Probing Chemical Space with Alkaloid-Inspired Libraries

Screening of small molecule libraries is an important aspect of probe and drug discovery science. Numerous authors have suggested that bioactive natural products are attractive starting points for such libraries, due to their structural complexity and sp3-rich character. Here, we describe the construction of a screening library based on representative members of four families of biologically active alkaloids (Stemonaceae, the structurally related cyclindricine and lepadiformine families, lupin, and Amaryllidaceae). In each case, scaffolds were based on structures of the naturally occurring compounds or a close derivative. Scaffold preparation was pursued following the development of appropriate enabling chemical methods. Diversification provided 686 new compounds suitable for screening. The libraries thus prepared had structural characteristics, including sp3 content, comparable to a basis set of representative natural products and were highly rule-of-five compliant

Migrastatin Analogues Inhibit Canine Mammary Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion

BACKGROUND: Cancer spread to other organs is the main cause of death of oncological patients. Migration of cancer cells from a primary tumour is the crucial step in the complex process of metastasis, therefore blocking this process is currently the main treatment strategy. Metastasis inhibitors derived from natural products, such as, migrastatin, are very promising anticancer agents. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the effect of six migrastatin analogues (MGSTA-1 to 6) on migration and invasion of canine mammary adenocarcinoma cell lines isolated from primary tumours and their metastases to the lungs. Canine mammary tumours constitute a valuable tool for studying multiple aspect of human cancer. RESULTS: Our results showed that two of six fully synthetic analogues of migrastatin: MGSTA-5 and MGSTA-6 were potent inhibitors of canine mammary cancer cells migration and invasion. These data were obtained using the wound healing test, as well as trans-well migration and invasion assays. Furthermore, the treatment of cancer cells with the most effective compound (MGSTA-6) disturbed binding between filamentous F-actin and fascin1. Confocal microscopy analyses revealed that treatment with MGSTA-6 increased the presence of unbound fascin1 and reduced co-localization of F-actin and fascin1 in canine cancer cells. Most likely, actin filaments were not cross-linked by fascin1 and did not generate the typical filopodial architecture of actin filaments in response to the activity of MGSTA-6. Thus, administration of MGSTA-6 results in decreased formation of filopodia protrusions and stress fibres in canine mammary cancer cells, causing inhibition of cancer migration and invasion. CONCLUSION: Two synthetic migrastatin analogues (MGSTA-5 and MGSTA-6) were shown to be promising compounds for inhibition of cancer metastasis. They may have beneficial therapeutic effects in cancer therapy in dogs, especially in combination with other anticancer drugs. However, further in vivo studies are required to verify this hypothesis