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A novel class of nonantioxidant dual inhibitors of both CO and 5-LO is described. The balance between the activity against CO and 5-LO can be shifted by modifying the substitution pattern of the phenyl moiety at the 6-position of the pyrrolizine ring. Structure-activity relationships are discussed. Compound 3e with a 4-Cl substituent (IC50 = 0.21 microM (CO); 0.18 microM (5-LO)) and 3n with a 4-OCH3 substituent (IC50 = 0.1 microM (CO); 0.24 microM (5-LO)) are the most potent and well-balanced dual inhibitors of both enzymes. The inhibition of CO was determined in a bovine thrombocyte intact cell assay and that of 5-LO using intact bovine PMNL. Compound 3e was also investigated in human cells.

Vanillin, a food flavoring agent, has been shown to suppress cancer cell migration and metastasis in a mouse model, but its mechanism of action is unknown. In this report, we have examined the antimetastatic potential of vanillin and its structurally related compounds, vanillic acid, vanillyl alcohol, and apocynin on hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-induced migration of human lung cancer cells by the Transwell assay. Vanillin and apocynin could inhibit cell migration, and both compounds selectively inhibited Akt phosphorylation of HGF signaling, without affecting phosphorylation of Met and Erk. Vanillin and apocynin could inhibit the enzymatic activity of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), as revealed by an in vitro lipid kinase assay, suggesting that inhibition of PI3K activity was a mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect on cancer cell migration, and the presence of an aldehyde or ketone group in the vanillin structure was important for this inhibition. Vanillin and apocynin also inhibited angiogenesis, determined by the chick chorioallantoic membrane assay.

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