Biologically active triterpenoid derivatives III

Triterpenoids are naturally occurring substances showing a large range of biological activities, including strong cytotoxic activity. This would make them suitable for use as pharmaceuticals.

The present invention relates to the use of a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, in therapy. Preferably, the compound may be used for treating a patient suffering from leukemia, cancer or other proliferative disorder. A further embodiment relates to the use of a compound of formula (I) in an assay for detecting the phosphorylation and acetylation state of cellular substrates. The present invention also relates to novel compounds of formula (Ia).

The invention provides a novel class of compounds possessing a cytotoxic activity to a wide range of tumor cell lines. Our recent data demonstrate that selected compounds covered by these patents are hedge-hog inhibitors, pro-apoptotic compounds inducing selective release of cytochrome c from tumor cells, tubulin polymerization inhibitors, hemoxygenase I inducers, HIV maturation inhibitors, etc. These compounds will be useful as medicaments for the treatment of cancer and other diseases connected with abnormal proliferation and/or HIV infection.

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