Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Imines Structurally Related to Resveratrol as Dual Inhibitors of VEGF Protein Secretion and hTERT Gene Expression.

A group of 28 N-benzylidene aniline derivatives structurally related to the natural stilbene resveratrol has been prepared through condensation of anilines with the corresponding aldehydes. The ability of these imines to inhibit proliferation of two tumor cell lines (HT-29 and MCF-7) and one non-tumor cell line (HEK- 293) was first determined. Subsequently, we determined the ability of some of the most cytotoxic compounds to inhibit the secretion of the VEGF-A factor in HT-29 cells and to downregulate the expression of the VEGF and hTERT genes, the latter one being involved in the activation of telomerase.