Targeting cancer with small molecule prodrugs should help overcome problems associated with conventional cancer-targeting methods. Herein, we focused on lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) to trigger the controlled release of anticancer drugs in cancer cells, where LSD1 is highly expressed. Conjugates of the LSD1 inhibitor trans-2-phenylcyclopropylamine (PCPA) were used as novel prodrugs to selectively release anticancer drugs by LSD1 inhibition. As PCPA-drug conjugate (PDC) prototypes, we designed PCPA-tamoxifen conjugates 1 a and 1 b, which released 4-hydroxytamoxifen in the presence of LSD1 in vitro. Furthermore, 1 a and 1 b inhibited the growth of breast cancer cells by the simultaneous inhibition of LSD1 and the estrogen receptor without exhibiting cytotoxicity toward normal cells. These results demonstrate that PDCs provide a useful prodrug method that may facilitate the selective release of drugs in cancer cells.
The two subtypes of estrogen receptor (ER), ERα and ERβ, differ greatly in expression pattern and biological functions, and ERβ-selective ligands candidates to treat immune-related disorders. ERβ-selective ligands have mostly been designed based the idea of introducing a substituent that interferes sterically with the ligand's interaction with Met421 to selectively decrease the affinity for ERα (the equivalent residue in ERβ is Ile373). Therefore, we designed and synthesized a series of carboranyl phenol derivatives bearing an aliphatic substituent as candidate ERβ-selective ligands. Introduction of a longer aliphatic substituent into the carboranyl moiety enhanced the ERβ selectivity of o-carboranyl phenol derivatives 4, but not m-carboranyl bisphenol derivatives 5. Compound 4c showed 7.4-fold ERβ selectivity in ER-binding assay and exhibited moderate estrogenic activity in cell proliferation assay using MCF-7 cell line.
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