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Janowska S, Holota S, Lesyk R, Wujec M. Aromatase Inhibitors as a Promising Direction for the Search for New Anticancer Drugs. Molecules 2024; 29:346. [PMID: 38257259 PMCID: PMC10819800 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29020346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2023] [Revised: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Aromatase is an enzyme that plays a crucial role in the biosynthesis of estrogens, which are hormones that contribute to the growth of certain types of breast cancer. In particular, aromatase catalyzes the conversion of androgens (male hormones) into estrogens (female hormones) in various tissues, including the adrenal glands, ovaries, and adipose tissue. Given the role of estrogen in promoting the growth of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers, aromatase has become an important molecular target for the development of anticancer agents. Aromatase inhibitors can be classified into two main groups based on their chemical structure: steroidal and non-steroidal inhibitors. This work presents a review of the literature from the last ten years regarding the search for new aromatase inhibitors. We present the directions of search, taking into account the impact of structure modifications on anticancer activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Janowska
- Department of Pathobiochemistry and Interdisciplinary Applications of Ion Chromatography, Biomedical Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, 1 Chodzki Street, 20-093 Lublin, Poland
| | - Serhii Holota
- Department of Pharmaceutical, Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Pekarska 69, 79010 Lviv, Ukraine; (S.H.); (R.L.)
| | - Roman Lesyk
- Department of Pharmaceutical, Organic and Bioorganic Chemistry, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Pekarska 69, 79010 Lviv, Ukraine; (S.H.); (R.L.)
| | - Monika Wujec
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, 4A Chodzki Street, 20-093 Lublin, Poland
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Diaz de Greñu B, Fernández-Aroca DM, Organero JA, Durá G, Jalón FA, Sánchez-Prieto R, Ruiz-Hidalgo MJ, Rodríguez AM, Santos L, Albasanz JL, Manzano BR. Ferrozoles: Ferrocenyl derivatives of letrozole with dual effects as potent aromatase inhibitors and cytostatic agents. J Biol Inorg Chem 2023; 28:531-547. [PMID: 37458856 DOI: 10.1007/s00775-023-02006-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
In the treatment of hormone-dependent cancers, aromatase inhibitors (AI) are receiving increased attention due to some undesirable effects such as the risk of endometrial cancer and thromboembolism of SERMs (selective estrogen receptor modulators). Letrozole is the most active AI with 99% aromatase inhibition. Unfortunately, this compound also exhibits some adverse effects such as hot flashes and fibromyalgias. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore new types of AIs that retain the same-or even increased-antitumor ability. Inspired by the letrozole structure, a set of new derivatives has been synthesized that include a ferrocenyl moiety and different heterocycles. The derivative that contains a benzimidazole ring, namely compound 6, exhibits a higher aromatase inhibitory activity than letrozole and it also shows potent cytostatic behavior when compared to other well-established aromatase inhibitors, as demonstrated by dose-response, cell cycle, apoptosis and time course experiments. Furthermore, 6 promotes the inhibition of cell growth in both an aromatase-dependent and -independent fashion, as indicated by the study of A549 and MCF7 cell lines. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics calculations on the interaction of 6 or letrozole with the aromatase binding site revealed that the ferrocene moiety increases the van der Waals and hydrophobic interactions, thus resulting in an increase in binding affinity. Furthermore, the iron atom of the ferrocene fragment can form a metal-acceptor interaction with a propionate fragment, and this results in a stronger coupling with the heme group-a possibility that is consistent with the strong aromatase inhibition of 6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Borja Diaz de Greñu
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Orgánica y Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologías Químicas, IRICA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. C. J Cela, 10, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Diego M Fernández-Aroca
- Laboratorio de Oncología Molecular, Unidad de Medicina Molecular, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Unidad Asociada de Biomedicina UCLM, Unidad Asociada al CSIC, Albacete, Spain
| | - Juan A Organero
- Departamento de Química Física, Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales y Bioquímicas and INAMOL, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 45071, Toledo, Spain
| | - Gema Durá
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Orgánica y Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologías Químicas, IRICA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. C. J Cela, 10, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Felix Angel Jalón
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Orgánica y Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologías Químicas, IRICA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. C. J Cela, 10, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Ricardo Sánchez-Prieto
- Laboratorio de Oncología Molecular, Unidad de Medicina Molecular, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Unidad Asociada de Biomedicina UCLM, Unidad Asociada al CSIC, Albacete, Spain
- Departamento de Biología del Cáncer, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Alberto Sols (CSIC-UAM), Madrid, Spain
- Unidad Asociada de Biomedicina UCLM, Unidad Asociada al CSIC, Albacete, Spain
| | - M José Ruiz-Hidalgo
- Laboratorio de Oncología Molecular, Unidad de Medicina Molecular, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Unidad Asociada de Biomedicina UCLM, Unidad Asociada al CSIC, Albacete, Spain
- Área de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Orgánica y Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Ana María Rodríguez
- Departamento de Q. Inorgánica, Orgánica y Bioquímica, IRICA, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. C. J. Cela, 3, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Lucia Santos
- Departamento de Q. Física, Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologías Químicas, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. C. J. Cela, S/N, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - José L Albasanz
- Department of Inorganic and Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemical and Technological Sciences, School of Medicine of Ciudad Real, Regional Center of Biomedical Research (CRIB), University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM), 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Blanca R Manzano
- Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Orgánica y Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnologías Químicas, IRICA, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Avda. C. J Cela, 10, 13071, Ciudad Real, Spain.
