To discover the promising antitumor agents, a series of β-carboline derivatives with nitrogen mustard moieties were designed and synthesized. Most target derivatives showed antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. Among them, (1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indol-3-yl)methyl (S)-3-(4-(bis(2-chloroethyl)amino)phenyl)-2-formamidopropanoate possessed the most potent antiproliferative activity with IC₅₀ values of 1.79 μM and 4.96 μM, respectively, which were significantly higher than that of the parent compounds, and the efficacy was comparable to that of the positive control doxorubicin. More importantly, it showed weak cytotoxicity against human normal breast cell line MCF-10A (IC₅₀ > 20 μM), exhibiting certain selectivity. Subsequently, further mechanism exploration indicated that it induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. The DCFH-DA fluorescent probe assay and comet assay showed that this compound could cause intracellular ROS accumulation and DNA damage. In addition, it exerted potent inhibitory effect on the migration, invasion and adhesion of MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro. In short, (1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indol-3-yl)methyl (S)-3-(4-(bis(2-chloroethyl)amino)phenyl)-2-formamidopropanoate was considered as a promising compound for anti-breast cancer.

为了发现有前景的抗肿瘤剂，设计并合成了一系列具有氮芥部分的β-咔啉衍生物。大多数目标衍生物对 MCF-7 和 MDA-MB-231 细胞显示出抗增殖活性。其中，（1-甲基-9- ħ -吡啶并[3,4- b ]吲哚-3-基）甲基（小号）-3-（4-（双（2-氯乙基）氨基）苯基）-2- formamidopropanoate具有最强的抗增殖活性，IC ₅₀值分别为 1.79 μM 和 4.96 μM，显着高于母体化合物，功效与阳性对照阿霉素相当。更重要的是，它对人正常乳腺细胞系 MCF-10A（IC₅₀  > 20 μM)，表现出一定的选择性。随后，进一步的机制探索表明它在MDA-MB-231细胞中诱导了G2/M期细胞周期阻滞和凋亡。DCFH-DA 荧光探针试验和彗星试验表明，该化合物可导致细胞内 ROS 积累和 DNA 损伤。此外，它在体外对MDA-MB-231细胞的迁移、侵袭和粘附发挥了强效抑制作用。简而言之，(1-甲基-9 H-吡啶并[3,4- b ]吲哚-3-基)甲基( S )-3-(4-(双(2-氯乙基)氨基)苯基)-2-甲酰氨基丙酸酯被认为是一种有前途的抗乳腺癌化合物。