Hsp90 stabilizes Cdc25A and counteracts heat shock-mediated Cdc25A degradation and cell-cycle attenuation in pancreatic carcinoma cells.

Pancreas cancer cells escape most treatment options. Heat shock protein (Hsp)90 is frequently over-expressed in pancreas carcinomas and protects a number of cell-cycle regulators such as the proto-oncogene Cdc25A. We show that inhibition of Hsp90 with geldanamycin (GD) destabilizes Cdc25A independent of Chk1/2, whereas the standard drug for pancreas carcinoma treatment, gemcitabine (GEM), causes Cdc25A degradation through the activation of Chk2. Both agents applied together additively inhibit the expression of Cdc25A and the proliferation of pancreas carcinoma cells thereby demonstrating that both Cdc25A-destabilizing/degrading pathways are separated. The role of Hsp90 as stabilizer of Cdc25A in pancreas carcinoma cells is further supported by two novel synthetic inhibitors 4-tosylcyclonovobiocic acid and 7-tosylcyclonovobiocic acid and specific Hsp90AB1 (Hsp90ß) shRNA. Our data show that targeting Hsp90 reduced the resistance of pancreas carcinoma cells to treatment with GEM.

A palladium-catalyzed coupling of 3-chloroquinoxalinones with various nitrogen-containing nucleophiles.

An efficient and general palladium-catalyzed coupling of 3-chloro-quinoxalinones with a variety of nitrogen-containing nucleophiles such as (hetero)aromatic and aliphatic amides as well as some challenging weakly nucleophilic nitrogen compounds including lactams, carbamates and NH-containing azoles is described. In all cases, the reactions take place rapidly and cleanly in dioxane using Pd(OAc)2 as a catalyst, Xantphos as a ligand and K2CO3 as a base furnishing the coupling 3-N-substituted quinoxalinone products in good to excellent yields.

An efficient coupling of N-tosylhydrazones with 2-halopyridines: synthesis of 2-α-styrylpyridines endowed with antitumor activity.

The synthesis of 2-α-styrylpyridines has been carried out by using the coupling of polyoxygenated N-tosylhydrazones with various 2-halopyridines. We demonstrated that the use of a catalytic amount of PdCl2(MeCN)2 in combination with a bidentate ferrocene DPPF or a monodentate alkyl phosphine (t)Bu2MeP-HBF4 constitutes an efficient protocol for this coupling, providing 2-α-styrylpyridines 2 in satisfactory to good yields. Among several polyoxygenated derivatives 2 evaluated, compound 2aa was found to exhibit excellent antiproliferative and antimitotic activities comparable to that of the reference compound isoCA-4.

Synthesis, biological evaluation, and structure-activity relationships of tri- and tetrasubstituted olefins related to isocombretastatin A-4 as new tubulin inhibitors.

The synthesis and structure-activity relationships associated with a series of 1,1-diarylethylene tubulin polymerization inhibitors 3 and 4 are described. The key step for their preparation involves a palladium-catalyzed coupling of N-arylsulfonylhydrazones with aryl halides, thus providing flexible and convergent access to tri- and tetrasubstituted 1,1-diarylolefins 3 and 4 related to isocombretastatin A-4 (isoCA-4). These compounds have been evaluated for tubulin polymerization inhibitory activity as well as for cytotoxic activity. The most potent compounds are 1,1-diaryl-2-methoxyethylenes 4b, 4d and 4e having a trisubstituted double bond. They exhibited good antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines (GI(50) = 8-80 nM). Compounds 4b and 4e strongly inhibited tubulin polymerization with IC(50) values of 2 and 3 µM, respectively, and induced cell cycle arrest in the G(2)/M phase in the K562 cell line. Docking studies in the colchicine binding site of tubulin allowed identification of residues most likely to interact with these inhibitors and explain their potent anti-tubulin activity.

A general copper powder-catalyzed Ullmann-type reaction of 3-halo-4(1H)-quinolones with various nitrogen-containing nucleophiles.

