Publications by authors named "Ewa Bebenek"

Article Synopsis
  • Scientific studies suggest that adding an indole group to triterpene compounds can enhance their cancer-fighting abilities, making lipophilicity a crucial factor in evaluating new drug candidates.
  • In this study, derivatives of 3 and/or 28-indole-betulin were tested for lipophilicity using reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography, with results showing a strong correlation between measured and theoretical lipophilicity values.
  • Despite the strong correlation with lipophilicity, there was no relationship between lipophilicity and anticancer activity; however, toxicity tests on zebrafish indicated that the compounds were non-toxic, aligning with in silico predictions.
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Oxidative stress is considered one of the main reasons for the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). Depending on the stage of the disease, variable activity of the main antioxidant enzymes, i.e.

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In the presented work, a series of 22 hybrids of 8-quinolinesulfonamide and 1,4-disubstituted triazole with antiproliferative activity were designed and synthesised. The title compounds were designed using molecular modelling techniques. For this purpose, machine-learning, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics methods were used.

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Betulonic acid (B(O)A) is a pentacyclic lupane-type triterpenoid that widely exists in plants. There are scientific reports indicating anticancer activity of B(O)A, as well as the amides and esters of this triterpenoid. In the first step of the study, the synthesis of novel amide derivatives of B(O)A containing an acetylenic moiety was developed.

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Betulin derivatives are proposed to serve as an alternative to the drugs already established in oncologic treatment. Drug-induced nephrotoxicity leading to acute kidney injury frequently accompanies cancer treatment, and thus there is a need to research the effects of betulin derivatives on renal cells. The objective of our study was to assess the influence of the betulin derivatives 28-propynylobetulin (EB5) and 29-diethoxyphosphoryl-28-propynylobetulin (ECH147) on the expression of , and in renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (RPTECs) cultured in vitro.

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Due to the incidence of ovarian cancer (OC) and the limitations of available therapeutic strategies, it is necessary to search for novel therapeutic solutions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of betulin and its propynoyl derivatives against ovarian cancer cells (SK-OV-3, OVCAR-3) and normal myofibroblasts (18Co). Paclitaxel was used as the reference compound.

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Lipophilicity is one of the basic properties of a potential drug determining its solubility in non-polar solvents and, consequently, its ability to passively penetrate the cell membrane, as well as the occurrence of various pharmacokinetic processes, including adsorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET). Heterocyclic compounds containing a nitrogen atom play a significant role in the search for new drugs. In this study, lipophilicity as well as other physicochemical, pharmacokinetic and toxicity properties affecting the bioavailability of the quinolone-1,4-quinone hybrids are presented.

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Betulin, or naturally occurring triterpene, possesses promising antiproliferative activity. To further explore this potential, thirty-eight betulin acid ester derivatives modified at the C-28 position were tested for antitumor activities. Four human cancer cell lines, MV4-11 (leukemia), A549 (lung), PC-3 (prostate), MCF-7 (breast) as well as the normal BALB/3T3 (mouse fibroblasts) cell line were examined using MTT and SRB assays.

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Pentacyclic triterpenes, including betulin, are widespread natural products with various pharmacological effects. These compounds are the starting material for the synthesis of substances with promising anticancer activity. The chemical modification of the betulin scaffold that was carried out as part of the research consisted of introducing the indole moiety at the C-28 position.

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As part of the search for new medicinal substances with potential application in oncology, the synthesis of new compounds combining the betulin molecule and the indole system was carried out. The structure of the ester derivatives obtained in the Steglich reaction was confirmed by spectroscopic methods (H and C NMR, HR-MS). The obtained new 3-indolyl betulin derivatives were evaluated for anticancer activity against several human cancer cell lines (melanomas, breast cancers, colorectal adenocarcinomas, lung cancer) as well as normal human fibroblasts.

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Hybrids 1,4-quinone with quinoline were obtained by connecting two active structures through an oxygen atom. This strategy allows to obtain new compounds with a high biological activity and suitable bioavailability. Newly synthesized compounds were characterized by various spectroscopic methods.

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Betulin and its derivatives, 28-propyne derivative EB5 and 29-diethyl phosphonate analog ECH147, are promising compounds in anti-tumor activity studies. However, their effect on kidney cells has not yet been studied. The study aimed to determine whether betulin and its derivatives-EB5 and ECH147-influence the viability and oxidative status of human renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (RPTECs).

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Article Synopsis
  • Neuroblastoma (NB) and rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) are challenging pediatric cancers with no effective treatments for advanced stages, highlighting the need for new therapies.
  • Betulin (Bet), a natural compound from birch bark, has shown anti-cancer potential; modifications of Bet led to two synthetic derivatives (EB5 and EB25/1) that were effective against pediatric cancer cells.
  • EB5 and EB25/1 demonstrated lower cell viability and proliferation than standard treatments like temozolomide and cisplatin, accelerated cell death, and disrupted cell cycles, indicating they could be promising candidates for further anti-cancer development.
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A key parameter in the design of new active compounds is lipophilicity, which influences the solubility and permeability through membranes. Lipophilicity affects the pharmacodynamic and toxicological profiles of compounds. These parameters can be determined experimentally or by using different calculation methods.

