Heterodimeric GW7604 Derivatives: Modification of the Pharmacological Profile by Additional Interactions at the Coactivator Binding Site

J Med Chem. 2021 May 13;64(9):5766-5786. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c02230. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Abstract

(E/Z)-3-(4-((E)-1-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-2-phenylbut-1-enyl)phenyl)acrylic acid (GW7604) as a derivative of (Z)-4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT) was linked by diaminoalkane spacers to molecules that are known binders to the coactivator binding site (benzimidazole or thioxo-quinazolinone scaffolds). With this modification, an optimization of the pharmacological profile was achieved. The most active thioxo-quinazolinone derivative 16 showed extraordinarily high affinity to the estrogen receptor (ER) β (RBA = 110%), inhibited effectively the coactivator recruitment (IC50 = 20.88 nM (ERα) and 28.34 nM (ERβ)), acted as a pure estradiol (E2) antagonist in a transactivation assay (IC50 = 18.5 nM (ERα) and 7.5 nM (ERβ)), and downregulated the ERα content in MCF-7 cells with an efficacy of 60% at 1 μM. The cytotoxicity was restricted to hormone-dependent MCF-7 (IC50 = 4.2 nM) and tamoxifen-resistant MCF-7TamR cells (IC50 = 476.6 nM). The compounds bearing a thioxo-quinazolinone moiety can therefore be assigned as pure E2-antagonistic selective ER degraders/downregulators. By contrast, the benzimidazole derivatives acted solely as pure antagonists without degradation of the ER.

MeSH terms

  • Acrylates / chemistry*
  • Acrylates / metabolism
  • Acrylates / pharmacology
  • Benzimidazoles / chemistry
  • Benzimidazoles / metabolism
  • Benzimidazoles / pharmacology
  • Binding Sites
  • Binding, Competitive
  • Dimerization
  • Down-Regulation / drug effects
  • Estradiol / pharmacology
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha / agonists*
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha / genetics
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Ligands
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Molecular Docking Simulation
  • Quinazolinones / chemistry
  • Quinazolinones / metabolism
  • Quinazolinones / pharmacology
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Tamoxifen / analogs & derivatives*
  • Tamoxifen / chemistry
  • Tamoxifen / metabolism
  • Tamoxifen / pharmacology
  • Transcriptional Activation / drug effects

Substances

  • Acrylates
  • Benzimidazoles
  • ESR1 protein, human
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha
  • Ligands
  • Quinazolinones
  • Tamoxifen
  • afimoxifene
  • Estradiol
  • benzimidazole
  • acrylic acid