3-(N-Substituted) 4(1H)-quinolinones were synthesized using the copper-catalyzed Ullmann C-N bond forming strategy in moderate to quantitative yields. Starting from 3-halo-4(1H)-quinolones, various nucleophiles including amides, lactams, sulfonamides and NH-containing azoles have been used successfully. In all cases, the reactions take place rapidly in toluene and proceed by using copper powder as a catalyst, DMEDA as a ligand and K(2)CO(3) as a base. In addition, other related heterocycles such as 3-bromoquinolin-2(1H)-ones, 3-bromocoumarin, and 3,5-dibromo-2-pyridone show good to very high reactivity with various nucleophiles under our Cu/DMEDA catalyst system.

Identification of a new series of flavopiridol-like structures as kinase inhibitors with high cytotoxic potency.

In this work, unique flavopiridol analogs bearing thiosugars, amino acids and heterocyclic moieties tethered to the flavopiridol via thioether and amine bonds mainly on its C ring have been prepared. The analogs bearing thioether-benzimidazoles as substituents have demonstrated high cytotoxic activity in vitro against up to seven cancer cell lines. Their cytotoxic effects are comparable to those of flavopiridol. The most active compound 13c resulting from a structure-activity relationship (SAR) study and in silico docking showed the best antiproliferative activity and was more efficient than the reference compound. In addition, compound 13c showed significant nanomolar inhibition against CDK9, CDK10, and GSK3ß protein kinases.

Tosylcyclonovobiocic acids promote cleavage of the hsp90-associated cochaperone p23.

The cochaperone p23 is required for the chaperoning cycle of hsp90 and to enhance the maturation of several client proteins. Tosylcyclonovobiocic acids (4TCNA and 7TCNA) are potent analogs of novobiocin and induce cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and degradation of hsp90 client proteins in a panel of cancer cells. In this study, Western blotting shows that 4TCNA and 7TCNA triggered processing of the hsp90 cochaperone p23 in a dose-dependent manner. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated reduction of p23 expression in MCF-7 breast cancer cells did not block 4TCNA-induced caspase activation as assessed by the cleavage of PARP. This result indicates that 4TCNA-mediated cell death is a p23-independent process. In HT29 colon cancer cells, 4TCNA and 7TCNA up-regulated GRP78 and GRP94 supporting involvement of ER stress in apoptosis.

Synthesis and biological activity of simplified denoviose-coumarins related to novobiocin as potent inhibitors of heat-shock protein 90 (hsp90).

A new series of coumarin inhibitors of hsp90 lacking the noviose moiety as well as substituents on C-7 and C-8 positions of the aromatic ring was synthesised and their hsp90 inhibitory activity has been delineated: for example, their capacity to induce the degradation of client proteins and to inhibit estradiol-induced transcription in human breast cancer cells. In cell proliferation assay, the most active compound 5g was approximately 8 times more potent than the parent novobiocin natural compound.

New novobiocin analogues as antiproliferative agents in breast cancer cells and potential inhibitors of heat shock protein 90.

Selective hsp90 inhibitors simultaneously destabilize and deplete key signaling proteins involved in cell proliferation and survival, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Investigation of novobiocin analogues lacking the noviose moiety as novel inhibitors of hsp90 was carried out. A novel series of 3-aminocoumarin analogues has been produced and screened in cell proliferation, and the molecular signature of hsp90 inhibition was assessed by depletion of estrogen receptor, HER2, Raf-1, and cdk4 in human breast cancer cells. This structure-activity relationship study highlights the crucial role of the C-4 and/or C-7 positions of coumarin which appeared to be essential for degradation of hsp90 client proteins. Removal of the noviose moiety in novobiocin together with introduction of a tosyl substituent at C-4 or C-7 coumarins provides 6e and 6f as lead structures which compared favorably with novobiocin as demonstrated by enhanced rates of cell death. The processing and activation of caspases 7 and 8 and the subsequent cleavage of PARP by 6e suggest stimulation of the extrinsic apoptosis pathway.

Synthesis and preliminary biological evaluation of new antiproliferative aromatic analogues of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3.

In an effort to develop novel vitamin D3 analogues, a series of aromatic compounds was synthetized, using efficient Negishi cross coupling between alkenylzinc reagents of the C,D-ring moiety of vitamin D3, and various substituted aromatic halides as A-ring mimics. The study aimed at exploring the influence of the replacement of the original vitamin D3 diene by a styrene unit on the biological activities. Potency in the induction of the differentiation of HL-60 cells for the lead compound 36 was 12 fold less important than calcitriol correlating with a weaker binding affinity for VDR.

