Development of novel 9-O-substituted-13-octylberberine derivatives as potential anti-hepatocellular carcinoma agents

Abstract

A series of novel 9-O-substituted-13-octylberberine derivatives were designed, synthesised and evaluated for their anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) activities. Compound 6k showed the strongest activity against three human hepatoma cells including HepG2, Sk-Hep-1 and Huh-7 cells with IC₅₀ values from 0.62 to 1.69 μM, which were much superior to berberine (IC₅₀ >50 μM). More importantly, 6k exhibited lower cytotoxicity against normal hepatocytes L-02 with good lipid-water partition properties. The mechanism studies revealed that 6k caused G2/M phase arrest of the cell cycle, stabilised G-quadruplex DNA, and induced apoptosis via a mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Finally, the in vivo anti-HCC activity of 6k was validated in the H22 liver cancer xenograft mouse model. Collectively, the current study would provide a new insight into the discovery of novel, safe and effective anti-HCC agents.

Keywords:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma
• natural product
• berberine
• lipid-water partition coefficient
• mitochondrial dysfunction

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by the Jiangsu Specially-Appointed Professors program (No. 013038023001).