Syntheses and antiproliferative activities of novel phosphatidylcholines containing dehydroepiandrosterone moieties

[Display omitted] •Novel phosphocholines containing DHEA were synthesized.•The antiproliferative activities of the novel phosphatidylcholines were studied.•Incorporating DHEA at the sn-1 or sn-2 position reduces drug toxicity against normal cells (Balb/3T3).•B16 and HL-60 cell lines were most sensitive to the tested phospholipids. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a natural hormone with many beneficial properties including an anticancer activity. Unfortunately, DHEA is unstable in the body and exhibits cytotoxicity against healthy cells. In this study, a series of new phosphocholines containing DHEA at sn-1 and/or sn-2 positions were prepared. Succinic acid was used as a linker between the active drug and sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. All the compounds were evaluated in vitro for their antiproliferative activities against four cell lines: Balb/3T3, HL-60, B16, and LNCaP. The results showed that phosphocholines with DHEA at sn-1 and/or sn-2 positions did not have cytotoxic effects on the normal cell line (Balb/3T3). Mixed-chain phospholipids with DHEA and fatty acid residues showed the highest activity against tumor cell lines. The most active compound, 11c, showed a moderate cytotoxic effect against the HL-60 and B16 cell lines.