Discovery and hit to lead optimization of novel combretastatin A-4 analogues: dependence of C-linker length and hybridization.

We have synthesized a large variety of CA-4 analogues having a non-isomerizable C-linker between the A- and B-aromatic rings. Most of them displayed a nanomolar level of cytotoxicity against a panel of human cancer cell lines and inhibited tubulin polymerization at a micromolar level. Among all these compounds, the most interesting compounds were undoubtedly isoCA-4 and structural analogues 18-20 as well as benzil derivatives 11 which displayed a comparable level of activity than that of CA-4. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that these drugs arrested cancer cells in the G2/M phase of cellular cycle and induced apoptosis at very low concentrations. In vitro antivascular effects and the binding mode of the most active compounds was also investigated.

Synthetic 2-methoxyestradiol derivatives: structure-activity relationships.

2-Methoxyestradiol (2ME2), a natural metabolite of estradiol which has no estrogenic activity, is a potent antitumor and anti-angiogenic compound, currently undergoing clinical trials for treatment of a variety of cancers. In the last two decades, an ever increasing number of synthetic 2-methoxyestradiol analogues have been reported. Structural changes include A/B/C/D-rings modification, homologation, aromatization, and introduction of various substituents on C-2 position along with substitution of alkyl and ethynyl groups for the 17-hydroxy function. In this review, an attempt has been made to compile the structure-activity relationships of various synthesized 2-methoxyestradiol analogues.

Synthesis and antikinetoplastid activities of 3-substituted quinolinones derivatives.

A new family of quinolinone derivatives has been synthesized and evaluated for their antikinetoplastid activities against Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Results from these structure-activity relationship studies enabled identification of compounds 3a and 4g as the most active compounds against L. donovani promastigotes and amastigotes parasites (IC(50) values in a range of 2-11 µM). Additionally, compound 3b has emerged from this study as the most active compound in the series against T. b. brucei with a MEC value of 12 µM. These three compounds are worth of further in vivo evaluation.

Heat-shock protein 90 inhibitors as antitumor agents: a survey of the literature from 2005 to 2010.

INTRODUCTION: Heat-shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a validated novel anticancer target with unique features. As a molecular chaperone, Hsp90 is implicated in maintaining the conformation, stability, activity and cellular localization of several key oncogenic client proteins that are involved in signal transduction pathways leading to proliferation, cell-cycle progression, apoptosis, angiogenesis and metastasis. As a result, inhibitors of Hsp90 achieve their promising anticancer activity through disruption of the Hsp90 protein function, thereby freezing the chaperone cycle; this in turn decreases the affinity of Hsp90 for client proteins, thus leading to proteasome-mediated degradation of oncogenic client proteins within cancer cells. AREAS COVERED: This review provides recent background information on Hsp90 inhibitors. It also highlights a panel of compounds of interest reported in patents and discusses the clinical results of the promising drug candidates. EXPERT OPINION: In the past 5 years, Hsp90 inhibitors have remained the focus of much interest as new potential anticancer agents. A large variety of scaffolds were studied in both academia and industry. Consequently, these significant research efforts have provided several promising drug candidates for further clinical development. Further progress in the development of Hsp90 inhibitors, combined with a deeper understanding of the chaperon characteristics, strengthens their promise in cancer therapy.

Discovery and biological activity of 6BrCaQ as an inhibitor of the Hsp90 protein folding machinery.

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is a significant target in the development of rational cancer therapy, due to its role at the crossroads of multiple signaling pathways associated with cell proliferation and viability. Here, a novel series of Hsp90 inhibitors containing a quinolein-2-one scaffold was synthesized and evaluated in cell proliferation assays. Results from these structure-activity relationships studies enabled identification of the simplified 3-aminoquinolein-2-one analogue 2 b (6BrCaQ), which manifests micromolar activity against a panel of cancer cell lines. The molecular signature of Hsp90 inhibition was assessed by depletion of standard known Hsp90 client proteins. Finally, processing and activation of caspases 7, 8, and 9, and the subsequent cleavage of PARP by 6BrCaQ, suggest stimulation of apoptosis through both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways.

