28-deacetylbelamcandal, a tumor-promoting triterpenoid from Iris tectorum

A spiroiridal-type triterpenoid, 28-deacetylbelamcandal (1), was isolated from the rhizomes of Iris tectorum as an active principle that stimulated differentiation of human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells, a short-term screening method for 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA)-type tumor promoters. In the same manner as TPA, compound 1 bound to protein kinase C (PKC) and activated PKC, and induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha release from HL-60 cells. In an in vivo study, groups treated with 100 microg 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene plus 400 nmol of 1 showed 64.3% tumor incidence by week 20. It has thus been demonstrated that 1 represents a new structural class of mouse skin-tumor promoters.