Antiproliferative potential of sarcophine and its semisynthetic sulfur-containing derivatives against human mammary carcinoma cell lines

The marine-derived cembranoid sarcophine (1) and its sulfur-containing semisynthetic derivatives (2–6) were evaluated for anticancer potential using cell cycle progression markers. No effect on MCF-7 cell viability or apoptosis was seen with these derivatives at concentrations of up to 100 μM after 72 h of incubation. At 100 μM, sarcophine and its derivatives 2–5 arrested the MCF-7 cells in G0/G1 phase, with concomitant decrease in the cell populations at S and G2+M phases. MDA-MB-231 cells were not responsive to any of the derivatives. Our preliminary results suggest that the sulfur-containing derivatives of sarcophine, especially 2 and 3, show potent and cell-specific antiproliferative activity.