α-naphthoflavone-derived cytochrome P450 (CYP)1B1 degraders specific for sensitizing CYP1B1-mediated drug resistance to prostate cancer DU145: Structure activity relationship

Development of novel N-aryl-2,4-bithiazole-2-amine-based CYP1B1 degraders for reversing drug resistance

Extrahepatic cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1), which is highly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer, is an attractive target for cancer prevention, therapy, and overcoming drug resistance. Historically, CYP1B1 inhibition has been the primary therapeutic approach for treating CYP1B1-related malignancies, but its success has been limited. This study introduced CYP1B1 degradation as an alternative strategy to counter drug resistance and metastasis in CYP1B1-overexpressing non-small cell lung cancer A549/Taxol cells via a PROTAC strategy. Our investigation revealed that the identification of the potent CYP1B1 degrader PV2, achieving DC50 values of 1.0 nM and inducing >90 % CYP1B1 degradation at concentrations as low as 10 nM in A549/Taxol cells. Importantly, PV2 enhanced the sensitivity of the A549/Taxol subline to Taxol, possibly due to its stronger inhibitory effects on P-gp through CYP1B1 degradation. Additionally, compared to the CYP1B1 inhibitor A1, PV2 effectively suppressed the migration and invasion of A549/Taxol cells by inhibiting the FAK/SRC and EMT pathways. These findings hold promise for a novel therapy targeting advanced CYP1B1+ non-small cell lung cancer.

Triazoles in Medicinal Chemistry: Physicochemical Properties, Bioisosterism, and Application

Triazole demonstrates distinctive physicochemical properties, characterized by weak basicity, various dipole moments, and significant dual hydrogen bond acceptor and donor capabilities. These features are poised to play a pivotal role in drug-target interactions. The inherent polarity of triazole contributes to its lower logP, suggesting the potential improvement in water solubility. The metabolic stability of triazole adds additional value to drug discovery. Moreover, the metal-binding capacity of the nitrogen atom lone pair electrons of triazole has broad applications in the development of metal chelators and antifungal agents. This Perspective aims to underscore the unique physicochemical attributes of triazole and its application. A comparative analysis involving triazole isomers and other heterocycles provides guiding insights for the subsequent design of triazoles, with the hope of offering valuable considerations for designing other heterocycles in medicinal chemistry.

Design of Novel 2-Phenylquinazolin-4-amines as Selective CYP1B1 Inhibitors for Overcoming Paclitaxel Resistance in A549 Cells

Cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1) contributes to the metabolic inactivation of chemotherapeutics when overexpressed in tumor cells. Selective inhibition of CYP1B1 holds promise for reversing drug resistance. In our pursuit of potent CYP1B1 inhibitors, we designed and synthesized a series of 2-phenylquinazolin-4-amines. A substantial proportion of these newly developed inhibitors demonstrated inhibitory activity against CYP1B1, accompanied by improved water solubility. Remarkably, compound 14b exhibited exceptional inhibitory efficacy and selectivity toward CYP1B1. Molecular docking studies suggested that the expansion of the π-system through aromatization, the introduction of an amine group, and iodine atom augmented the binding affinity. Furthermore, inhibitors 14a, 14b, and 14e demonstrated the ability to significantly reduce the resistance in A549 cells to paclitaxel, while also inhibiting the migration and invasion of these cells. Finally, radioiodine labeling experiments shed light on the metabolic pathway of compound 5l in mice, highlighting the potential of 125I-5l as a radioactive probe for future research endeavors.

CYP1A inhibitors: Recent progress, current challenges, and future perspectives

Mammalian cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) are key phase I xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes that play a distinctive role in metabolic activation or metabolic clearance of a variety of procarcinogens, drugs, and endogenous substances. Human CYP1A subfamily contains two members (hCYP1A1 and hCYP1A2), which are known to catalyze the oxidative activation of some environmental procarcinogens into carcinogenic species. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that CYP1A inhibitor therapies are promising strategies for cancer chemoprevention or overcoming CYP1A-associated drug toxicity and resistance. Herein, we reviewed recent advances in the discovery and characterization of hCYP1A inhibitors, from the discovery approaches to structural features and biomedical applications of hCYP1A inhibitors. The inhibition potentials, inhibition modes, and inhibition constants of all reported hCYP1A inhibitors are comprehensively summarized. Meanwhile, the structural features and structure-activity relationships of different classes of hCYP1A1 and hCYP1A2 inhibitors are analyzed and discussed in depth. Furthermore, the major challenges and future directions for this field are presented and highlighted. Collectively, the information and knowledge presented here will strongly facilitate the researchers to discover and develop more efficacious CYP1A inhibitors for specific purposes, such as chemo-preventive agents or as tool molecules in hCYP1A-related fundamental studies.

