Discovery of novel biphenyl derivatives as androgen receptor degraders for the treatment of enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer.

Second-generation AR antagonists, such as enzalutamide, are the primary therapeutic agents for advanced prostate cancer. However, the development of both primary and secondary drug resistance leads to treatment failures and patient mortality. Bifunctional agents that simultaneously antagonize and degrade AR block the AR signaling pathway more completely and exhibit excellent antiproliferative activity against wild-type and drug-resistant prostate cancer cells. Here, we reported the discovery and optimization of a series of biphenyl derivatives as androgen receptor antagonists and degraders. These biphenyl derivatives exhibited potent antiproliferative activity against LNCaP and 22Rv1 cells. Our discoveries enrich the diversity of small molecule AR degraders and offer insights for the development of novel AR degraders for the treatment of enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer.

Determination of sequence and absolute configuration of peptide amino acids by HPLC-MS/CD-based detection of liberated N-terminus phenylthiohydantoin amino acids.

We report a method for the simultaneous determination of the sequence and absolute configuration of peptide amino acids using a combination of Edman degradation and HPLC-MS/CD. Phenylthiohydantoin (PTH) derivatives of 20 pairs of standard D- and L-amino acids were synthesized by the Edman reaction. The CD spectra of the derivatives revealed that each pair of the PTH derivatives exhibited the absorption with opposite signs at around 270 nm. These standard PTH derivatives showed well-resolved resolution without interference from byproducts in the ion chromatogram and clear positive/negative CD absorptions when subjected on a reversed phase HPLC-MS system coupled with a CD-2095 HPLC detector. This method was applied for the detection of a synthetic pentapeptide and a natural depsipeptide (halicylindramide C). The sequence and configuration of the pentapeptide and up to eight residues of halicylindramide C were successfully analyzed by this method. The amino acid configuration of the pentapeptide was also determined successfully by subjecting its acid hydrolysates to the Edman reaction followed by HPLC-MS/CD.

Dual-function antiandrogen/HDACi hybrids based on enzalutamide and entinostat.

The combination of androgen receptor antagonists with histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) has been shown to be more effective than antiandrogens alone in halting growth of prostate cancer cell lines. Here we have designed, synthesized and assessed a series of antiandrogen/HDACi hybrids by combining structural features of enzalutamide with either SAHA or entinostat. The hybrids are demonstrated to maintain bifunctionality using a fluorometric HDAC assay and a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) antiandrogen assay. Antiproliferative assays showed that hybrids bearing o-aminoanilide-based HDACi motifs outperformed hydroxamic acid based HDACi's. The hybrids demonstrated selectivity for epithelial cell lines vs. stromal cell lines, suggesting a potentially useful therapeutic window.

Analysis of the binding modes of the first- and second-generation antiandrogens with respect to F876L mutation.

Androgen receptor (AR) is an important target for the treatment of prostate cancer, and mutations in the AR have an important impact on the resistance of existing drugs. In this work, we performed molecular dynamics simulations of the existing marketed antiandrogens flutamide, nilutamide, bicalutamide, enzalutamide, apalutamide, darolutamide, and its main metabolite ORM15341 in complex with the wild-type and F876L mutant AR. We calculated the residue-specific binding free energy contribution of the wild-type and mutant ARs with the AS-IE method and analyzed the hotspot residues and the binding free energy contributions of specific residues before and after the mutation. In addition, we analyzed the total binding obtained by adding residue binding energy contributions and compared the results with experimental values. The obtained residue-specific binding information should be very helpful in understanding the mechanism of drug resistance with respect to specific mutations and in the design of new generation drugs against possible new mutations.

Amorphous solid dispersions of enzalutamide and novel polysaccharide derivatives: investigation of relationships between polymer structure and performance.

Amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) is a widely employed formulation technique for drugs with poor aqueous solubility. Polymers are integral components of ASDs, but mechanisms by which polymers lead to the generation and maintenance of supersaturated solutions, which enhance oral absorption in vivo, are poorly understood. Herein, a diverse group of newly synthesized cellulose derivatives was evaluated for their ability to inhibit crystallization of enzalutamide, a poorly soluble compound used to treat prostate cancer. ASDs were prepared from selected polymers, specifically a somewhat hydrophobic polymer that was extremely effective at inhibiting drug crystallization, and a less effective, but more hydrophilic, crystallization inhibitor, that might afford better release. Drug membrane transport rate was evaluated in vitro and compared to in vivo performance, following oral dosing in rats. Good correlation was noted between the in vitro diffusion cell studies and the in vivo data. The ASD formulated with the less effective crystallization inhibitor outperformed the ASD prepared with the highly effective crystallization inhibitor in terms of the amount and rate of drug absorbed in vivo. This study provides valuable insight into key factors impacting oral absorption from enabling ASD formulations, and how best to evaluate such formulations using in vitro approaches.

Evaluation of Small Molecule Drug Uptake in Patient-Derived Prostate Cancer Explants by Mass Spectrometry.

Patient-derived explant (PDE) culture of solid tumors is increasingly being applied to preclinical evaluation of novel therapeutics and for biomarker discovery. In this technique, treatments are added to culture medium and penetrate the tissue via a gelatin sponge scaffold. However, the penetration profile and final concentrations of small molecule drugs achieved have not been determined to date. Here, we determined the extent of absorption of the clinical androgen receptor antagonist, enzalutamide, into prostate PDEs, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and matrix-assisted laser/desorption ionisation (MALDI) mass spectrometry imaging (MSI). In a cohort of 11 PDE tissues from eight individual patients, LC-MS/MS quantification of PDE homogenates confirmed enzalutamide (10 µM) uptake by all PDEs, which reached maximal average tissue concentration of 0.24-0.50 ng/µg protein after 48 h culture. Time dependent uptake of enzalutamide (50 µM) in PDEs was visualized using MALDI MSI over 24-48 h, with complete penetration throughout tissues evident by 6 h of culture. Drug signal intensity was not homogeneous throughout the tissues but had areas of markedly high signal that corresponded to drug target (androgen receptor)-rich epithelial regions of tissue. In conclusion, application of MS-based drug quantification and visualization in PDEs, and potentially other 3-dimensional model systems, can provide a more robust basis for experimental study design and interpretation of pharmacodynamic data.

A new series of bicalutamide, enzalutamide and enobosarm derivatives carrying pentafluorosulfanyl (SF5) and pentafluoroethyl (C2F5) substituents: Improved antiproliferative agents against prostate cancer.

SAR studies on bicalutamide, enobosarm and enzalutamide analogues, functionalised with polyfluorinated groups, is presented. Among the novel bicalutamide and enobosarm derivatives synthesised, several displayed significantly improved in vitro anticancer activity, with IC50 values in the low micromolar range against four different prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, VCaP, DU-145 and 22Rv1), showing up to 48-fold increase in comparison with the parent structures. In particular, SF5 enobosarm analogues were found to be most potent compounds, full AR antagonists and with favourable ADME properties. The most promising compound (48a) was evaluated for its in vivo efficacy in PC xenograft mouse model (22Rv1) with results comparable to the standard-of-care docetaxel.

Quantification of Newly Discovered Anti-Cancer Drug Enzalutamide in Bulk and Synthetic Mixture by Stability Indicating TLC Method.

OBJECTIVE: An impressionable, discriminatory and precise stability indicating high performance thin layer chromatographic method has been developed and validated for the estimation of Enzalutamide in bulk and synthetic mixture. METHOD: The method engaged HPTLC aluminium plates pre-coated with silica gel 60F-254 as the stationary phase while the solvent system was ethyl acetate: toluene (4.5:5.5, v/v). The Rf value of enzalutamide was detected to be 0. 39 ± 0. 005 and the densitometric analysis was carried out in absorbance mode at 246 nm. The linear regression analysis data for the calibration plots presented a virtuous linear relationship for enzalutamide over a concentration range of 20 - 1000ng/band. RESULTS: The limit of detection and limit of quantification for enzalutamide was found to be 9.05 and 27.43 ng/band. Enzalutamide was imperilled to acid and alkali hydrolysis, chemical oxidation, dry heat degradation and photolytic degradation. The degraded product peaks were well resolved from the pure drug peak with substantial difference in their Rf values. CONCLUSION: Stressed samples were assayed using developed TLC technique. Suggested method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision and robustness. The method was successfully applied to the estimation of enzalutamide in synthetic mixture.

