Preparation and bioactivity of cationic porphyrins bearing mixed 3-quinolyl and 3-pyridyl meso groups

AIM: To search for the potent telomerase inhibitors with structures of cationic porphyrins to improve the interactions between G-quadruplex and porphyrins by systematically varying the meso substituents. METHOD: Porphyrins bearing mixed 3-quinolyl/3-pyridyl meso groups were synthesized using the Adler-Longo method by condensation of aldehydes with pyrrole, followed by methylation and ion-exchange. The compounds were tested for the telomerase inhibitory activity and c-Myc inhibitory activity. RESULT: All compounds were found to be potent and approximately equivalent in terms of their ability to inhibit the action of telomerase in a cell-free assay. Compound 4 had the best inhibitory activity on c-Myc.