Synthesis and Cytotoxicity against K562 Cells of 3-O-Angeloyl-20-O-acetyl Ingenol, a Derivative of Ingenol Mebutate

Ingenol mebutate possesses significant cytotoxicity and is clinically used to treat actinic keratosis. However, ingenol mebutate undergoes acyl migration which affects its bioactivity. Compound 3-O-angeloyl-20-O-acetyl ingenol (AAI, also known as 20-O-acetyl-ingenol-3-angelate or PEP008) is a synthetic derivative of ingenol mebutate. In this work, we report the AAI synthesis details and demonstrate AAI has higher cytotoxicity than ingenol mebutate in a chronic myeloid leukemia K562 cell line. Our data indicate that the increased activity of AAI originates from the improved intracellular stability of AAI rather than the increased binding affinity between AAI and the target protein protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ). AAI inhibits cell proliferation, induces G2/M phase arrest, disrupts the mitochondrial membrane potential, and stimulates apoptosis, as well as necrosis in K562 cells. Similar to ingenol mebutate, AAI activates PKCδ and extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), and inactivates protein kinase B (AKT). Furthermore, AAI also inhibits JAK/STAT3 pathway. Altogether, our studies show that ingenol derivative AAI is cytotoxic to K562 cells and modulates PKCδ/ERK, JAK/STAT3, and AKT signaling pathways. Our work suggests that AAI may be a new candidate of chemotherapeutic agent.