Human Adult Renal Progenitor Cells Prevent Cisplatin-Nephrotoxicity by Inducing CYP1B1 Overexpression and miR-27b-3p Down-Regulation through Extracellular Vesicles

Cisplatin is one of the most effective chemotherapeutic agents strongly associated with nephrotoxicity. Tubular adult renal progenitor cells (tARPC) can regenerate functional tubules and participate in the repair processes after cisplatin exposition. This study investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effect of tARPC on renal epithelium during cisplatin nephrotoxicity. By performing a whole-genome transcriptomic analysis, we found that tARPC, in presence of cisplatin, can strongly influence the gene expression of renal proximal tubular cell [RPTEC] by inducing overexpression of CYP1B1, a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily capable of metabolizing cisplatin and of hypoxia/cancer-related lncRNAs as MIR210HG and LINC00511. Particularly, tARPC exerted renoprotection and regeneration effects via extracellular vesicles (EV) enriched with CYP1B1 and miR-27b-3p, a well-known CYP1B1 regulatory miRNA. The expression of CYP1B1 by tARPC was confirmed by analyzing biopsies of cisplatin-treated renal carcinoma patients that showed the colocalization of CYP1B1 with the tARPC marker CD133. CYP1B1 was also overexpressed in urinary EV purified from oncologic patients that presented nephrotoxicity episodes after cisplatin treatment. Interestingly CYP1B1 expression significantly correlated with creatinine and eGFR levels. Taken together, our results show that tARPC are able to counteract cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity via CYP1B1 release through EV. These findings provide a promising therapeutic strategy for nephrotoxicity risk assessment that could be related to abundance of renal progenitors.

Design of Cytochrome P450 1B1 Inhibitors via a Scaffold-Hopping Approach

Cytochrome P450 1B1 (CYP1B1) is a potential drug target in cancer research that is overexpressed in several solid tumors but is present only at low levels in healthy tissues. Its expression is associated with resistance to common chemotherapeutics, while inhibitors restore efficacy to these drugs in model systems. The majority of CYP1B1 inhibitors are derived from a limited number of scaffolds, and few have achieved outstanding selectivity against other human CYPs, which could impede clinical development. This study explores a new chemical space for CYP1B1 inhibitors using a scaffold-hopping approach and establishes 2,4-diarylthiazoles as a promising framework for further development. From a small library, compound 15 emerged as the lead, with picomolar CYP1B1 inhibition, and over 19,000-fold selectivity against its relative, CYP1A1. To investigate the activity of 15, molecular dynamics, optical spectroscopy, point mutations, and traditional structure-activity relationships were employed and revealed key interactions important for the development of CYP1B1 inhibitors.

The Role of procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propertied (P1NP) Cytochrome P450 (CYPs) and Osteoprotegerin (OPG) as Potential Bone function markers in Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis

Background: Procollagen type I amino-terminal propeptide (PINP) is often present during osteoblast development and could be a biomarker of early bone development. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) may protect tumor cells from apoptosis. Cytochrome P450 enzymes help tumor development and treatment (CYPs). Cytochrome P450 activates and deactivates anticancer drugs and procarcinogens.

Objective: The study examined the amounts of a diagnostic marker of bone formation, the amino terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PINP), Osteoprotegerin (OPG), and P450, in prostate cancer patients at different stages and its ability to detect osteoblastic metastases.

Methods: ELISA was used to measure PINP, OPG, and P450 levels in 30 prostate cancer patients. (n = 32) and healthy men’s serum (n = 36).

Results: Prostate cancer patients had higher blood levels of PINP, OPG, and P450 than healthy persons (301.3±134.9, 980±467.2, and 84.2±28.4 pg/mL, respectively). Compared to I+II prostate cancer patients, III+IV patients showed higher serum PINP, OPG, and P450 levels (P 0.001). OPG, P450, and PINP had statistically significant Area under the ROC curve (0.9467, P= 0.0001, 0.91, P= 0.0001, and 0.6977, P= 0.4035) in prostate cancer patients.

Conclusions: Metastatic prostate cancer patients had greater PINP, OPG, and P450 levels, according to our findings. PINP, OPG, and P450 levels may affect prostate cancer progression. These findings imply that serum PINP, OPG, and P450 levels may predict and diagnose prostate cancer.

Reciprocal interplays between MicroRNAs and pluripotency transcription factors in dictating stemness features in human cancers

The interplay between microRNAs (miRNAs) and pluripotency transcription factors (TFs) orchestrates the acquisition of cancer stem cell (CSC) features during the course of malignant transformation, rendering them essential cancer cell dependencies and therapeutic vulnerabilities. In this review, we discuss emerging themes in tumor heterogeneity, including the clonal evolution and the CSC models and their implications in resistance to cancer therapies, and then provide thorough coverage on the roles played by key TFs in maintaining normal and malignant stem cell pluripotency and plasticity. In addition, we discuss the reciprocal interactions between miRNAs and MYC, OCT4, NANOG, SOX2, and KLF4 pluripotency TFs and their contributions to tumorigenesis. We provide our view on the potential to interfere with key miRNA-TF networks through the use of RNA-based therapeutics as single agents or in combination with other therapeutic strategies, to abrogate the CSC state and render tumor cells more responsive to standard and targeted therapies.

