The syntheses of twelve caffeoyl/cinnamoyl clusters and their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects are described. Synthesis of the title compounds involved a multiple copper(I)-catalyzed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. Azide or alkyne functionalized cinnamoyl or caffeoyl moieties are attached to the selected core molecules to allow variation of the introduced cinnamoyl or caffeoyl moieties in order to compare their effects on 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) inhibition and on cell proliferation in cancerous (MCF7) and non cancerous (MCF10A) human mammary epithelial cell lines. Caffeoyl dimer 13, trimer 17, and tetramer 19, inhibited 5-LO product synthesis in a cell-free assay with IC 50 values ranging from 0.66 to 0.79 mM. These compounds surpassed the inhibitory activity of caffeic acid by more than 10-fold. Monomer 11 caused almost 95% inhibition of 5-LO and surpassed the known 5-LO inhibitor zileuton in a cell-based assay. Trimer compounds 15, 17 and tetramer 19 decreased proliferation rates of MCF-7 cells by 36, 23 and 47%, respectively, but had no effect on MCF10A proliferation.

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Mammaglobin 1 (MGB1), a member of the secretoglobin family, is expressed in mammary epithelial tissues and is overexpressed in most mammary carcinomas. Despite the extensive research correlating MGB1 expression profiles to breast cancer pathogenesis and disease outcome, the biological significance of MGB1 in cancer processes is still unclear. We have thus set out to conduct a functional evaluation of the molecular and cellular roles of MGB1 in breast cancer processes leading to disease progression. Using a series of breast cancer cell models with conditional MGB1 expression, we demonstrate that MGB1 promotes cancer cell malignant features. More specifically, loss of MGB1 expression resulted in a decrease of cell proliferation, soft agar spheroid formation, migration, and invasion capacities of breast cancer cells. Concomitantly, we also observed that MGB1 expression activates signaling pathways mediated by MAPK members (p38, JNK, and ERK), the focal adhesion kinase (FAK), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and NFκB. Moreover, MGB1 regulates epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) features and modulates Snail, Twist and ZEB1 expression levels. Interestingly, we also observed that expression of MGB1 confers breast cancer cell sensitivity to anticancer drug-induced apoptosis. Together, our results support a role for MGB1 in tumor malignancy in exchange for chemosensitivity. These findings provide one of the first descriptive overview of the molecular and cellular roles of MGB1 in breast cancer processes and may offer new insight to the development of therapeutic and prognostic strategies in breast cancer patients. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.