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Two series of andrographolide derivatives with introduction of amide moiety into ring A by Beckmann rearrangement were synthesized. In series 1, the ring A was converted to caprolactam, and an amide moiety was linked to C-19 of ring A in series 2. Among them, compound 8h exhibited obvious inhibition on HK2 enzyme activity (IC50 = 9.36 ± 0.08 μM) and LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 cells (IC50 = 22.38 ± 3.57 μM), and potent binding affinity with HK2 (Kd = 5.12 ± 0.82 μM). The preliminary structure-activity relationships (SARs) suggested that the formation of caprolactam of ring A and esterification of C-19-hydroxyl could improve the inhibitory effects on HK2 enzyme of andrographolide derivatives. Furthermore, compound 8h significantly reduced the levels of IL-1β and IL-6, down-regulated the expressions of iNOS and COX-2. Its anti-inflammatory effect was related to the inhibition of both NF-κB pathway and glycolysis enzyme HK2. Since HK2 could be a novel and effective target for anti-inflammation, compound 8h might be a new anti-inflammatory agent targeting at HK2, or serve as a lead compound to design and synthesize more HK2 inhibitors with better inflammatory effects.

As a continuation of our research on developing potent and potentially safe anti-proliferative agents, two series of novel Jiyuan Oridonin A-1,2,3-triazole-azole hybrids were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anti-proliferative activity against four selected cancer cell lines (MGC-803, MCF-7, PC-3, Eca-109). Some compounds with better growth inhibitory effects were chosen to carry out further studies in A549 and SMMC-7721. Most of the synthesized compounds exhibited moderate to good activity against all the cancer cell lines selected. Particularly, the most active agent 8b showed high potency against human cancer cells with IC50 ranging from 0.2 ± 0.0 to 5.0 ± 0.9 μM. Cellular mechanism studies elucidated compound 8b arrests cell cycle at G1 phase and induce a strong apoptotic response in SMMC-7721 cells. Furthermore, 8b could inhibit the colony formation and migration via Wnt signaling pathway in SMMC-7721 cells. For all these reasons, compound 8b holds promising potential as anti-proliferative agent.