Effects of Doxazosin on Alpha 1-Adrenergic Receptors in Prostates with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Influence of Androgen Receptor Antagonist MDV3100 Therapy on Rats With Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Purpose

To probe the effect and mechanism of androgen receptor antagonist MDV3100 on benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) of rats

Methods

BPH rat model was induced by testosterone propionate. Then antagomir-miR-21-3p or agomir-miR-21-3p was injected into rats before MDV3100 treatment. The prostate index was measured by weighing the wet weight of the rat prostate. The structural morphology of rat prostate was observed after hematoxylin & eosin staining. Immunohistochemistry was applied to evaluate the expression levels of Ki-6 and inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-6, IL-18, and tumor necrosis factor-α) in rat prostate tissues. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was utilized for assessment of miR-21-3p expression, and Western blot for the performance of the phosphorylation levels of IKKα and p65.

Results

Injection of testosterone propionate caused increased prostate gland hyperplasia, heightened miR-21-3p level, and activated nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway. Additionally, BPH was accompanied by inflammatory response, as evidenced by enhanced expressions of Ki-67 and inflammatory cytokines. MDV3100 exposure ameliorated BPH and suppressed miR-21-3p expression. Overexpression of miR-21-3p intensified BPH and inflammation level, while knockdown of miR-21-3p relieved BPH. The coeffect of miR-21-3p upregulation and MDV3100 subjection led to higher inflammatory response, elevated phosphorylation levels of IKKα and p65 than MDV3100 treatment alone.

Conclusions

Androgen receptor antagonist MDV3100 alleviates BPH and inflammatory response through miR-21-3p downregulation and NF-κB signaling pathway blockade.

Design and synthesis of small molecule agonists of EphA2 receptor

Ligand-independent activation of EphA2 receptor kinase promotes cancer metastasis and invasion. Activating EphA2 receptor tyrosine kinase with small molecule agonist is a novel strategy to treat EphA2 overexpressing cancer. In this study, we performed a lead optimization of a small molecule Doxazosin that was identified as an EphA2 receptor agonist. 33 new analogs were developed and evaluated; a structure-activity relationship was summarized based on the EphA2 activation of these derivatives. Two new derivative compounds 24 and 27 showed much improved activity compared to Doxazosin. Compound 24 possesses a bulky amide moiety, and compound 27 has a dimeric structure that is very different to the parental compound. Compound 27 with a twelve-carbon linker of the dimer activated the kinase and induced receptor internalization and cell death with the best potency. Another dimer with a six-carbon linker has significantly reduced potency compared to the dimer with a longer linker, suggesting that the length of the linker is critical for the activity of the dimeric agonist. To explore the receptor binding characteristics of the new molecules, we applied a docking study to examine how the small molecule binds to the EphA2 receptor. The results reveal that compounds 24 and 27 form more hydrogen bonds to EphA2 than Doxazosin, suggesting that they may have higher binding affinity to the receptor.

Benzodiazines: recent synthetic advances

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent developments in synthetic strategies for benzodiazines, important scaffolds in medicinal chemistry.