Design, synthesis and activity of flavonoids aromatase inhibitors

Isolation, characterization and in silico studies of secondary metabolites from Jurinea macrocephala DC. with antiproliferative activity

In the present work, cytotoxic potential of Jurinea macrocephala DC. (Asteraceae) were evaluated on A549 lung cancer and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. Isolation studies were carried out using various and repetitive chromatographic methods in order to determine the phytochemical profile of the extracts. These studies led to the identification of twelve compounds; four triterpenes ( 1-4 ) and eight flavonoids ( 5 - 12 ). Spectroscopic examination (1D and 2D NMR, ESI-MS) and comparison with relevant literature data were used to deduce the structures of all isolated molecules. To rationalize the obtained cytotoxicity data against breast cancer cell line, the isolated compounds were docked into the binding site of aromatase enzyme. Molecular docking studies of the isolated compounds into binding site of aromatase, an important target enzyme for the treatment of breast cancer, revealed that flavonoids without sugar moieties ( 5 - 8 ) showed the best binding affinities. Overall , these mentioned compounds turned out to be also the most appropriate oral drug candidates after the calculation of their Lipinski parameters.

In-vitro Cytotoxicity and Aromatase Inhibitory Activity of Flavonoids: Synthesis, Molecular Docking and In-silico ADME Prediction

BACKGROUND

Many natural and synthetic flavonoids have been studied and documented by inhibiting aromatase enzymes for their anti-cancer activity against breast carcinoma. The aromatase enzyme is a possible target for the estrogen's positive breast cancer receptor.

OBJECTIVE

Hence, a series of flavonoids have been synthesized and assessed for their in vitro cytotoxicity and aromatase inhibitory activity.

METHODS

39 flavonoids were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic techniques, and their computational study was performed using the maestro version of the Schrodinger. In-silico ADME properties were checked by QikPro software. A total of 18 compounds were evaluated based on the docking score using cytotoxicity assay in human breast cancer cell line MCF-7.

RESULTS

Of the 18 compounds tested, 07 compounds, namely 2b, 8b, 14b, 15b, 19b, 24b, and 30b flavonoids were found to be more active with their IC₅₀ values of 20.73 μM, 1.636 μM, 16.08 μM, 22.02 μM, 15.75 μM, 0.345 μM and 16.08 μM, respectively, compared with the reference drug letrozole. The in-vitro aromatase inhibitory activity of six compounds 2b, 8b, 14b, 19b, 24b, and 30b was conducted using a fluorogenic assay kit. The values of IC₅₀ for compounds 2b and 24b were found to be 0.31 μM and 0.36 μM, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, it was concluded that compounds 2b and 24b had a potent inhibitory effect of aromatase compared with letrozole with an IC₅₀ value of 0.86 μM. At the same time, the other compounds 8b, 14b, 30b, and 19b were considered to have similar aromatase inhibitory activity. Hence, their essential aromatase inhibitory activities make them good lead candidates for developing potent inhibitors of aromatase.

Estrogen Receptor α (ERα)-targeting Compounds and Derivatives: Recent Advances in Structural Modification and Bioactivity

Breast cancer is the most common cancer suffered by female, and the second highest cause of cancer-related death among women worldwide. At present, hormone therapy is still the main treatment route and can be divided into three main categories: selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), selective estrogen receptor downregulators (SERDs), and aromatase inhibitors (AIs). However, breast cancer is difficult to cure even after several rounds of anti-estrogen therapy and most drugs have serious side-effects. Here, we review the literature published over the past five years regarding the isolation and synthesis of analogs and their derivatives.