Regio- and stereoselective synthesis of pregnane-fused isoxazolines by nitril-oxide/alkene 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and an evaluation of their cell-growth inhibitory effect in vitro

•Isoxazoline hetero rings were introduced into ring D of the sterane core.•Intermolecular alkene−nitrile oxide cycloadditions were carried out.•The stereo- and regioselectivity of the ring-closures were investigated.•The structures of all novel compounds were confirmed by NMR measurements.•Antiproliferative effects were determined in vitro on 4 malignant human cell lines.

Efficient syntheses of some pregnane-fused isoxazolines from 16-dehydropregnenolone acetate with different arylnitrile oxides were carried out by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. The intermolecular ring-closures occurred in a highly regio- and stereoselective manner permitting the formation of a single 16α,17α-condensed diastereomer in which the O terminus of the nitrile oxide dipole is attached to C-17 of the sterane core. The conversions were found to be affected significantly by the electronic character of the substituents on the aromatic moiety of the 1,3-dipoles. Deacetylation of the primary products resulted in the corresponding 3β-OH analogs. All of the synthesized compounds were subjected to in vitro pharmacological studies for the determination of their antiproliferative effects on four breast cancer cell lines (MCF7, T47D, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-361).

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