Synthesis and biological evaluation of RON-neoglycosides as tumor cytotoxins

Cardenolides such as digitoxin have been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth, to reduce cancer metastasis, and to induce apoptosis in tumor cells. Among the most potent digitoxin-based cytotoxins identified to date are MeON-neoglycosides generated via oxyamine neoglycosylation. Here, we report our studies of oxyamine neoglycosylation aimed at facilitating the elucidation of linkage-diversified digitoxin neoglycoside structure–activity relationships. We identified conditions suitable for the convenient synthesis of digitoxin neoglycosides and found that sugar structure, rather than RON-glycosidic linkage, exerts the strongest influence on neoglycoside yield and stereochemistry. We synthesized a library of digitoxin neoglycosides and assessed their cytotoxicity against eight human cancer cell lines. Consistent with previous findings, our data show that the structure of RON-neoglycosidic linkages influences both the potency and selectivity of digitoxin neoglycosides.

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► Conditions suitable for the convenient synthesis of neoglycosides have been identified.
► Sugar structure, rather than RON-glycosidic linkage, exerts the strongest influence on neoglycoside yield and stereochemistry.
► The structure of RON-neoglycosidic linkages influences both the potency and selectivity of digitoxin neoglycosides.