Development of Hydroxamate Derivatives Containing a Pyrazoline Moiety as APN Inhibitors to Overcome Angiogenesis.

Aminopeptidase N (APN) was closely associated with cancer invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis. Therefore, APN inhibitors have attracted more and more attention of scientists as antitumor agents. In the current study, we designed, synthesized, and evaluated one new series of pyrazoline-based hydroxamate derivatives as APN inhibitors. Moreover, the structure-activity relationships of those were discussed in detail. 2,6-Dichloro substituted compound 14o with R1 = CH3, showed the best capacity for inhibiting APN with an IC50 value of 0.0062 ± 0.0004 µM, which was three orders of magnitude better than that of the positive control bestatin. Compound 14o possessed both potent anti-proliferative activities against tumor cells and potent anti-angiogenic activity. At the same concentration of 50 µM, compound 14o exhibited much better capacity for inhibiting the micro-vessel growth relative to bestatin in the rat thoracic aorta ring model. Additionally, the putative interactions of 14o with the active site of APN are also discussed. The hydroxamate moiety chelated the zinc ion and formed four hydrogen bonds with His297, Glu298 and His301. Meanwhile, the terminal phenyl group and another phenyl group of 14o interacted with S2' and S1 pockets via hydrophobic effects, respectively.

Development of a Bestatin-SAHA Hybrid with Dual Inhibitory Activity against APN and HDAC.

With five histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors approved for cancer treatment, proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) for degradation of HDAC are emerging as an alternative strategy for HDAC-targeted therapeutic intervention. Herein, three bestatin-based hydroxamic acids (P1, P2 and P3) were designed, synthesized and biologically evaluated to see if they could work as HDAC degrader by recruiting cellular inhibitor of apoptosis protein 1 (cIAP1) E3 ubiquitin ligase. Among the three compounds, the bestatin-SAHA hybrid P1 exhibited comparable even more potent inhibitory activity against HDAC1, HDAC6 and HDAC8 relative to the approved HDAC inhibitor SAHA. It is worth noting that although P1 could not lead to intracellular HDAC degradation after 6 h of treatment, it could dramatically decrease the intracellular levels of HDAC1, HDAC6 and HDAC8 after 24 h of treatment. Intriguingly, the similar phenomenon was also observed in the HDAC inhibitor SAHA. Cotreatment with proteasome inhibitor bortezomib could not reverse the HDAC decreasing effects of P1 and SAHA, confirming that their HDAC decreasing effects were not due to protein degradation. Moreover, all three bestatin-based hydroxamic acids P1, P2 and P3 exhibited more potent aminopeptidase N (APN, CD13) inhibitory activities than the approved APN inhibitor bestatin, which translated to their superior anti-angiogenic activities. Taken together, a novel bestatin-SAHA hybrid was developed, which worked as a potent APN and HDAC dual inhibitor instead of a PROTAC.

Leucine ureido derivatives as aminopeptidase N inhibitors using click chemistry. Part II.

Aminopeptidase N (APN) has been proved to be deeply associated with cancer angiogenesis, metastasis and invasion. Therefore, APN gains increasing attention as a promising anti-tumor target. In the current study, we report the design, synthesis, biological evaluation and structure-activity relationship of one new series of leucine ureido derivatives containing the 1,2,3-triazole moiety. Among them, compound 31f was identified as the best APN inhibitor with IC50 value being two orders of magnitude lower than that of the positive control bestatin. Compound 31f possessed selective cytotoxicity to several tumor cell lines over the normal cell line human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Notably, when combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu), 31f exhibited synergistic anti-proliferation effect against several tumor cell lines. At the same concentration, 31f exhibited much better anti-angiogenesis activities than bestatin in the HUVECs capillary tube formation assay and the rat thoracic aorta rings test. In the in vitro anti-invasion assay, 31f also exhibited superior potency over bestatin. Moreover, considerable in vivo antitumor potencies of 31f alone or in combination with 5-Fu were observed without significant toxic signs in a mouse heptoma H22 tumor transplant model.

Design, Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Osimertinib-Based HDAC and EGFR Dual Inhibitors.

Herein a novel series of histone deacetylases (HDACs) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) dual inhibitors were designed and synthesized based on the structure of the approved EGFR inhibitor osimertinib (AZD9291). Among them, four compounds 5D, 5E, 9D and 9E exhibited more potent total HDAC inhibition than the approved HDAC inhibitor SAHA. However, these compounds only showed moderate to low inhibitory potency towards EGFR with compounds 5E and 9E possessing IC50 values against EGFRWT and EGFRT790M in the micromolar range. 3-[4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl]-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay revealed the potent antiproliferative activities of compounds 5D, 5E, 9D and 9E, among which 9E was even more potent against HeLa, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, HT-29 and KG-1 cell lines than SAHA and AZD9291. Further selectivity profile of 9E showed that this compound was not active against other 13 cancer-related kinases and two epigenetic targets lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) and bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4). These results support further structural modification of 9E to improve its EGFR inhibitory activity, which will lead to more potent and balanced HDAC and EGFR dual inhibitors as anticancer agents.

