Hybrids of 1-deoxynojirimycin and aryl-1,2,3-triazoles and biological studies related to angiogenesis Original Research Article

Hybrids of 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) and aryl-1,2,3-triazole have been synthesized with a view to identifying an inhibitor of both α-glucosidase and methionine aminopeptidase 2 (MetAP2). One compound was a potent inhibitor of α-glucosidase at both the enzyme and cellular level, and this agent also inhibited bovine aortic endothelial cell (BAEC) growth and tube formation. The anti-proliferative activity of this hybrid is due to its ability to induce cell-cycle arrest in the G1phase. The novel agent caused a reduction in the expression of cyclin D1 but did not promote apoptosis or inhibit the phosphorylation of ERK1/2. These observations indicate that its mechanism of action is distinct from fumagillin and its analogues, which inhibit MetAP2. Stress-fibre assembly in BAECs was abolished by the novel agent indicating that the inhibition of BAEC tube formation observed is partially a result of a reduction in cell motility.