CYP1B1: A Novel Molecular Biomarker Predicts Molecular Subtype, Tumor Microenvironment, and Immune Response in 33 Cancers

BACKGROUND

Cytochrome P450 Family 1 Subfamily B Member 1 (CYP1B1) is a critical metabolic enzyme of melatonin. Although melatonin has been identified to exhibit tumor suppressing activity, the role and mechanism of the clinical and immunological characteristics of CYP1B1 in cancer remain unclear.

METHODS

In this study, RNA expression and clinical data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) across 33 solid tumors. The expression, survival, immune subtype, molecular subtype, tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), biological pathways, and function in vitro and vivo were evaluated. The predictive value of CYP1B1 in immune cohorts was further explored.

RESULTS

We found the dysregulated expression of CYP1B1 was associated with the clinical stage and tumor grade. Immunological correlation analysis showed CYP1B1 was positively correlated with the infiltration of lymphocyte, immunomodulator, chemokine, receptor, and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in most cancer. Meanwhile, CYP1B1 was involved in immune subtype and molecular subtype, and was connected with TMB, MSI, neoantigen, the activation of multiple melatonergic and immune-related pathways, and therapeutic resistance.

CONCLUSIONS

Together, this study comprehensively revealed the role and mechanism of CYP1B1 and explored the significant association between CYP1B1 expression and immune activity. These findings provide a promising predictor and molecular target for clinical immune treatment.

Machine Learning Enabled Structure-Based Drug Repurposing Approach to Identify Potential CYP1B1 Inhibitors

Drug-metabolizing enzyme (DME)-mediated pharmacokinetic resistance of some clinically approved anticancer agents is one of the main reasons for cancer treatment failure. In particular, some commonly used anticancer medicines, including docetaxel, tamoxifen, imatinib, cisplatin, and paclitaxel, are inactivated by CYP1B1. Currently, no approved drugs are available to treat this CYP1B1-mediated inactivation, making the pharmaceutical industries strive to discover new anticancer agents. Because of the extreme complexity and high risk in drug discovery and development, it is worthwhile to come up with a drug repurposing strategy that may solve the resistance problem of existing chemotherapeutics. Therefore, in the current study, a drug repurposing strategy was implemented to find the possible CYP1B1 inhibitors using machine learning (ML) and structure-based virtual screening (SB-VS) approaches. Initially, three different ML models were developed such as support vector machines (SVMs), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN); subsequently, the best-selected ML model was employed for virtual screening of the selleckchem database to identify potential CYP1B1 inhibitors. The inhibition potency of the obtained hits was judged by analyzing the crucial active site amino acid interactions against CYP1B1. After a thorough assessment of docking scores, binding affinities, as well as binding modes, four compounds were selected and further subjected to in vitro analysis. From the in vitro analysis, it was observed that chlorprothixene, nadifloxacin, and ticagrelor showed promising inhibitory activity toward CYP1B1 in the IC₅₀ range of 0.07-3.00 μM. These new chemical scaffolds can be explored as adjuvant therapies to address CYP1B1-mediated drug-resistance problems.

Design and synthesis of epigallocatechin (EGC) analogs selective to inhibit α-amylase over α-glucosidases via the incorporation of caffeine acid and its derivatives

Natural products are a promising and underappreciated reservoir for the preferred chemical scaffolds in the search of antidiabetic drugs. In this study twenty-one EGC-based derivatives selective to inhibit human pancreatic α-amylase (HPA), the enzyme at the top of the starch digestion pyramid, have been designed and synthesized in terms of the lead myricetin-caffeic acid conjugate 1 reported ever. We focus on methylation of caffeic acid, length of a liker, a double bond contained in the linker on the inhibition activity and selectivity of EGC-based conjugates. As a result, methylation of caffeic acid and the length of a linker affect significantly the activity and selectivity of EGC-based conjugates, but the effect of a double in caffeic acid is limited. Conjugate 2a-1 having a six-carbon-atom linker fused to EGC and caffeic acid demonstrates the most ponent inhibitory activity to HPA and its selectivity towards HPA over α-glucosidase by far superior to that construct 1. Molecular docking studies reveal that conjugate 2a-1 accommodates well to the active site of HPA with four hydrogen bonds in the form of the preorganization of two moieties EGC and caffeic acid via π-stacking interaction. Collectively, conjugating caffeic acid and EGC with an appropriate linker possibly provides a new strategy for finding the specific HPA inhibitors in the discovery of anti-diabetes mellitus drugs.