Novel leucine ureido derivatives as aminopeptidase N inhibitors using click chemistry.

The over-expression of aminopeptidase N on diverse malignant cells is associated with the tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. In this report, one new series of leucine ureido derivatives containing the triazole moiety was designed, synthesized and evaluated as APN inhibitors. Among them, compound 13v showed the best APN inhibition with an IC50 value of 0.089 ±â€¯0.007 µM, which was two orders of magnitude lower than that of bestatin (IC50 = 9.4 ±â€¯0.5 µM). Compound 13v also showed dose-dependent anti-angiogenesis activities. Even at the lower concentration (10 µM), compound 13v presented similar anti-angiogenesis activity compared with bestatin at 100 µM in both the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) capillary tube formation assay and the rat thoracic aorta rings test. Moreover, compared with bestatin, 13v exhibited comparable, if not better in vivo anti-metastasis activity in a mouse H22 pulmonary metastasis model.

Rapid screening of aminopeptidase N inhibitors by capillary electrophoresis with electrophoretically mediated microanalysis.

In this work, an electrophoretically mediated microanalysis (EMMA) method with a partial-filling technique was setup to evaluate the inhibitory potency of novel compounds toward aminopeptidase N (APN). It was necessary to optimize the electrophoretic conditions with respect to the kinetic constraints and for attaining high sensitivity. In our setup, a part of the capillary was filled with the incubation buffer for the enzyme reaction, whereas the rest was filled with a suitable BGE for the separation of substrates and products. To monitor the performance of the newly developed method, the kinetic constants (Km and Vmax) for the catalyzed dissociation of L-Leucine-p-nitroanilide in the presence of APN as well as the inhibition constant (IC50 ) of a known competitive inhibitor, that is bestatin, were determined and these results were compared with those obtained by a classical spectrophotometric assay. The developed EMMA method was subsequently applied to the screening of 30 APN inhibitors. Whereas the inhibition potency of these inhibitors (expressed in IC50 values) were significantly underestimated by the EMMA method, the order of the inhibitory potential of these various compounds was found in agreement with the literature.

The ameliorative effect on chemotherapy-induced injury and tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment of the polysaccharide from the rhizome of Menispermum dauricum DC.

Combined medication has attracted increasing attention as an important treatment option for tumors due to the serious adverse effects of chemotherapy. In this study, as a new therapy strategy, a combination treatment of MDP (a polysaccharide from the rhizome of Menispermum dauricum DC.) with cyclophosphamide (CTX) was investigated. The results showed that combination treatment with MDP and CTX exerted a significantly synergistic anti-tumor effect in Lewis tumor-bearing mice, improved CTX-induced emaciation and hair loss, as well as increased the number of leukocytes, erythrocytes, hemoglobin, and platelets in the peripheral blood. In addition, compared with CTX alone, the thymus index and spleen index of the MDP + CTX group were increased, the number of CD3 + T cells, CD8 + T cells, white blood cells and B cells in spleen also increased significantly. MDP could also ameliorate the increase in liver and kidney index caused by CTX. In the Lewis lung cancer model, MDP showed a certain degree of anti-tumor effects, which may be related to its promotion of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) to M1 phenotype polarisation, enhancement of the number of T cells in tumor tissues and promotion of Th cells in tumor tissues to Th1 phenotype polarisation, thus alleviating the immunosuppressive microenvironment in tumor tissues. This study laid the foundation for the development of MDP as a polysaccharide drug for the treatment or adjuvant therapy of tumors and has important significance for the further clinical application of polysaccharides.

Novel ß-dicarbonyl derivatives as inhibitors of aminopeptidase N (APN).

Most zinc metalloproteases are over-expressed in tumor cells and play a critical role in the genesis, development, and metastasis of tumors. Novel zinc binding groups (ZBGs) represent a novel strategy to obtain optimal potency and selectivity for zinc metalloproteases inhibitors. Here we described the design, synthesis, and biological studies of novel ß-dicarbonyl derivatives as aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13) inhibitors. The results demonstrated that some compounds exhibited moderate to good inhibitory activities against APN with compound 5c being the most potent, suggesting that 5c could serve as new lead for the future APN inhibitor development. The results further confirm our design rationale of ß-dicarbonyl moiety as a new ZBG, which may provide a new direction for the design and discovery of zinc metalloproteases inhibitors as new anti-tumor agents.

