New inhibitors of the thioredoxin-thioredoxin reductase system based on a naphthoquinone spiroketal natural product lead

Natural products of the naphthoquinone spiroketal structural type served as lead structures for the development of novel inhibitors of the thioredoxin-thioredoxin reductase redox. system. The most potent compound in this series inhibited thioredoxin with an IC50 of 350 nM, and many derivatives showed low micromolar activities for growth inhibition against two breast cancer cell lines. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.