title: Targeting the delivery of glycan-based paclitaxel prodrugs to cancer cells via glucose transporters.
abstract: This report describes the synthesis of four novel paclitaxel based prodrugs with glycan conjugation (1-4). Glycans were conjugated using an ester or ether bond as the linker between 2'-paclitaxel and the 2'-glucose or glucuronic acid moiety. These prodrugs showed good water solubility and selective cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines, but showed reduced toxicity toward normal cell lines and cancer cell lines with low expression levels of GLUTs. The ester conjugated prodrug 1 showed the most cytotoxicity among the prodrugs examined and could be transported into cells via GLUTs. Fluorescent and confocal microscopy demonstrated that targeted cells exhibited morphological changes in tubulin and chromosomal alterations that were similar to those observed with paclitaxel treatment. Therefore, these glycan-based prodrugs may be good drug candidates for cancer therapy, and the glycan conjugation approach is an alternative method to enhance the targeted delivery of other drugs to cancer cells that overexpress GLUTs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biological Chemistry and Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yih-Shyan
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Rudeewan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tungpradit
authors.forename: Supachok
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sinchaikul
authors.forename: Feng-Ming
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Der-Zen
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Suree
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Phutrakul
authors.forename: Shui-Tein
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D006224:Cricetinae; D003412:Cricetulus; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015195:Drug Design; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D051246:Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015394:Molecular Structure; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011355:Prodrugs / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D051246:Glucose Transport Proteins, Facilitative; D011134:Polysaccharides; D011355:Prodrugs; D017239:Paclitaxel