In the present study, four novel ginsenosides fatty acid and aromatic acid derivatives were designed and synthesized, and their cytotoxic effects on human ovarian carcinoma cells (SKOV3) were assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results demonstrated that all derivatives inhibited SKOV3 cell growth, and Compound 3 showed the most outstanding anti-proliferative effect on SKOV3 cells. The IC50 value of Compound 3 was 33.8 ± 2.21 µM, less than half of that of cis-platinum (70.1 ± 7.64 µM). Subsequent analysis revealed that Compound 3 could promote SKOV3 cell apoptosis, and the percentage of apoptotic cell population increased with increasing Compound 3 concentrations. In addition, the expression ratios of Bax/Bcl-2, cleaved-Caspase-3/Caspase-3 and cleaved-Caspase-9/Caspase-9 were gradually elevated in Compound 3-treated SKOV3 cells compared with control cells. Furthermore, translocation of Bax to mitochondria was associated with the release of Cytochrome C. Molecular docking analysis revealed three hydrogen-bonds existed in Compound 3 with poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase (PARP) receptor (PDB code: 5DSY), which may be the target of the anti-ovarian cancer effect of Compound 3. Altogether, our study indicates that Compound 3 induces SKOV3 cell apoptosis via reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent mitochondrial pathway, and can serve as an anti-cancer agent for treating ovarian carcinoma.
Keywords: apoptosis; human ovarian carcinoma cell (SKOV3); mitochondrial pathway; molecular docking; pseudo-sapogenin DQ; synthesis.