hematoxylin

Hematoxylin (Natural Black 1) is a dye obtained from the heartwood of logwood (Haematoxylon campechianum Linn., Leguminosae) used as a stain in microscopy and in the manufacture of ink.

Hematein inhibits Akt/PKB Ser129 phosphorylation, the Wnt/TCF pathway, and increases apoptosis in lung cancer cells. Hematein is an oxidation product of hematoxylin acted as a dye and it also is an allosteric casein kinase II inhibitor (IC50: 0.74 μM).

DW532 is one of simplified analogues of hematoxylin that has shown broad-spectrum inhibition on tyrosine kinases and in vitro anti-cancer activities. DW532 inhibited EGFR and VEGFR2 in vitro kinase activity (the IC50 values were 4.9 and 5.5 μmol/L, respectively), and suppressed their downstream signaling. DW532 dose-dependently inhibited tubulin polymerization via direct binding to tubulin, thus disrupting the mitotic spindle assembly and leading to abnormal cell division. In a panel of human cancer cells, DW532 (1 and 10 μmol/L) induced G2/M phase arrest and cell apoptosis, which subsequently resulted in cytotoxicity. Knockdown of BubR1 or Mps1, the two core proteins of the spindle assembly checkpoint dramatically decreased DW532-induced cell cycle arrest in MDA-MB-468 cells. Moreover, treatment with DW532 potently and dose-dependently suppressed angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. ( Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2014 Jul;35(7):916-28.)