Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy.
Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95100 Catania, Italy.
Molecules. 2021 Jun 24;26(13):3860. doi: 10.3390/molecules26133860.
Cancer is a multifactorial disease that may be tackled by targeting different signaling pathways. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and sigma receptors (σRs) are both overexpressed in different human cancers, including prostate and brain, contributing to the cancer spreading. In the present study, we investigated whether HO-1 inhibitors and σR ligands, as well a combination of the two, may influence DU145 human prostate and U87MG human glioblastoma cancer cells proliferation. In addition, we synthesized, characterized, and tested a small series of novel hybrid compounds (HO-1/σRs) - containing the chemical features needed for HO-1 inhibition and σR modulation. Herein, we report for the first time that targeting simultaneously HO-1 and σR proteins may be a good strategy to achieve increased antiproliferative activity against DU145 and U87MG cells, with respect to the mono administration of the parent compounds. The obtained outcomes provide an initial proof of concept useful to further optimize the structure of HO-1/σRs hybrids to develop novel potential anticancer agents.
癌症是一种多因素疾病,可以通过靶向不同的信号通路来治疗。血红素加氧酶-1(HO-1)和西格玛受体(σRs)在包括前列腺和大脑在内的不同人类癌症中过度表达,导致癌症扩散。在本研究中,我们研究了 HO-1 抑制剂和 σR 配体,以及两者的组合,是否可能影响 DU145 人前列腺和 U87MG 人神经胶质瘤癌细胞的增殖。此外,我们合成、表征并测试了一系列新型杂合化合物(HO-1/σRs)-包含 HO-1 抑制和 σR 调节所需的化学特征。在这里,我们首次报道,靶向 HO-1 和 σR 蛋白可能是一种很好的策略,可以提高对 DU145 和 U87MG 细胞的增殖抑制活性,与母体化合物的单药治疗相比。所获得的结果提供了一个初步的概念验证,有助于进一步优化 HO-1/σRs 杂种的结构,以开发新的潜在抗癌药物。