Target ROS to induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest by 5,7-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone derivative.

The 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives bearing 5,7-dimethoxyl moiety were designed, synthesized, and tested as the antitumor agents against five human cancer cell lines (A549, Hela, HepG2, NCI-H460 and HL-60). All the compounds are described herein for the first time. The structure-activity relationships indicated that the presence of chlorine atom at the 2-position was crucial for the antiproliferative activity. Further, the electrochemical properties of the representative compounds (7e, 8e and 9e) were evaluated and a definite correlation between the redox potential and the antiproliferative activity. The most potent compound 9e displayed significant anti-leukemic activity with IC50 value of 3.8 μM in HL-60 cells and weak cytotoxicity with IC50 of 40.7 μM in normal cells WI-38. In mechanistic study for 9e, the increased numbers of apoptotic cells and increased cell population at G2/M phase correlated with ROS generation. Together, our results suggested that the derivatives of 2-chlorine-1,4-naphthoquinone might be the promising candidates for the treatment of promyelocytic leukemia.