Bulbispermine: A Crinine-Type Amaryllidaceae Alkaloid Exhibiting Cytostatic Activity towards Apoptosis-Resistant Glioma Cells

摘要

The Amaryllidaceae alkaloid bulbispermine was derivatized to produce a small group of synthetic analogues. These, together with bulbispermine’s natural crinine-type congeners, were evaluated in vitro against a panel of cancer cell lines with various levels of resistance to proapoptotic stimuli. Bulbispermine, haemanthamine and haemanthidine showed the most potent antiproliferative activities as determined by the MTT colorimetric assay. Among the synthetic bulbispermine analogues, only the C1,C2-dicarbamate derivative exhibited noteworthy growth inhibitory properties. All active compounds were found not to discriminate between the cancer cell lines based on the apoptosis sensitivity criterion and displayed comparable potencies in both cell types, indicating that apoptosis induction is not the primary mechanism responsible for antiproliferative activity in this series of compounds. It was also found that bulbispermine inhibits the proliferation of glioblastoma cells through cytostatic effects, possibly arising from the rigidification of the actin cytoskeleton. These findings lead us to argue that crinine-type alkaloids are potentially useful drug leads for the treatment of apoptosis resistant cancers and glioblastoma in particular.