For local treatment of ulcerative colitis, a new azoreductase driven prodrug CDDO-AZO from bardoxolone methyl (CDDO-Me) and 5-aminosalicylate (5-ASA) was designed, synthesized and biologically evaluated. It is proposed that orally administrated CDDO-AZO is stable before reaching the colon, while it can also be triggered by the presence of azoreductase in the colon to fragment into CDDO-Me and 5-ASA, generating potent anti-colitis effects. Superior to olsalazine (OLS, a clinically used drug for ulcerative colitis) and CDDO-Me plus 5-ASA, CDDO-AZO significantly attenuated inflammatory colitis symptoms in DSS-induced chronic colitis mice, which suggested that CDDO-AZO may be a promising anti-ulcerative colitis agent.
Animals ; Colitis/drug therapy* ; Mesalamine/pharmacology* ; Mice ; Nitroreductases ; Oleanolic Acid/pharmacology* ; Prodrugs

Hypoxia, a state of low oxygen, is a common feature of solid tumors and is associated with disease progression as well as resistance to radiotherapy and certain chemotherapeutic drugs. Hypoxic regions in tumors, therefore, represent attractive targets for cancer therapy. To date, five distinct classes of bioreactive prodrugs have been developed to target hypoxic cells in solid tumors. These hypoxia-activated prodrugs, including nitro compounds, N-oxides, quinones, and metal complexes, generally share a common mechanism of activation whereby they are reduced by intracellular oxidoreductases in an oxygen-sensitive manner to form cytotoxins. Several examples including PR-104, TH-302, and EO9 are currently undergoing phase II and phase III clinical evaluation. In this review, we discuss the nature of tumor hypoxia as a therapeutic target, focusing on the development of bioreductive prodrugs. We also describe the current knowledge of how each prodrug class is activated and detail the clinical progress of leading examples.
Anthraquinones ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Aziridines ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Hypoxia ; drug effects ; Humans ; Indolequinones ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Molecular Structure ; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone) ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Nitrogen Mustard Compounds ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Nitroimidazoles ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Phosphoramide Mustards ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Prodrugs ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Triazines ; chemistry ; pharmacology

A series of valproic acid salicylanilide esters were designed and synthesized based on the principle of prodrug. The structures of the target compounds were confirmed by MS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR. Anti-tumor activities of these compounds against K562, A549, A431 cells in vitro were investigated by MTT assay and SRB assay. The results indicated that the compounds 6h-6j were found to have stronger cell growth inhibitory action than gefitinib, and comparable to niclosamide, which are worth to be intensively studied further.
Antineoplastic Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Drug Design ; Esters ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; K562 Cells ; Molecular Structure ; Prodrugs ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Salicylanilides ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Structure-Activity Relationship ; Valproic Acid ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Sapacitabine is an orally bioavailable prodrug of the nucleoside analog 2'-C-cyano-2'-deoxy-1-β-D-arabino-pentofuranosylcytosine (CNDAC). Both the prodrug and active metabolite are in clinical trials for hematologic malignancies and/or solid tumors. CNDAC has a unique mechanism of action: after incorporation into DNA, it induces single-strand breaks (SSBs) that are converted into double-strand breaks (DSBs) when cells go through a second S phase. In our previous studies, we demonstrated that CNDAC-induced SSBs can be repaired by the transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair pathway, whereas lethal DSBs are mainly repaired through homologous recombination. In the current work, we used clonogenic assays to compare the DNA damage repair mechanism of CNDAC with two other deoxycytidine analogs: cytarabine, which is used in hematologic malignacies, and gemcitabine, which shows activity in solid tumors. Deficiency in two Rad51 paralogs, Rad51D and XRCC3, greatly sensitized cells to CNDAC, but not to cytarabine or gemcitabine, indicating that homologous recombination is not a major mechanism for repairing damage caused by the latter two analogs. This study further suggests clinical activity and application of sapacitabine that is distinct from that of cytarabine or gemcitabine.
Animals ; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic ; pharmacology ; Arabinonucleosides ; pharmacology ; CHO Cells ; Cricetinae ; Cricetulus ; Cytarabine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Cytosine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; DNA Breaks, Double-Stranded ; drug effects ; DNA Repair ; drug effects ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; deficiency ; Deoxycytidine ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Homologous Recombination ; genetics ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Prodrugs

In this research, phosphate and thiophosphate prodrugs 3a, 3b of anti-HIV agent AZT were synthesized, and their anti-HIV activities and cytotoxicities were investigated in vitro. Results showed that the prodrugs 3a and 3b with an IC50 value of 11.0 and 4.0 micromol x L(-1), respectively, were less toxic than AZT (1.0 micromol x L(-1)). Although the EC50 values of both 3a (0.04 micromol x (L(-1) and 3b (0.16 micromol x L(-1)) were lower than that of AZT (0.01 micromol x L(-1)), the therapeutic index (IC50/EC50) of prodrug 3a (275) was much higher than that of both AZT (100) and prodrug 3b (25). This indicated that the prodrug 3a merited further investigation as an anti-HIV agent.
Anti-HIV Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; cytology ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Humans ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Prodrugs ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Zidovudine ; analogs & derivatives ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

