Since their discovery
as distinct receptor proteins, the specific
physiopathological role of sigma receptors (σRs) has been deeply
investigated. It has been reported that these proteins, classified
into two subtypes indicated as σ
1
and σ
2
, might play a pivotal role in cancer growth, cell proliferation,
and tumor aggressiveness. As a result, the development of selective
σR ligands with potential antitumor properties attracted significant
attention as an emerging theme in cancer research. This perspective
deals with the recent advances of σR ligands as novel cytotoxic
agents, covering articles published between 2010 and 2020. An up-to-date
description of the medicinal chemistry of selective σ
1
R and σ
2
R ligands with antiproliferative and cytotoxic
activities has been provided, including major pharmacophore models
and comprehensive structure–activity relationships for each
main class of σR ligands.
Enhanced permeation retention (EPR) was a significant milestone discovery by Maeda et al. paving the path for the emerging field of nanomedicine to become a powerful tool in the fight against cancer. Sildenafil is a potent inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE-5) used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) through the relaxation of smooth muscles and the modulation of vascular endothelial permeability. Overexpression of PDE-5 has been reported in lung, colon, metastatic breast cancers, and bladder squamous carcinoma. Moreover, sildenafil has been reported to increase the sensitivity of tumor cells of different origins to the cytotoxic effect of chemotherapeutic agents with augmented apoptosis mediated through inducing the downregulation of Bcl-xL and FAP-1 expression, enhancing reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, phosphorylating BAD and Bcl-2, upregulating caspase-3,8,9 activities, and blocking cells at G0/G1 cell cycle phase. Sildenafil has also demonstrated inhibitory effects on the efflux activity of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters such as ABCC4, ABCC5, ABCB1, and ABCG2, ultimately reversing multidrug resistance. Accordingly, there has been a growing interest in using sildenafil as monotherapy or chemoadjuvant in EPR augmentation and management of different types of cancer. In this review, we critically examine the basic molecular mechanism of sildenafil related to cancer biology and discuss the overall potential of sildenafil in enhancing EPR-based anticancer drug delivery, pointing to the outcomes of the most important related preclinical and clinical studies.
Both personalized medicine and nanomedicine are new to medical practice. Nanomedicine is an application of the advances of nanotechnology in medicine and is being integrated into diagnostic and therapeutic tools to manage an array of medical conditions. On the other hand, personalized medicine, which is also referred to as precision medicine, is a novel concept that aims to individualize/customize therapeutic management based on the personal attributes of the patient to overcome blanket treatment that is only efficient in a subset of patients, leaving others with either ineffective treatment or treatment that results in significant toxicity. Novel nanomedicines have been employed in the treatment of several diseases, which can be adapted to each patient-specific case according to their genetic profiles. In this review, we discuss both areas and the intersection between the two emerging scientific domains. The review focuses on the current situation in personalized medicine, the advantages that can be offered by nanomedicine to personalized medicine, and the application of nanoconstructs in the diagnosis of genetic variability that can identify the right drug for the right patient. Finally, we touch upon the challenges in both fields towards the translation of nano-personalized medicine.
Heme oxygenase-1
(HO-1) promotes heme catabolism exercising cytoprotective
roles in normal and cancer cells. Herein, we report the design, synthesis,
molecular modeling, and biological evaluation of novel HO-1 inhibitors.
Specifically, an amide linker in the central spacer and an imidazole
were fixed, and the hydrophobic moiety required by the pharmacophore
was largely modified. In many tumors, overexpression of HO-1 correlates
with poor prognosis and chemoresistance, suggesting the inhibition
of HO-1 as a possible antitumor strategy. Accordingly, compounds
7i
and
7l
–
p
emerged for their
potency against HO-1 and were investigated for their anticancer activity
against prostate (DU145), lung (A549), and glioblastoma (U87MG, A172)
cancer cells. The selected compounds showed the best activity toward
U87MG cells. Compound
7l
was further investigated for
its in-cell enzymatic HO-1 activity, expression levels, and effects
on cell invasion and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) extracellular
release. The obtained data suggest that
7l
can reduce
cell invasivity acting through modulation of HO-1 expression.
In this work, the first mutual prodrug of 5-fluorouracil and heme oxygenase1 inhibitor (5-FU/HO-1 hybrid) has been designed, synthesised, and evaluated for its
in vitro
chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis stability. Predicted
in silico
physicochemical properties of the newly synthesised hybrid (
3
) demonstrated a drug-like profile with suitable Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME) properties and low toxic liabilities. Preliminary cytotoxicity evaluation towards human prostate (DU145) and lung (A549) cancer cell lines demonstrated that
3
exerted a similar effect on cell viability to that produced by the reference drug 5-FU. Among the two tested cancer cell lines, the A549 cells were more susceptible for
3
. Of note, hybrid
3
also had a significantly lower cytotoxic effect on healthy human lung epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) than 5-FU. Altogether our results served as an initial proof-of-concept to develop 5-FU/HO-1 mutual prodrugs as potential novel anticancer agents.
The potential anticancer
effect of fluoroquinolone antibiotics
has been recently unveiled and related to their ability to interfere
with DNA topoisomerase II. We herein envisioned the design and synthesis
of novel Ciprofloxacin and Norfloxacin nitric oxide (NO) photo-donor
hybrids to explore the potential synergistic antitumor effect exerted
by the fluoroquinolone scaffold and NO eventually produced upon light
irradiation. Anticancer activity, evaluated on a panel of tumor cell
lines, showed encouraging results with IC
50
values in the
low micromolar range. Some compounds displayed intense antiproliferative
activity on triple-negative and doxorubicin-resistant breast cancer
cell lines, paving the way for their potential use to treat aggressive,
refractory and multidrug-resistant breast cancer. No significant additive
effect was observed on PC3 and DU145 cells following NO release. Conversely,
antimicrobial photodynamic experiments on both Gram-negative and Gram-positive
microorganisms displayed a significant killing rate in
Staphylococcus aureus
, accounting for their potential
effectiveness as selective antimicrobial photosensitizers.
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