Synthesis and biological evaluation of some novel 4'-thio-L-ribonucleosides with modified nucleobase moieties.

1,2,3,5-tetra-O-acetyl-4-thio-beta-L-ribofuranose (13) was synthesized by an improved five-step sequence starting from methyl alpha-D-lyxopyranoside. Compound 13 was then converted to the corresponding L-4'-thionucleosides 4-6 and 19 by a modified Vorbrüggen procedure. All of these nucleoside analogues were tested for their antitumour activity in vitro.

Sulfinosine-induced cell growth inhibition and apoptosis in human lung carcinomas in vitro.

In spite of tremendous effort for improved therapy, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In the present study, we used the novel purine ribunocleoside sulfinosine and evaluated its antiproliferative and apoptotic outcome on the non-small cell lung carcinoma cell line (NSCLC) and the small cell lung carcinoma cell line (SCLC). Using a BrdU incorporation-test sulfinosine inhibited cell growth in a dose dependent-manner.