title: Anti-nitric oxide production activity of isothiocyanates correlates with their polar surface area rather than their lipophilicity.
abstract: There is increasing demand for novel anti-inflammatory drugs with different mechanisms of action. We synthesized a series of isothiocyanates 2b-h based on 6-(methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate (6-MITC) found in the pungent spice Wasabia japonica. Inhibitory activities against in-vitro growth of tumor cells and production of nitric oxide (NO) using the mouse macrophage-like cell line J774.1 were noted. All isothiocyanates were optimized by Hartree-Fock/3-21G model, and the logP values and the polar surface area (PSA) values were calculated. Substitution of the methylsulfinyl group (CH(3)S(O)-R) in 6-MITC with a formyl (CHO-R), a methylsulfanyl (CH(2)S-R) or a methyl (CH(3)-R) group reduced the activities of the parent isothiocyanate. Substitution with a formyl group resulted in lower lipophilicity (logP value) whereas substitution with a methylsulfanyl or methyl group resulted in a lower PSA value. The inhibitory activity of isothiocyanates showed better correlation with their PSA values rather than their partition coefficient (logP) values. Isothiocyanates with higher PSA values and some degree of logP value may have potent biological activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, 562 Nanatsuka, Shobara, Hiroshima 727-0023, Japan. noshita@pu-hiroshima.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noshita
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kidachi
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Funayama
authors.forename: Hiromasa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kiyota
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ryoyama
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D017879:Isothiocyanates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000737:chemistry; D012995:Solubility; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D031228:Wasabia / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: C505386:6-(Methylsulfinyl)hexyl isothiocyanate; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D017879:Isothiocyanates; D028321:Plant Preparations; D009569:Nitric Oxide