The application of Heck reaction in the synthesis of guaianolide sesquiterpene lactones derivatives selectively inhibiting resistant acute leukemic cells.

A series of guaianolide-type sesquiterpene lactones derivatives with arylation of α-methylene-γ-lactone moiety was synthesized using Heck reactions, and was evaluated for their activities against acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cell line HL-60 and doxorubicin-resistant cell line HL-60/A. Although all compounds were significantly less active against HL-60 than the parent molecules, surprisingly, compounds 3a, 4c-4e, 5e, and 8d exhibited high potency against doxorubicin-resistant cell line HL-60/A (IC50=6.2-19 μM), and their activities against HL-60/A were comparable to that of their parent molecules. In view of their novel activities against HL-60/A, compound 5e with inhibitory activity against HL-60/A (IC50=6.2±0.5 μM) was selected for study its preliminary mechanism. The result reveals that compound 5e can obviously induce apoptosis.