Donor Hybrids

Abstract

In order to develop new oleanolic acid (OA) derivatives endowed with improved antitumor activities, for the first time, a number of new hybrid compounds were reported by combining OA or 3-oxooleanolic acid with appropriate H2S-donor moiety, coupled via a suitable linker. The anti-tumor evaluation indicated that they exhibited excellent anti-cancer activities against the tested cancer cell lines. Moreover, 18d with 5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3H-1,2-dithiole-3-thione moiety as H2S donor and β-alanine as the linker, showed more potent cytotoxicity against the tested cancer cell lines than OA and 3-oxooleanolic acid, especially for A549 cells. Furthermore, the preferred compound, 18d, preferentially accumulates in cancer cells (13.6 μM) over the matched normal cells LO2 (>100 μM) in vitro. The improved antitumor activity of this hybrid was probably due to its H2S-releasing capability.

Keywords

• oleanolic acid derivative
• hydrogen sulfide
• synthesis
• anti-tumor activity