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Highly malignant triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells rely mostly on glycolysis to maintain cellular homeostasis; however, mitochondria are still required for migration and metastasis. Taking advantage of the metabolic flexibility of TNBC MDA-MB-231 cells to generate subpopulations with glycolytic or oxidative phenotypes, we screened phenolic compounds containing an ortho-carbonyl group with mitochondrial activity and identified a bromoalkyl-ester of hydroquinone named FR58P1a, as a mitochondrial metabolism-affecting compound that uncouples OXPHOS through a protonophoric mechanism. In contrast to well-known protonophore uncoupler FCCP, FR58P1a does not depolarize the plasma membrane and its effect on the mitochondrial membrane potential and bioenergetics is moderate suggesting a mild uncoupling of OXPHOS. FR58P1a activates AMPK in a Sirt1-dependent fashion. Although the activation of Sirt1/AMPK axis by FR58P1a has a cyto-protective role, selectively inhibits fibronectin-dependent adhesion and migration in TNBC cells but not in non-tumoral MCF10A cells by decreasing β1-integrin at the cell surface. Prolonged exposure to FR58P1a triggers a metabolic reprograming in TNBC cells characterized by down-regulation of OXPHOS-related genes that promote cell survival but comprise their ability to migrate. Taken together, our results show that TNBC cell migration is susceptible to mitochondrial alterations induced by small molecules as FR58P1a, which may have therapeutic implications.

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The copper (II) complexes (CuL2) were prepared by reaction of Cu(CH3COO)2 with the corresponding derivatives of acylthioureas in a Cu:HL molar ratio of 1:2. Acylthiourea ligands, N,N-diethyl-N'-(R-benzoyl) thiourea (HL1-3) [R=H, o-Cl and p-NO2] were synthesized in high yield (78-83%) and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The complexes CuL2 were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, FAB(+)-MS, magnetic susceptibility measurements, EPR and cyclic voltammetry. The crystal structure of the complex Cu(L2)2 shows a nearly square-planar geometry with two deprotonated ligands (L) coordinated to CuII through the oxygen and sulfur atoms in a cis arrangement. The antitumor activity of the copper(II) complexes with acylthiourea ligands was evaluated in vitro against the mouse mammary adenocarcinoma TA3 cell line. These complexes exhibited much higher cytotoxic activity (IC50 values in the range of 3.9-6.9 μM) than their corresponding ligands (40-240 μM), which indicates that the coordination of the chelate ligands around the CuII enhances the antitumor activity and, furthermore, this result confirmed that the participation of the nitro and chloro substituent groups in the complex activities is slightly relevant. The high accumulation of the complexes Cu(L2)2 and Cu(L3)2 in TA3 tumor cells and the much faster binding to cellular DNA than Cu(L1)2 are consistent with the in vitro cytotoxic activities found for these copper complexes.

13-epi-sclareol is a labdane-type diterpene isolated from the resinous exudates of the medicinal plant species Pseudognaphalium cheiranthifolium (Lam.) Hilliard et Burtt. and P. heterotrichium (Phil.) A. Anderb. This compound has antibacterial activity only against Gram-positive bacteria, showing a bactericidal and lytic action. The interaction of 13- epi-sclareol with the bacterial respiratory chain was analyzed. The compound inhibited oxygen consumption of intact Gram-positive cells, but not with Gram-negative bacteria. The compound inhibited NADH oxidase and cytochrome c reductase activities, while coenzyme Q reductase and the cytochrome c oxidase activities were not affected. These results suggest that the target site of 13-epi-sclareol is located between coenzyme Q and cytochrome c. Using cytoplasmic membrane fractions, the results of the analysis of the enzyme activities associated with the respiratory chain complexes were the same for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, indicating that the compound has no access to the cytoplasmic membrane of intact Gram-negative bacteria. Thus, the Gram-negative envelope may act as a physical barrier that prevents the access of this compound to the site of action.