Cytotoxic Oxygenated Steroids from the Soft Coral Nephthea erecta

Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). 2016 Oct 1;64(10):1519-1522. doi: 10.1248/cpb.c16-00426. Epub 2016 Aug 3.

Abstract

A new 10-demethylated steroid, nephtheasteroid A (1), a new 19-oxygenated steroid, nephtheasteroid B (2) as well as five known steroids 3-7 were isolated from the organic extract of a Taiwanese soft coral Nephthea erecta. The structure was determined by means of IR, MS, and NMR techniques. Among these metabolites, 1 is rarely found in steroids possessing a 19-norergostane skeleton. In vitro cytotoxicity study using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay revealed that compounds 3 and 4 exhibited cytotoxicity against human chronic myelogenous leukemia (K562), human acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Molt-4), human T lymphoblastoid (Sup-T1), and human leukemic monocyte lymphoma (U937), with IC50 of 6.5-14.0 µM.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anthozoa / chemistry*
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / isolation & purification
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / pharmacology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
  • Humans
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Steroids / chemistry
  • Steroids / isolation & purification
  • Steroids / pharmacology*
  • Sterols / chemistry
  • Sterols / isolation & purification
  • Sterols / pharmacology*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic
  • Steroids
  • Sterols