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Çetiner G, Çevik UA, Celik I, Bostancı HE, Özkay Y, Kaplancıklı ZA. New Imidazole Derivatives as Aromatase Inhibitor: Design, Synthesis, Biological Activity, Molecular Docking, and Computational ADME-Tox Studies. J Mol Struct 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2023.134920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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Sharma P, LaRosa C, Antwi J, Govindarajan R, Werbovetz KA. Imidazoles as Potential Anticancer Agents: An Update on Recent Studies. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26144213. [PMID: 34299488 PMCID: PMC8307698 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26144213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic rings are common structural components of marketed drugs. Among these heterocycles, imidazole/fused imidazole rings are present in a wide range of bioactive compounds. The unique properties of such structures, including high polarity and the ability to participate in hydrogen bonding and coordination chemistry, allow them to interact with a wide range of biomolecules, and imidazole-/fused imidazole-containing compounds are reported to have a broad spectrum of biological activities. This review summarizes recent reports of imidazole/fused imidazole derivatives as anticancer agents appearing in the peer-reviewed literature from 2018 through 2020. Such molecules have been shown to modulate various targets, including microtubules, tyrosine and serine-threonine kinases, histone deacetylases, p53-Murine Double Minute 2 (MDM2) protein, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), G-quadraplexes, and other targets. Imidazole-containing compounds that display anticancer activity by unknown/undefined mechanisms are also described, as well as key features of structure-activity relationships. This review is intended to provide an overview of recent advances in imidazole-based anticancer drug discovery and development, as well as inspire the design and synthesis of new anticancer molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pankaj Sharma
- Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (P.S.); (C.L.)
| | - Chris LaRosa
- Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (P.S.); (C.L.)
| | - Janet Antwi
- Division of Mathematics, Computer & Natural Sciences Division, Ohio Dominican University, Columbus, OH 43219, USA;
| | - Rajgopal Govindarajan
- Division of Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA;
| | - Karl A. Werbovetz
- Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; (P.S.); (C.L.)
