Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2008-05-15

Possible chemical mechanisms underlying the antitumor activity of S-deoxyleinamycin.

Santhosh Sivaramakrishnan, Kent S Gates

Index: Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 18 , 3076-80, (2008)

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Abstract

Though less potent than the parent natural product leinamycin, S-deoxyleinamycin displays activity against human cancer cell lines that is comparable to many clinically used agents. The results reported here suggest that the 1,2-dithiolan-3-one heterocycle found in S-deoxyleinamycin reacts with thiols to generate a persulfide intermediate (RSS(-)) that could deliver biologically active polysulfides, hydrogen sulfide, and reactive oxygen species (O2*-, H(2)O(2), and HO*) to the interior of cells.