Abstract |
Treating cancer has been challenging for decades, following countless approaches and attempts. Nucleosides, alone or as part of nucleotides, are vital elements of living systems and have shown pharmacological effects, e.g. as antibiotic or antiviral agents. We investigated the antitumor potential on human melanoma, lung and ovarian carcinomas, and on colon adenocarcinoma of a new series of purine nucleosides based on a 6-chloropurine or a 2-acetamido-6-chloropurine scaffold linked to perbenzylated hexosyl (glucosyl, galactosyl and mannosyl) residues. All compounds were tested in a sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay for their cytotoxicity and provided micromolar GI(50) values with order of magnitude comparable to structurally similar chemotherapeutics, namely 2-chloro-2 -deoxyadenosine (cladribine). Furthermore, the induction of apoptosis was established and cell cycle analysis was accomplished demonstrating a G2/M cell cycle arrest. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved. |