Non-Steroidal Androgen Receptor Antagonists and Prostate Cancer: A Survey on Chemical Structures Binding this Fast-Mutating Target.

The Androgen Receptor (AR) pathway plays a major role in both the pathogenesis and progression of prostate cancer. In particular, AR is chiefly involved in the development of Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC) as well as in the resistance to the secondgeneration AR antagonist enzalutamide, and to the selective inhibitor of cytochrome P450 17A1 (CYP17A1) abiraterone. Several small molecules acting as AR antagonists have been designed and developed so far, also as a result of the ability of cells expressing this molecular target to rapidly develop resistance and turn pure receptor antagonists into ineffective or event detrimental molecules. This review covers a survey of most promising classes of non-steroidal androgen receptor antagonists, also providing insights into their mechanism of action and efficacy in treating prostate cancer.

A Low-Molecular-Weight Compound Derived from Human Leukocytes Determines a Bactericidal Activity of the Interferon Preparation.

The aim of this study was to characterize the structure and mode of action of antimicrobials derived from a commercial preparation of alfa-interferon. By combination of semi-preparative/analytical reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, we isolated and purified a novel active substance based on carbohydrate with a complex of amino acids, which determines antimicrobial property of commercial preparation of interferon. A size-exclusion chromatography was performed and LC/ESI-MS revealed molecular masses of active substance were in the range of 180-249 Da. Edman sequencing identified phenylthiohydantoin (PTH) derivatives which consisted a set of preliminary (Asp, Glu, Gly, and Ala) and minor amino acids (Leu and Thr) at equimolar ratio. Thus, the purified active substance is a compound containing the complex of amino acids connected with carbohydrate background and called leucidin. Leucidin demonstrated antimicrobial activity against the model Escherichia coli (E. coli) K12 strain at a minimal inhibitory concentration of 20 µg mL-1. The revealed antimicrobial mechanism of action is associated with violation of the bacterial cell wall leading to a SOS response and bacterial autolysis. Despite the preliminary nature of the results, obtained data allowed us to discover the previously unknown leukocyte-derived antimicrobial molecules.

Quantification of 2-aminoisobutyric acid impurity in enzalutamide bulk drug substance using hydrophilic interaction chromatography with fluorescence detection.

A rapid procedure for the determination of 2-aminoisobutyric acid in enzalutamide bulk drug substance based on hydrophilic interaction chromatography with fluorescence detection was developed. Fluorescence detection after postcolumn derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde/2-mercaptoethanol was carried out at excitation and emission wavelength of 345 nm and 450 nm, respectively. The postcolumn reaction conditions such as reaction temperature, mobile phase and derivatization reagent flow rate and the reagents concentrations were studied and optimized due to steric hindrance of amino group of 2-aminoisobutyric acid. The derivatization reaction was applied for the hydrophilic interaction chromatography method which was based on COSMOSIL HILIC column with a mobile phase consisting of a mixture of 25 mmol/L acetic acid adjusted to pH 5.5 (using 1 mol/L potassium hydroxide) and acetonitrile using an isocratic elution (28:72, ν/ν). The benefit of the reported approach consists in a simple sample pretreatment and a quick and sensitive hydrophilic interaction chromatography method. The developed method was validated in terms of linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision and selectivity according to the International Conference on Harmonisation guidelines. The developed method was demonstrated to be applied for the analysis of 2-AIBA in routine quality control evaluation of commercial samples of enzalutamide bulk drug substance.

Relationship between amorphous solid dispersion in vivo absorption and in vitro dissolution: phase behavior during dissolution, speciation, and membrane mass transport.

Enzalutamide is a fast crystallizing, hydrophobic compound that has solubility limited absorption in vivo. Given the low aqueous solubility of this compound, it was of interest to evaluate amorphous formulations in vitro and in vivo. Amorphous solid dispersions (ASD) of enzalutamide were prepared with the hydrophilic polymers, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose acetate succinate (HPMCAS) and copovidone (PVPVA). A side-by-side diffusion cell was developed as an in vitro characterization tool to discriminate enzalutamide ASDs based upon the solute thermodynamic activity achieved during dissolution and its impact on the subsequent membrane transport rates, phase behavior, and drug speciation. The same formulations were then tested in vivo in rats using oral dosing of ASD suspensions. Different levels of plasma exposure were observed between the ASDs, which could be correlated to the phase behaviors of the ASDs following dissolution. Unsurprisingly, ASDs that underwent crystallization show lower plasma exposures. However, differences were also observed between ASDs that dissolved to form nanosized amorphous drug aggregates versus those that dissolved to yield only supersaturated solutions, with the former outperforming the latter in terms of the plasma exposure. These observations highlight the importance of thoroughly understanding the phase behavior of an amorphous formulation following dissolution and the need to discriminate between different types of precipitation, specifically crystallization versus glass liquid phase separation to form nanosized amorphous aggregates.

