A New Synthetic Curcuminoid Displays Antitumor Activities in Metastasized Melanoma

Aim: The semisynthetic derivatives MePip-SF5 and isogarcinol, which are aligned with the natural products curcumin and garcinol, were tested for their antitumor effects in a preclinical model of pulmonary melanoma metastasis. Methods and results: MePip-SF5 was almost five times more effective in inhibiting B16F10 melanoma cell proliferation than its original substance of curcumin (IC(50) MePip-SF5 2.8 vs. 13.8 µM). Similarly, the melanoma cytotoxicity of isogarcinol was increased by 40% compared to garcinol (IC(50) 3.1 vs. 2.1 µM). The in vivo toxicity of both drugs was assessed in healthy C57BL/6 mice challenged with escalating doses. Isogarcinol induced toxicity above a dose of 15 mg/kg, while MePip-SF5 showed no in vivo toxicity up to 60 mg/kg. Both drugs were tested in murine pulmonary metastatic melanoma. C57BL/6 mice (n = 10) received 500,000 B16F10 melanoma cells intravenously. After intraperitoneal injection of MePip-SF5 (60 mg/kg) or isorgarcinol (15 mg/kg) at days 8, 11 and 14 and sacrifice at day 16, the MePip-SF5-treated mice showed a significantly (p < 0.05) lower pulmonary macroscopic and microscopic tumor load than the vehicle-treated controls, whereas isogarcinol was ineffective. The pulmonary RNA levels of the mitosis marker Bub1 and the inflammatory markers TNFα and Ccl3 were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced in the MePip-SF5-treated mice. Both drugs were well tolerated, as shown by an organ inspection and normal liver- and kidney-related serum parameters. Conclusions: The novel curcuminoid MePip-SF5 showed a convincing antimetastatic effect and a lack of systemic toxicity in a relevant preclinical model of metastasized melanoma.