- Correspondence:
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Morais PAB, Francisco CS, de Paula H, Ribeiro R, Eloy MA, Javarini CL, Neto ÁC, Júnior VL. Semisynthetic Triazoles as an Approach in the Discovery of Novel Lead Compounds. CURR ORG CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.2174/1385272825666210126100227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Historically, medicinal chemistry has been concerned with the approach of organic
chemistry for new drug synthesis. Considering the fruitful collections of new molecular entities,
the dedicated efforts for medicinal chemistry are rewarding. Planning and search for new
and applicable pharmacologic therapies involve the altruistic nature of the scientists. Since
the 19th century, notoriously applying isolated and characterized plant-derived compounds in
modern drug discovery and various stages of clinical development highlight its viability and
significance. Natural products influence a broad range of biological processes, covering transcription,
translation, and post-translational modification, being effective modulators of most
basic cellular processes. The research of new chemical entities through “click chemistry”
continuously opens up a map for the remarkable exploration of chemical space towards leading
natural products optimization by structure-activity relationship. Finally, in this review, we expect to gather a
broad knowledge involving triazolic natural product derivatives, synthetic routes, structures, and their biological activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Alves Bezerra Morais
- Centro de Ciencias Exatas, Naturais e da Saude, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, 29500000, Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | - Carla Santana Francisco
- Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Quimica, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, 29075910, Vitória, ES, Brazil
| | - Heberth de Paula
- Centro de Ciencias Exatas, Naturais e da Saude, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, 29500000, Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | - Rayssa Ribeiro
- Programa de Pos- Graduacao em Agroquimica, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, 29500000, Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | - Mariana Alves Eloy
- Programa de Pos- Graduacao em Agroquimica, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, 29500000, Alegre, ES, Brazil
| | - Clara Lirian Javarini
- Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Quimica, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, 29075910, Vitória, ES, Brazil
| | - Álvaro Cunha Neto
- Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Quimica, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, 29075910, Vitória, ES, Brazil
| | - Valdemar Lacerda Júnior
- Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Quimica, Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo, 29075910, Vitória, ES, Brazil
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Adhikari N, Baidya SK, Jha T. Effective anti-aromatase therapy to battle against estrogen-mediated breast cancer: Comparative SAR/QSAR assessment on steroidal aromatase inhibitors. Eur J Med Chem 2020; 208:112845. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2020.112845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Banjare L, Verma SK, Jain AK, Thareja S. Lead Molecules as Novel Aromatase Inhibitors: In Silico De Novo Designing and Binding Affinity Studies. LETT DRUG DES DISCOV 2020. [DOI: 10.2174/1570180816666190703152659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Background:Aromatase inhibitors emerged as a pivotal moiety to selectively block estrogen production, prevention and treatment of tumour growth in breast cancer. De novo drug design is an alternative approach to blind virtual screening for successful designing of the novel molecule against various therapeutic targets.Objective:In the present study, we have explored the de novo approach to design novel aromatase inhibitors.Method:The e-LEA3D, a computational-aided drug design web server was used to design novel drug-like candidates against the target aromatase. For drug-likeness ADME parameters (molecular weight, H-bond acceptors, H-bond donors, LogP and number of rotatable bonds) of designed molecules were calculated in TSAR software package, geometry optimization and energy minimization was accomplished using Chem Office. Further, molecular docking study was performed in Molegro Virtual Docker (MVD).Results:Among 17 generated molecules using the de novo pathway, 13 molecules passed the Lipinski filter pertaining to their bioavailability characteristics. De novo designed molecules with drug-likeness were further docked into the mapped active site of aromatase to scale up their affinity and binding fitness with the target. Among de novo fabricated drug like candidates (1-13), two molecules (5, 6) exhibited higher affinity with aromatase in terms of MolDock score (-150.650, -172.680 Kcal/mol, respectively) while molecule 8 showed lowest target affinity (-85.588 Kcal/mol).Conclusion:The binding patterns of lead molecules (5, 6) could be used as a pharmacophore for medicinal chemists to explore these molecules for their aromatase inhibitory potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laxmi Banjare
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur- 495009 (C.G.), India
| | - Sant Kumar Verma
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur- 495009 (C.G.), India
| | - Akhlesh Kumar Jain
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur- 495009 (C.G.), India
| | - Suresh Thareja
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Ghasidas Central University, Bilaspur- 495009 (C.G.), India
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Rendic SP, Peter Guengerich F. Human cytochrome P450 enzymes 5-51 as targets of drugs and natural and environmental compounds: mechanisms, induction, and inhibition - toxic effects and benefits. Drug Metab Rev 2019; 50:256-342. [PMID: 30717606 DOI: 10.1080/03602532.2018.1483401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Cytochrome P450 (P450, CYP) enzymes have long been of interest due to their roles in the metabolism of drugs, pesticides, pro-carcinogens, and other xenobiotic chemicals. They have also been of interest due to their very critical roles in the biosynthesis and metabolism of steroids, vitamins, and certain eicosanoids. This review covers the 22 (of the total of 57) human P450s in Families 5-51 and their substrate selectivity. Furthermore, included is information and references regarding inducibility, inhibition, and (in some cases) stimulation by chemicals. We update and discuss important aspects of each of these 22 P450s and questions that remain open.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - F Peter Guengerich
- b Department of Biochemistry , Vanderbilt University School of Medicine , Nashville , TN , USA
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