Novel leucine ureido derivatives as inhibitors of aminopeptidase N (APN).

Aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13) over expressed on tumor cells, plays a critical role in tumor invasion, metastasis, and tumor angiogenesis. Here we described the design, synthesis and preliminary activity studies of novel leucine ureido derivatives as aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13) inhibitors. The results showed that compound 8c had the most potent inhibitory activity against APN with the IC50 value to 0.06 ± 0.041 µM, which could be used for further anticancer agent research.

Development of pyrazoline-based derivatives as aminopeptidase N inhibitors to overcome cancer invasion and metastasis.

Aminopeptidase N is considered as a promising anti-tumor target due to its role in tumor invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. In this report, a new series of pyrazoline-based derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for biological activities. The structure-activity relationships of these pyrazoline-based derivatives were also discussed in detail. Among them, compound 2k, with 2,6-dichloro substitution, showed the best APN inhibitory activity, of which the IC50 value was two orders of magnitude lower than that of the positive control bestatin. At the same concentration of 100 µM, the in vitro anti-invasion activity of compound 2k was also significantly better than that of bestatin. Moreover, compound 2k could effectively prevent the pulmonary metastasis of mice H22 hepatoma cells in vivo, supporting its further research and development as an antitumor agent.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Pyrazoline-Based Hydroxamic Acid Derivatives as Aminopeptidase†N (APN) Inhibitors.

Aminopeptidase N (APN) has been recognized as a target for anticancer treatment due to its overexpression on diverse malignant tumor cells and association with cancer invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. Herein we describe the synthesis, biological evaluation, and structure-activity relationship study of two new series of pyrazoline analogues as APN inhibitors. Among these compounds, 5-(2-(2-(hydroxyamino)-2-oxoethoxy)phenyl)-3-phenyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazole-1-carboxamide (compound 13 e) showed the best APN inhibition with an IC50 value of 0.16±0.02 µm, which is more than one order of magnitude lower than that of bestatin (IC50 =9.4±0.5 µm). Moreover, compound 13 e was found to inhibit the proliferation of diverse carcinoma cells and to show potent anti-angiogenesis activity. At the same concentration, compound 13 e presents significantly higher anti-angiogenesis activity than bestatin in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) capillary tube formation assays. The putative binding mode of 13 e in the active site of APN is also discussed.

Novel leucine ureido derivatives as aminopeptidase N inhibitors. Design, synthesis and activity evaluation.

Aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13) over-expressed on tumor cells and tumor microenvironment, plays critical roles in tumor invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. Here we described the design, synthesis and preliminary activity studies of novel leucine ureido derivatives as aminopeptidase N (APN/CD13) inhibitors. The results showed that compound 7a had the most potent inhibitory activity against APN with the IC50 value of 20 nM, which could be used for further anticancer agent research.

Selective histone deacetylase inhibitors.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are a family of conserved metalloproteases which play a key role in the development of cancer. They can be divided into 18 subtypes according to their structural diversity. Histone deacetylase inhibitors are considered as potential anti-cancer agents and a lot of pan-HDAC inhibitors have entered clinical trials. Selective HDAC inhibitors targeting only one member or one class subtype are less exploited at present and regarded less toxic as well as more tolerable than pan-HDAC inhibitors. Certain structural modifications or new moieties may help to acquire isoform selectivity. In this review, we will focus on each member of HDACs and selective HDAC inhibitors as well as the relationship between structure and selectivity.

Development of Synthetic Aminopeptidase N/CD13 Inhibitors to Overcome Cancer Metastasis and Angiogenesis.

Cancer metastasis is a major barrier to its treatment and an important cause of patient death. Antimetastatic agents hold promise for patients with advanced metastatic tumors. Aminopeptidase N/CD13 (APN) is being pursued by many as an important target against cancer metastasis and angiogenesis, but there are few reports on the in vivo evaluation of synthetic APN inhibitors. Herein, a series of compounds targeting APN were synthesized and evaluated for their antimetastasis and antiangiogenesis potency both in vitro and in vivo. Excitingly, compounds 4m, 4t, and 4cc, with the most potent APN inhibitory activities, displayed significant antimetastasis and antiangiogenesis effects in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that those synthetic APN inhibitors have the potential to overcome cancer metastasis and angiogenesis.

Epidermal growth factor receptor as a target for anti-cancer agent design.

The epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors, one family of protein tyrosine kinases (PTK), are promising targets for the cancer therapy. Many potential inhibitors including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), reversible inhibitors and irreversible inhibitors have been developed. Some of them have been approved by the FDA or in the stage of clinical trials. This report reviews the recent progress of the structures, functions and inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases.