Synthesis of 5-Alkynyltetrandrine Derivatives and Evaluation of their Anticancer Activity on A549 Cell Lines

Background: Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies and thus the development of novel therapeutic agents for managing lung cancer is imperative. Tetrandrine, a bis-benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from Stephania tetrandra S. Moore, has been found to exert cytotoxic effects on cancerous cells. Methods: A series of 5-alkynyltetrandrine derivatives was synthesized via the Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions and evaluated as potential anti-tumor agents. The anti-tumor activities of 12 compounds on lung cancer cells (A549) were evaluated using the MTT method. The population of apoptotic cells was measured using a TUNEL assay. Real-time PCR quantified the gene expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, survivin and caspase-3. The content of Cyt-C was detected using a Human Cyt-C ELISA kit. Results: Most of these compounds exhibited better activities than tetrandrine itself on A549 cells. Among them, compound 7 showed the highest cytotoxicity among the tested compounds against human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells with an IC50 of 2.94 μM. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicated that compound 7 induced apoptosis of human lung cancer A549 cells and increased the level of the proapoptotic gene Bax, release of Cyt-C from mitochondria and activation of caspase-3 genes. Conclusion: The results suggest that compound 7 exerts its antitumor activity against A549 cells through the induction of the intrinsic (mitochondrial) apoptotic pathway. These findings will contribute to the future design of more effective anti-tumor agents in lung cancer therapy.