Research And Development Of Phospha Sugar Anti-Cancer Agents With Anti-Leukemic Activity

We have synthesized three deoxybromophospha sugar analogues, 4-bromo-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-phospholene 1-oxide (MBMPP (2)), 2,3-dibromo-3-methyl-1-phenylphospholane 1-oxide (DBMPP (3)), and 2,3,4-tribromo-3-methyl-1-phenylphospholane 1-oxide (TBMPP (4)), by the reaction of 3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-phospholene 1-oxide (1b) and/or 2 with bromine, and investigated their potentials as anti-leukemic agents against human leukemia cell lines of K562 and U937. Cells' growth inhibition was determined by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) in vitro assay. All agents showed inhibitory effects on leukemia cell proliferation, indicating that inhibition appeared to be dependent on number of bromine substituent in the heterocyclic structure. Further, the phospha sugar derivatives did not show any inhibitory effects on normal cell proliferation. These agents may facilitate the development of new strategies in molecular targeting anti-leukemic therapy.