title: Artemisinin-derived sesquiterpene lactones as potential antitumour compounds: cytotoxic action against bone marrow and tumour cells.
abstract: We determined the in vitro cytotoxic activity of the sesquiterpene lactone endoperoxide artemisinin (1) and some chemically prepared derivatives, which have been found to display cytotoxicity to cloned murine Ehrlich ascites tumour (EAT) cells and human HeLa cells and against murine bone marrow using a clonogenic assay for committed progenitor cells of the granulocyte-monocyte lineage (CFU-GM assay). Comparing artemisinin (1) to deoxyartemisinin (2), the endoperoxide group appeared to play a role in cytotoxicity to CFU-GM cells. Dimers of dihydroartemisinin and dihydrodeoxyartemisinin revealed that the stereochemistry of the ether linkage of the dimers was a more important determinant for this cytotoxic activity. The nonsymmetrical dimer of dihydroartemisinin (3) and the corresponding endoperoxide-lacking dimer of dihydrodeoxyartemisinin (5) were equally cytotoxic to CFU-GM cells. Despite the differences between both systems, it may be stated that most compounds displayed higher cytotoxicity to CFU-GM cells than to EAT cells. Dimers of dihydroartemisinin (3, 4) were selected as potential antitumour compounds and subjected to the National Cancer Institute drug-screening programme consisting of about sixty human cancer cell lines derived from nine different tissues. Both compounds displayed the same specific cytotoxicity pattern. Throughout the screen dimer 3 was more active than 4.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Biology, Groningen Institute for Drug Studies, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Beekman
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Wierenga
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Woerdenbag
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Van Uden
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pras
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Konings
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: el-Feraly
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Galal
authors.forename: H V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Wikström
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D037621:Artemisinins; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D005260:Female; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D007783:Lactones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D037621:Artemisinins; D007783:Lactones; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; C031327:artemisinin