Thermodynamic enantioseparation behavior of phenylthiohydantoin-amino acid derivatives in supercritical fluid chromatography on polysaccharide chiral stationary phases.

Thirteen pairs of enantiomers belonging to the same structural family (phenylthiohydantoin-amino acids) were analyzed on two polysaccharide chiral stationary phases, namely, tris-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate) of amylose (Chiralpak AD-H) or cellulose (Chiralcel OD-H) in supercritical fluid chromatography with a carbon dioxide/methanol mobile phase (90:10 v/v). Five different temperatures (5, 10, 20, 30, 40°C) were applied to evaluate the thermodynamic behavior of these enantioseparations. On the cellulose stationary phase, the retention, and separation trends were most similar among the set of probe analytes, suggesting that the chiral cavities in this stationary phase have little diversity, or that all analytes accessed the same cavities. Conversely, the retention and separation trends on the amylose phase were much more diverse, and could be related to structural differences among the set of probe analytes (carbon chain length in the amino acid residue, secondary amine in proline, existence of covalent rings, or formation of pseudo-rings via intramolecular hydrogen bonds). The large variability of behaviors on the amylose phase suggests that the chiral-binding sites in this chiral stationary phase have more variety than on the cellulose phase, and that the analytes did access different cavities.

Effect of N-methyl deuteration on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of enzalutamide.

Enzalutamide, a second-generation antiandrogen, has been developed for the treatment of castration-resistance prostate cancer. We synthesized the deuterated analogues 6 and found that it showed higher drug exposure and thus stronger antitumor potency in preclinical settings. Compound 6 is being developed clinically for the potential to be differentiated from enzalutamide through reduced dosages and a higher safety margin.

Molecular Dynamics Studies on the Enzalutamide Resistance Mechanisms Induced by Androgen Receptor Mutations.

The second-generation antiandrogen enzalutamide, targeting androgen receptor (AR), was approved to treat castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in 2012. Its resistance was observed when it was in the clinical research stage. AR mutation is the main factor of enzalutamide resistance. AR F876L and F876L_T877A mutations were reported to switch enzalutamide from AR antagonist to agonist, but W741C cannot. There are various mutations in the ligand binding domain of AR LBD, such as L701H, W741L, H874Y, T877A, and M895T, if these mutations can lead to drug resistance problem or not is not known. In this work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and molecular mechanics Generalized Born (GB) surface area (MM-GBSA) calculations were employed to explore the interaction mechanisms between enzalutamide and wild-type (WT)/mutant ARs. The simulation results indicate that helix 12 (H12), which lies on the top of the AR LBD like a cover, plays a vital role for the function of enzalutamide. When C-ring of enzalutamide locates near to H12, the distance between enzalutamide and H12 is reduced, which prevents H12 from closing and distort the coactivator binding site, resulting in the inactivation of transcription. In this case, enzalutamide acts as an AR antagonist. However, when the C-ring of enzalutamide is near to helix H11 or the Loop 11-12, H12 tends to close to form a coactivator binding site to facilitate transcription, enzalutamide acts as an AR agonist. Moreover, per-residue free energy decomposition analysis indicates that M895 and I899 are key residues in the antagonist mechanism of enzalutamide. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 2792-2801, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Simultaneous quantitation of abiraterone, enzalutamide, N-desmethyl enzalutamide, and bicalutamide in human plasma by LC-MS/MS.

