Synthesis and biological activity of 3-N-substituted estrogen derivatives as breast cancer agents

Antimitotic drugs in the treatment of cancer

Cancer is a complex disease since it is adaptive in such a way that it can promote proliferation and invasion by means of an overactive cell cycle and in turn cellular division which is targeted by antimitotic drugs that are highly validated chemotherapy agents. However, antimitotic drug cytotoxicity to non-tumorigenic cells and multiple cancer resistance developed in response to drugs such as taxanes and vinca alkaloids are obstacles faced in both the clinical and basic research field to date. In this review, the classes of antimitotic compounds, their mechanisms of action and cancer cell resistance to chemotherapy and other limitations of current antimitotic compounds are highlighted, as well as the potential of novel 17-β estradiol analogs as cancer treatment.

In-vitro Antiproliferative Activity of New Tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQs) on Ishikawa Cells and their 3D Pharmacophore Models

The antiproliferative activities of new substituted tetrahydroisoquinolines (THIQs) are described. Their cytotoxicities against Ishikawa human endometrial cell line were determined after 72 h drug expose employing Celtiter-Glo assay at concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 100,000 nM. The antiproliferative activities of the compounds understudy were compared to tamoxifen (TAM). In-vitro results indicated that most of the compounds showed better activity than TAM. The most active compounds obtained in this study were 1, 2, 3 and 22 whose IC₅₀ values are 1.41, 0.91, 0.74 and 0.36 μM respectively. This study helped us to evaluate the risk of developing endometrial cancer in the design of non-steroid estrogen receptor modulators with no agonistic effects on uterus. In-silico pharmacophore hypotheses were generated using GALAHAD and PHASE and the best models with a probable bioactive conformation(s) for these compounds were proposed. These conformations and the alignments of the molecular structures give us an insight in designing compounds with better biological activity.

Evaluating the potential bioactivity of a novel compound ER1626

Background

ER1626, a novel compound, is a derivate of indeno-isoquinoline ketone. This study was designed to evaluate the biological activity and potential anti-tumor mechanism of ER1626.

Method

MTT assay, scratch assay and flow cytometry were used to determine cell proliferation, cell migration and cell cycle distribution as well as cell apoptosis on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and endometrial cancer Ishikawa cells. We also explored the antiangiogenic effect of ER1626 on HUVEC cells and chicken embryos. The expression of estrogen receptor protein was investigated with western-blot analysis.

Results

ER1626 down-regulated the expression of estrogen receptor α protein and up-regulated β protein in MCF-7 and Ishikawa cells. The value of IC₅₀ of ER1626 on MCF-7 and Ishikawa cells were respectively 8.52 and 3.08 µmol/L. Meanwhile, ER1626 decreased VEGF secretion of MCF-7 and Ishikawa cells, disturbed the formation of VEGF-stimulated tubular structure in HUVEC cells, and inhibited the angiogenesis on the chicken chorioallantoic membrane. Scratch assay revealed that ER1626 suppressed the migration of MCF-7, Ishikawa and HUVEC cells. In addition to induction tumor cell apoptosis, ER1626 arrested cell cycle in G1/G0 phase in MCF-7 cells and G2/M phase in Ishikawa cells.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our results demonstrated that ER1626 has favorable bioactivities to be a potential candidate against breast cancer and angiogenesis.