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A series of 30-diethylphosphate derivatives of betulin were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxic activity against human cancer cell lines, such as amelanotic melanoma (C-32), glioblastoma (SNB-19), and two lines of breast cancer (T47D, MDA-MB-231). The molecular structure and activities of the new compounds were also compared with their 29-phosphonate analogs. Compounds and showed the highest activity against C-32 and SNB-19 cell lines.

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Betulin (BT) is a natural pentacyclic lupane-type triterpene exhibiting anticancer activity. Betulin derivatives bearing propynoyloxy and phosphate groups were prepared in an effort to improve the availability and efficacy of the drug. In this study, a comparative assessment of the in vitro anticancer activity of betulin and its four derivatives was carried out using two human breast cancer cell lines: SK-BR-3 and MCF-7.

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In this research, betulin derivatives were bonded to the 1,4-quinone fragment by triazole linker. Furthermore, the enzymatic assay used has shown that these compounds are a good DT-diaphorase (NQO1) substrates as evidenced by increasing enzymatic conversion rates relative to that of streptonigrin. The anticancer activities of the hybrids were tested against a panel of human cell lines, like: melanoma, ovarian, breast, colon, and lung cancers.

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Article Synopsis
  • Glioma is a highly malignant brain tumor with limited treatment options, prompting the investigation of betulin derivatives as potential anti-cancer agents.
  • Researchers tested the effectiveness of acetylenic synthetic betulin derivatives (ASBDs) on glioma cells, using various assays to measure cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis.
  • The results showed that ASBDs significantly reduced glioma cell survival and were more effective than existing chemotherapies, suggesting they are promising candidates for further research in glioma treatment.
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Lupane-type pentacyclic triterpenes such as betulin and betulinic acid play an important role in the search for new therapies that would be effective in controlling viral infections. The aim of this study was the synthesis and evaluation of in vitro anti-HIV-1 activity for phosphate derivatives of 3-carboxyacylbetulin - as well as an in silico study of new compounds as potential ligands of the C-terminal domain of the HIV-1 capsid-spacer peptide 1 (CA-CTD-SP1) as a molecular target of HIV-1 maturation inhibitors. In vitro studies showed that 28-diethoxyphosphoryl-3--(3',3'-dimethylsuccinyl)betulin (compound ), the phosphate analog of bevirimat (betulinic acid derivative, HIV-1 maturation inhibitor), has IC (half maximal inhibitory concentration) equal to 0.

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Depending on temperature, the 2-amino-2H-[1,2,3]triazolo[4,5-g]quinoline-4,9-dione forms two polymorphic structures, which differ in the spatial arrangement of the amine group. Both polymorphs were investigated using different experimental methods as well as various quantum chemical calculations in order to characterise their molecular structures. We used X-ray diffraction, FT-IR and NMR (solid-state and liquid) methods supplemented by the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) and molecular orbital (HOMO, LUMO) analyses.

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Designing a new drug has recently become a very important topic that many researches are concerned with. This work relates to a newly synthesized betulin and betulone derivatives which have anticancer activity. Thin-layer chromatography was applied to evaluate the lipophilicity of these triterpenes in order to find the correlation between theoretically and experimentally calculated values of lipophilicity and the structure of compounds investigated.

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Natural 5,8-quinolinedione antibiotics exhibit a broad spectrum of activities including anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, and antimalarial activities. The structure-activity research showed that the 5,8-quinolinedione scaffold is responsible for its biological effect. The subject of this review report is a presentation of the pharmacological activity of synthetic 5,8-quinolinedione compounds containing different groups at C-6 and/or C-7 positions.

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Since the beginning of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic, many groups of drugs characterized by diverse mechanisms of action have been developed, which can suppress HIV viremia. 3--(3',3'-Dimethylsuccinyl) betulinic acid, known as bevirimat (BVM), was the first compound in the class of HIV maturation inhibitors. In the present work, phosphate and phosphonate derivatives of 3-carboxyacylbetulinic acid were synthesized and evaluated for anti-HIV-1 activity.

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Article Synopsis
  • Betulin-1,4-quinone hybrids were created by linking two active structures, enhancing their biological activity and bioavailability.
  • The synthesized compounds were tested against various cancer cell lines (glioblastoma, melanoma, breast, and lung) and displayed significant cytotoxic effects, particularly in cells with high NQO1 protein levels.
  • Molecular docking studies revealed that the type of 1,4-quinone influenced the compounds' interaction with the NQO1 protein and the resulting increase in expression of the TP53 gene, indicating a potential mechanism for inducing apoptosis in certain cancer cells.
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Betulin derivatives exhibit an antiproliferative activity and have been tested for many cancer cell lines. This paper describes a new series of 3-phosphate derivatives of betulin bearing different substituents at C28 position. The synthesized compounds were tested in vitro for their antiproliferative effect against human leukemia (MV-4-11 and CCRF/CEM), lung carcinoma (A549), prostate cancer (DU 145), melanoma (Hs 294T) cell lines, and murine leukemia P388.

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