Core-Scaffold-Inspired Asymmetric Synthesis of Polysubstituted Chiral Hexahydropyridazines that Potently Inhibit Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation by Inducing Apoptosis.

The highly enantioselective preparation of pharmacologically interesting hexahydropyridazine derivatives based on a multicomponent cascade reaction is described. This one-pot approach utilizes an organocatalytic Michael reaction followed by intermolecular α-amination and intramolecular hemiaminalization to yield a chiral pyridazine backbone with contiguous stereogenic centers and multiple functional groups in good yield and with high stereoselectivity. Compounds synthesized by this method potently inhibited proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Mechanistic studies suggest that compound 5 c exerts these anticancer effects by inducing apoptosis through extracellular signal related kinase (ERK)- and poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase (PARP)-regulated pathways, as well as mitochondrial pathways.