To design and synthesize a series of novel scutellarein 4'-L-amino acid prodrugs with more potent anti-oxidative activity and improved physicochemical properties. Scutellarein was used as lead compound, according to successful experience of improving bioavailability of oral administration drugs by active transport mechanism, principle of hybridization was used to introducing L-amino acid structural fragments at 4'-position of scutellarein to design and synthesize target scutellarein 4'-L-amino acid prodrugs. The synthetic compounds were tested on their physicochemical properties and in vitro anti-oxidative activity against H202 induced oxidative damage in PC12 cells. Five compounds were found to have more potent anti-oxidative activity than positive control VE. Moreover the physicochemical properties of synthesized compounds were evaluated, and the results revealed that L-amino acid ether derivatives are more stable (t1/2 9-92 h) than their corresponding ester derivatives (t1/2 0.5 h). Water solubility of scutellarein 4'-L-amino acid ester and ether derivatives were 1 796-4 100 microg.mL-1 and 27.7-81.1 microg.mL-1 respectively, in comparison with scutellarin, the solubility of compounds 18, 19 and 22, 24-27 increased about 120-280 fold and 2-6 fold respectively. All these results suggested that L-amino acid prodrug strategy has significant potential in scutellarein prodrug design.
Amino Acids ; chemistry ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Apigenin ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Biological Availability ; Drug Design ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; metabolism ; PC12 Cells ; Prodrugs ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; pharmacology ; Rats

A series of adefovir mono-L-amino acid esters, mono non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs carboxylic ester prodrugs with more potent anti-HBV activity and lower nephrotoxicity were designed and synthesized. Adefovir bis (L-amino acid) ester was used as lead compound, according to pathological and pharmacological findings that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can effectively inhibit the organic anion transporter 1 (hOAT1)-mediated adefovir phosphonic acid pairs of anion transport across tubular basement membrane thereby reducing the nephrotoxicity of adefovir. Flatten design principle was used to introducing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs structural fragments to design and synthesize target adefovir mixture ester prodrugs. HepG2 2.2.15 cell line was used as in vitro anti-HBV activity evaluation model. Five compounds exhibited antiviral activity, and compound 18 showed the most potent anti-HBV activity and relatively high selective index (EC50 3.92 micromol L(-1), SI 9.97). HK-2 cell line was used as in vitro model to evaluate nephrotoxicity. Results suggested the target compounds have lower cytotoxicity than the positive control. Moreover, by analyzing the primary structure and activity relationship of these compounds, it could suggest that mono-L-amino acid ester, mono non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs carboxylic ester prodrugs strategy has significant potential in the acyclic nucleoside phosphonates prodrug design.
Adenine ; analogs & derivatives ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Amino Acids ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Antiviral Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Carboxylic Acids ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; Drug Design ; Hep G2 Cells ; drug effects ; Humans ; Kidney Tubules, Proximal ; cytology ; metabolism ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; metabolism ; Molecular Structure ; Organophosphonates ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Prodrugs ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Targeted drug delivery can significantly increase the concentration of the drug in treatment site, and decrease the dosage of drugs, cost of treatment and the drug's adverse effects on the body. So targeted drug delivery is the hotspot of recent studies. This paper reviews the development of targeted drug delivery research in recent years, including three areas: passive targeting, active targeting, and physical and chemical targeting.
Animals ; Antibodies ; metabolism ; Drug Carriers ; Drug Delivery Systems ; methods ; trends ; Emulsions ; Humans ; Liposomes ; Magnetics ; Microspheres ; Nanoparticles ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; administration & dosage ; Photosensitizing Agents ; pharmacology ; Prodrugs ; Receptors, Cell Surface ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo develop a new prodrug of 5-fluorouracil-polyethylenimine-beta-cyclodextrin-floxuridine (PEI-beta-CyD-Fd) and to test its antitumor activity.

METHODSFloxuridine was conjugated to polyethylenimine-beta-cyclodextrin to form prodrug PEI-beta-CyD-Fd. The structure of synthesized PEI-beta-CyD-Fd was confirmed by (1)H-NMR, FT-IR and UV. MTT assay and cell wound healing assay were performed on human hepatic carcinoma cell line HepG2.

RESULTThe drug loading was 2 %. The MTT assay and cell wound healing assay indicated that PEI-beta-CyD-Fd significantly inhibited proliferation and migration of HepG2 cells.

CONCLUSIONThe synthesized prodrug PEI-CyD-Fd has a significant antitumor activity on HepG2 cells.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Floxuridine ; pharmacology ; Fluorouracil ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Polyethyleneimine ; pharmacology ; Prodrugs ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; beta-Cyclodextrins ; pharmacology

To design and synthesize the hepatic targeting anticancer prodrug with norcantharidin (NCTD-Gal) conjugating structure, galactosylated NCTD derivatives were synthesized from NCTD analogues modified by a series of amino acids via acylation, hydrolysis, glycosylation and deacetylation. Seven new compounds were synthesized as beta-O-glycosides and characterized by IR, MS, NMR and element analysis. The compound 4a was chosen for the inchoate antitumor experiments on mice. The result showed that the antitumor inhibition rate of 4a groups with medium and high dose are clearly higher than that of NCTD group, which suggests that anticancer effect of NCTD is improved at a certain degree by galactosylation.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Female ; Galactose ; chemistry ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Prodrugs ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology