Synthesis and evaluation of (±)-dunnione and its ortho-quinone analogues as substrates for NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1)
- Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2015 Mar 15;25(6):1244-8. doi: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2015.01.057.
- 1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
- 2. Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
- 3. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
- 4. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Drug Design and Optimization, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; Department of Organic Chemistry, School of Science, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
Natural product (±)-dunnione (2) and its ortho-quinone analogues (3-8) were synthesized and found to be substrates for NQO1. The structure-activity relationship study revealed that the biological activity was favored by the presence of methyl group at the C ring and methoxy group at the A ring. The docking studies supported the rationalization of the metabolic studies. Deeper location in the active site of NQO1, interactions with hydrophobic pocket and C-H…π interactions with the adjacent Phe178 residue contributed to the better catalytic efficiency and specificity to NQO1. Cytotoxicity studies and determination of superoxide (O2(-)) production in the presence and absence of the NOQ1 inhibitor dicoumarol confirmed that the ortho-quinones exerted their antitumor activity through NQO1-mediated ROS production by redox cycling.