A series of acyclic symmetry bis-enediynes have been synthesized successfully and their bioactivities were evaluated. Among them, 1,6-bis(4-((2-(pyridin-2-ylethynyl)phenyl)ethynyl)phenoxy)hexane 8g showed good inhibition activity against the CCRF-CEM (GI(50) = 0.04 mu M) and HL-60 (GI(50) = 0.09 mu M) Cell lines of human leukemia. The cell cycle analysis shows that compound 8g arrests cell cycle via inhibiting Cyclin A and Cyclin B expressions in low concentration and induces a significant apoptosis progress in high concentration. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