Pd-catalyzed reaction of sterically hindered hydrazones with aryl halides: synthesis of tetra-substituted olefins related to iso-combretastatin A4.

PdCl(2)(MeCN)(2) in combination with dppp proved to be a powerful and efficient catalyst for the coupling of sterically hindered N-arylsulfonylhydrazones with aryl halides, thus providing a flexible and convergent access to tetrasubstituted olefins related to iso-combretastatin A4 in good yields. This new protocol has been applied successfully to the formal synthesis of biphenylisopropylidene 4-pyridine CYP17 inhibitor, 12b, of biological interest.

Assessing the chemical diversity of an hsp90 database.

The 90-kDa heat shock protein (hsp90) has emerged as a new, promising target for cancer drug discovery. With the simultaneous disruption of a large range of oncogenic pathways, hsp90 inhibition results in either cytostasis or cell death. Diverse inhibitors of this molecular chaperone are currently under intensive study, and several have reached clinical trials. In the present work, patented and published structure-activity relationships on hsp90 inhibitors were organised in a database format that associates chemical structures with their biological activities. This hsp90 database contains 814 unique structures and, to our knowledge, is the most complete ever reported. With the aim to provide a general overview and evaluation of the chemical diversity of the ligands included in the dataset, a two-dimensional analysis was performed. A set of twenty-five topological molecular descriptors was calculated, allowing the emphasis of those that have higher importance for hsp90 active compounds, and for the three chemical scaffold families, geldanamycins, purines and pyrazole-isoxazoles. We have used a principal-component analysis (PCA) computational approach to analyse the 2D descriptor space of active and non-active hsp90 ligands. Furthermore, a fragment-based study highlighted the most frequently moieties represented in the active purine and pyrazole-isoxazole derivatives that are likely to be responsible for the observed biological activities.

Antiproliferative and apoptotic activities of tosylcyclonovobiocic acids as potent heat shock protein 90 inhibitors in human cancer cells.

We evaluated whether inhibition of heat shock protein 90 (hsp90) function by novobiocin derivatives could induce the degradation of signal transducers that drive cancer cell growth and thereby promote apoptosis. Removal of the noviose moiety in novobiocin and introduction of a tosyl substituent at C-4 or C-7 coumarin nucleus provided derivatives 4TCNA and 7TCNA which compared favourably with novobiocin in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Here we extend the antiproliferative and apoptotic properties of these analogues to a panel of cancer cell lines. Destabilization of hsp90 client proteins Raf-1, HER2, and cdk4 suggests inhibition of hsp90 chaperoning function. In HT29 colon and IGROV1 ovarian cancer cells, the growth inhibiting effect of 4TCNA and 7TCNA was consistent with the stimulation of cell death as assessed by the processing and activation of caspase 9, 8, 7 and 3 and the subsequent cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). In Ishikawa endometrial adenocarcinoma cells, 4TCNA also promoted apoptosis and the processing of PARP. These derivatives impacting multiple pathways involved in the neoplastic process may represent promising drugs for cancer therapy.

Synthesis, biological evaluation of 1,1-diarylethylenes as a novel class of antimitotic agents.

The cytotoxic activities of 23 new isocombretastatin A derivatives with modifications on the B-ring were investigated. Several compounds exhibited excellent antiproliferative activity at nanomolar concentrations against a panel of human cancer cell lines. Compounds isoFCA-4 (2 e), isoCA-4 (2 k) and isoNH(2)CA-4 (2 s) were the most cytotoxic, and strongly inhibited tubulin polymerization with IC(50) values of 4, 2 and 1.5 microM, respectively. These derivatives were found to be 10-fold more active than phenstatin and colchicine with respect to growth inhibition but displayed similar activities as tubulin polymerization inhibitors. In addition, cell cycle arrest in the G(2)/M phase and subsequent apoptosis was observed in three cancer cell lines when treated with these compounds. The disruptive effect of 2 e, 2 k and 2 s on the vessel-like structures formed by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) suggest that these compounds may act as vascular disrupting agents. Both compounds 2 k and 2 s have the potential for further prodrug modification and development as vascular disrupting agents for treatment of solid tumors.