Novel Perbutyrylated Glucose Derivatives of (–)-Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate Inhibit Cancer Cells Proliferation by Decreasing Phosphorylation of the EGFR: Synthesis, Cytotoxicity, and Molecular Docking

• Main Authors: Ya Wang, Xiao-Jing Shen, Fa-Wu Su, Yin-Rong Xie, Li-Xia Wang, Ning Zhang, Yi-Long Wu, Yun Niu, Dong-Ying Zhang, Cheng-Ting Zi, Xuan-Jun Wang, Jun Sheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: Molecules
• Subjects: EGCG; synthesis; cytotoxicity; EGFR; molecular docking
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/14/4361

Lung cancer is one of the most commonly occurring cancer mortality worldwide. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an important role in cellular functions and has become the new promising target. Natural products and their derivatives with various structures, unique biological activities, and specific selectivity have served as lead compounds for EGFR. D-glucose and EGCG were used as starting materials. A series of glucoside derivatives of EGCG (<b>7</b>–<b>12</b>) were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro anticancer activity against five human cancer cell lines, including HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, MCF-7, and SW480. In addition, we investigated the structure-activity relationship and physicochemical property–activity relationship of EGCG derivatives. Compounds <b>11</b> and <b>12</b> showed better growth inhibition than others in four cancer cell lines (HL-60, SMMC-7721, A-549, and MCF), with IC₅₀ values in the range of 22.90–37.87 μM. Compounds <b>11</b> and <b>12</b> decreased phosphorylation of EGFR and downstream signaling protein, which also have more hydrophobic interactions than EGCG by docking study. The most active compounds <b>11</b> and <b>12</b>, both having perbutyrylated glucose residue, we found that perbutyrylation of the glucose residue leads to increased cytotoxic activity and suggested that their potential as anticancer agents for further development.