Inhibiting the androgen receptor (AR) pathway is an important clinical strategy in metastatic prostate cancer. Novel agents including abiraterone acetate and enzalutamide have been shown to prolong life in men with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). To evaluate the pharmacokinetics of AR-targeted agents, we developed and validated an LC-MS/MS assay for the quantitation of enzalutamide, N-desmethyl enzalutamide, abiraterone and bicalutamide in 0.05mL human plasma. After protein precipitation, chromatographic separation was achieved with a Phenomenex Synergi Polar-RP column and a linear gradient of 0.1% formic acid in methanol and water. Detection with an ABI 4000Q mass spectrometer utilized electrospray ionization in positive multiple reaction monitoring mode. The assay was linear over the ranges of 1-1000ng/mL for abiraterone and bicalutamide and 100-30,000ng/mL for N-desmethyl enzalutamide and enzalutamide and proved to be accurate (92.8-107.7%) and precise (largest was 15.3% CV at LLOQ for bicalutamide), and fulfilled FDA criteria for bioanalytical method validation. We demonstrated the suitability of this assay in plasma from patients who were administered enzalutamide 160mg, abiraterone 1000mg and bicalutamide 50mg once a day as monotherapy or in combination. The LC-MS/MS assay that has been developed will be an essential tool that further defines the pharmacology of the combinations of androgen synthesis or AR-receptor targeted agents.

C-terminally truncated constitutively active androgen receptor variants and their biologic and clinical significance in castration-resistant prostate cancer.

A mechanism allowing castration resistant prostate cancer cells to escape the effects of conventional anti-hormonal treatments is the synthesis of constitutively active, C-terminally truncated androgen receptor (AR)-variants. Lacking the entire or vast parts of the ligand binding domain, the intended target of traditional endocrine therapies, these AR-variants (termed ARΔLBD) are insensitive to all traditional treatments including second generation compounds like abiraterone, enzalutamide or ARN-509. Although ARΔLBD are predominantly products of alternative splicing, they can also be products of nonsense mutations or proteolytic cleavage. In this review, we will discuss the etiology and function of c-terminally truncated AR-variants and their clinical significance as markers/targets for the treatment of castration resistant prostate cancer.

The fluorescent two-hybrid assay for live-cell profiling of androgen receptor modulators.

The androgen receptor (AR) is an important target for drug therapies combating prostate cancer. However, various acquired mutations within the AR sequence often render this receptor resistant to treatment. Ligand-induced interaction between the N- and C-termini of the AR marks the initial step in the AR signaling cascade and can thus serve as an early read-out for analysis of potential antagonists of wt and mutant AR. To measure changes of the N/C interaction in the wt and mutant AR variants upon the addition of inhibitors, we applied our recently developed Fluorescent Two-Hybrid (F2H) assay. The F2H method enables real-time monitoring and quantitative analysis of the interactions between GFP- and RFP-tagged proteins in live mammalian cells, where GFP-tagged proteins are tethered to a specific nuclear location. This anchoring approach provides a local signal enrichment suitable for direct visualization of protein-protein interactions as co-localizations by conventional epifluorescence microscopy. Since the F2H assay is fully reversible, we could monitor dynamics of AR N/C interactions in living cells in real time upon agonistic, as well as antagonistic treatments. In dose-response F2H experiments, we compared the potencies of abiraterone, bicalutamide, enzalutamide, flutamide, and galeterone/TOK-001 to prevent the dihydrotestosterone-induced N/C interaction in wt AR. We further applied the newly developed F2H assay to analyze how the AR N/C interaction is affected by the clinically relevant mutations W741L, F876L, T877A and F876L/T877A. We conclude that F2H is a reliable and technically undemanding approach for straightforward screening of new AR modulators, as well as for monitoring their activity in real time in living cells.

Design and synthesis of indoline thiohydantoin derivatives based on enzalutamide as antiproliferative agents against prostate cancer.

A novel scaffold of indoline thiohydantoin was discovered as potent androgen receptor (AR) antagonist through rational drug designation. Several compounds showed good biological profiles in AR binding and higher selective toxicity than enzalutamide toward LNCaP cells (AR-rich) versus DU145 cells (AR-deficient). In addition, the docking studies supported the rationalization of the biological evaluation. Among these compounds, the representative compound 48c exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect on LNCaP growth and also acted as a competitive AR antagonist. Further preliminary mechanism study confirmed that 48c exerted its AR antagonistic activity through impairing AR nuclear translocation. All these results indicated that the novel scaffold compounds demonstrated AR antagonistic behavior and promising candidates for future development were identified.