Heck products of parthenolide and melampomagnolide-B as anticancer modulators that modify cell cycle progression.

(E)-13-(Aryl/heteroaryl)parthenolides (5a-i and 6a-i) were synthesized and evaluated for their ability to modify cell cycle progression during progesterone-stimulated Xenopus oocyte maturation and screened for their anticancer activity against a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines. (E)-13-(4-aminophenyl) parthenolide (5b) caused a significant inhibition of progesterone-stimulated oocyte maturation, and was determined to function downstream of MAP kinase signaling, but upstream of the activation of the universal G2/M regulator, M-phase promoting factor (MPF), cyclin B/Cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK). The compound (E)-13-(2-bromo-phenyl)parthenolide (5c) activates oocyte maturation independently of progesterone stimulation.