Discovery of an Oleanolic Acid/Hederagenin-Nitric Oxide Donor Hybrid as an EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor for Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

J Nat Prod. 2019 Nov 22;82(11):3065-3073. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b00659. Epub 2019 Nov 13.

Abstract

Natural triterpenoids, such as oleanolic acid (OA) and hederagenin, display anti-lung cancer effects, and nitric oxide (NO) is associated with some oncogenic signaling pathways. Accordingly, 17 OA/hederagenin-NO donor hybrids were designed, synthesized, and evaluated against tumor cells. The most potent compound, 13, significantly inhibited the proliferation of five tumor cell lines (IC50 4.6-5.2 μM), while hederagenin inhibited the growth of only A549 tumor cells (IC50 > 10 μM). Furthermore, compound 13 showed stronger inhibitory effects on EGFR-LTC kinase activity (IC50 0.01 μM) than hederagenin (IC50 > 20 μM) and inhibited the proliferation of gefitinib-resistant H1975 (IC50 8.1 μM) and osimertinib-resistant H1975-LTC (IC50 7.6 μM) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Moreover, compound 13 produced the most NO in H1975 tumor cells, which indicated that NO may play a synergistic role. Collectively, compound 13, a novel hederagenin-NO donor hybrid with a different chemical structure from those of the current FDA-approved EGFR-targeted anti-NSCLC drugs, may be a promising lead compound for the treatment of NSCLC expressing gefitinib-resistant EGFR with a T790 M mutation or osimertinib-resistant EGFR-LTC with an L858R/T790M/C797S mutation. This work should shed light on the discovery of new anti-NSCLC drugs targeting EGFR from natural products.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • A549 Cells
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / chemistry*
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / pharmacology*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / drug therapy*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Design
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / drug effects
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / genetics
  • ErbB Receptors / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Gefitinib / pharmacology
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Mutation
  • Nitric Oxide / metabolism
  • Nitric Oxide Donors / chemistry*
  • Nitric Oxide Donors / pharmacology*
  • Oleanolic Acid / analogs & derivatives*
  • Oleanolic Acid / chemistry
  • Oleanolic Acid / pharmacology
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / chemistry

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic
  • Nitric Oxide Donors
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Oleanolic Acid
  • EGFR protein, human
  • ErbB Receptors
  • hederagenin
  • Gefitinib