Development of Androgen-Antagonistic Coumarinamides with a Unique Aromatic Folded Pharmacophore.

First-generation nonsteroidal androgen receptor (AR) antagonists, such as flutamide (2a) and bicalutamide (3), are effective for most prostate cancer patients, but resistance often appears after several years due to the mutation of AR. Second-generation AR antagonists are effective against some of these castration-resistant prostate cancers, but their structural variety is still limited. In this study, we designed and synthesized 4-methyl-7-(N-alkyl-arylcarboxamido)coumarins as AR antagonist candidates and evaluated their growth-inhibitory activity toward androgen-dependent SC-3 cells. Coumarinamides with a secondary amide bond did not show inhibitory activity, but their N-methylated derivatives exhibited AR-antagonistic activity. Especially, 19b and 31b were more potent than the lead compound 7b, which was comparable to hydroxyflutamide (2b). Conformational analysis showed that the inactive coumarinamides with a secondary amide bond have an extended structure with a trans-amide bond, while the active N-methylated coumarinamides have a folded structure with a cis-amide bond, in which the two aromatic rings are placed face-to-face. Docking study suggested that this folded structure is important for binding to AR. Selected coumarinamide derivatives showed AR-antagonistic activity toward LNCaP cells with T877A AR, and they had weak progesterone receptor (PR)-antagonistic activity. The folded coumarinamide structure appears to be a unique pharmacophore, different from those of conventional AR antagonists.

Development of novel lithocholic acid derivatives as vitamin D receptor agonists.

Lithocholic acid (2) was identified as the second endogenous ligand of vitamin D receptor (VDR), though its binding affinity to VDR and its vitamin D activity are very weak compared to those of the active metabolite of vitamin D3, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1). 3-Acylated lithocholic acids were reported to be slightly more potent than lithocholic acid (2) as VDR agonists. Here, aiming to develop more potent lithocholic acid derivatives, we synthesized several derivatives bearing a 3-sulfonate/carbonate or 3-amino/amide substituent, and examined their differentiation-inducing activity toward human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. Introduction of a nitrogen atom at the 3-position of lithocholic acid (2) decreased the activity, but compound 6 bearing a 3-methylsulfonate group showed more potent activity than lithocholic acid (2) or its acylated derivatives. The binding of 6 to VDR was confirmed by competitive binding assay and X-ray crystallographic analysis of the complex of VDR ligand-binding domain (LBD) with 6.

Design and synthesis of 4-benzyl-1-(2H)-phthalazinone derivatives as novel androgen receptor antagonists.

The androgen receptor (AR) plays important roles in multiple physiological functions, including differentiation, growth, and maintenance of male reproductive organs, and also has effects on hair and skin. In this paper, we report the synthesis of nonsteroidal AR antagonists having a 4-benzyl-1-(2H)-phthalazinone skeleton. Among the synthesized compounds, 11c with two ortho-substituents on the phenyl group potently inhibited SC-3 cell proliferation (IC50: 0.18 µM) and showed high wt AR-binding affinity (IC50: 10.9 µM), comparable to that of hydroxyflutamide (3). Compound 11c also inhibited proliferation of LNCaP cells containing T877A-mutated AR. Docking study of 11c with the AR ligand-binding domain indicated that the benzyl group is important for the antagonism. These phthalazinone derivatives may be useful for investigating potential clinical applications of AR antagonists.

Novel thyroid hormone receptor antagonists with an N-alkylated diphenylamine skeleton.

Thyroid hormones play important roles in growth, development and homeostasis, and disruption of their functions induces serious disease, so novel synthetic thyroid hormone analogues are candidates for clinical application. We designed and synthesized novel diphenylamine derivatives with a thiazolidinedione moiety as the terminal polar group as thyroid hormone receptor (TR) antagonists. Compounds bearing an appropriately sized N-alkyl group showed antagonistic activities towards both the hTRalpha1 and hTRbeta1 subtypes.