In a previous work our group showed that some synthetic stigmastanes may play a role in immune-mediated inflammation. In this paper we report the syntheses of a series of new steroidal compounds derived from dehydroepiandrosterone and stigmasterol, and the evaluation of their in vitro inhibitory activity of the TNF-alpha production by macrophages. A preliminary qualitative structure-activity relationship was established.
Departamento de Química Orgánica and UMYMFOR (CONICET-Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales), Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón 2, Piso 3, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EGA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.