Computational and synthetic studies towards improving rescinnamine as an inducer of MSH2-dependent apoptosis in cancer treatment.

We, and others, have previously shown that mismatch repair proteins, in addition to their repair function, contribute to cell death initiation. In response to some drugs, this cell death activity is independent of the repair function of the proteins. Rescinnamine, a derivative of the indole alkaloid reserpine, a drug used to treat hypertension several decades ago, was shown to target the cell death-initiating activity of mismatch repair proteins. When used in animals, the hypotensive action of this drug prevents applying appropriate concentrations for statistically significant tumor reduction. Using a combination of computational modeling, chemical synthesis and cell assays, we determine how rescinnamine can be structurally modified and what effect these modifications have on cell survival. These results inform further computational modeling to suggest new synthetic lead molecules to move toward further biological testing.