sipholenol-a and Breast-Neoplasms

Sipholenol A, a triterpene isolated from the Red Sea sponge Callyspongia siphonella, was previously shown to reverse multidrug resistance in P-glycoprotein-overexpressing cancer cells. Moreover, sipholanes showed promising in vitro inhibitory effects against the invasion and migration of the metastatic human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. The breast tumor kinase (Brk), a mediator of cancer cell phenotypes important for proliferation, survival, and migration, was proposed as a potential target. This study reports additional semisynthetic optimization of sipholenol A esters to improve the breast cancer antimigratory and antiproliferative activities as well as Brk phosphorylation inhibition. Fifteen new sipholenol A analogs (25-39) were semisynthesized. Sipholenol A 4β-4',5'-dichlorobenzoate ester (29) was the most potent, with an IC50 value of 1.3 μM in the migration assay. The level of Brk phosphorylation inhibition of 29 was assessed using the Z'-LYTE™ kinase assay and Western blot analysis. Active analogs showed no toxicity on the non-tumorigenic epithelial breast cell line MCF10A at doses equal to their IC50 values or higher in migration and proliferation assays, suggesting their selectivity towards malignant cells. Pharmacophore modeling and 3D-QSAR studies were conducted to identify important pharmacophoric features and correlate 3D-chemical structure with activity. These studies provided the evidence for future design of novel antimigratory compounds based on a simplified sipholane structure possessing rings A and B (perhydrobenzoxepine) connected to substituted aromatic esters, with the elimination of rings C and D ([5,3,0]bicyclodecane system). This will enable the future synthesis of the new active entities feasibly and cost-effectively. These results demonstrate the potential of marine natural products for the discovery of novel scaffolds for the control and management of metastatic breast cancer.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Blotting, Western; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Drug Design; Epithelial Cells; Female; Humans; Models, Molecular; Molecular Structure; Neoplasm Proteins; Phosphorylation; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship; Triterpenes

Sipholenol A is a natural sipholane triterpenoid isolated from the Red Sea sponge, Callyspongia siphonella. Previous studies showed the antimigratory and antiproliferative activities of the semisynthetic sipholenol A esters against breast cancer cell lines. This study investigated the effects of sipholenol A-4-O-3',4'-dichlorobenzoate (SPA) on the growth, migration and invasion of diverse human breast cancer cells. Results showed that SPA inhibited the growth of the human breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, BT-474 and T-47D, in a dose-dependent manner. Immunofluorescent analysis showed that SPA significantly reduced Ki-67-positive cells in MDA-MB-231 cells. Flow cytometry and Western blot analyses revealed that SPA treatment suppressed MDA-MB-231 cell growth by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase. In addition, SPA suppressed breast cancer cell migration, invasion and decreased Brk and FAK activation in a dose-dependent manner. Molecular docking study suggested a perfect fitting at the FAK's FERM domain, inhibiting the main autophosphorylation site, Y397, which was further confirmed by Western blot analysis. Most known small molecule FAK inhibitors target the kinase domain, creating several off-target side effects. The in vivo studies showed that SPA treatment suppressed breast tumor growth and Ki-67, CD31, p-Brk and p-FAK expression in orthotopic breast cancer in nude mice. In conclusion, SPA inhibited the growth, invasion and migration of breast cancer cells possibly via deactivating Brk and FAK signaling, suggesting good potential for therapeutic use to control invasive breast cancer.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Blotting, Western; Breast Neoplasms; Callyspongia; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Movement; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Female; Flow Cytometry; G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints; Humans; Mice; Mice, Nude; Molecular Docking Simulation; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Signal Transduction; Triterpenes

Sipholenol A, a sipholane triterpene isolated from the Red Sea sponge Callyspongia siphonella, has the ability to reverse multidrug resistance in cancer cells that overexpress P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Here, the antimigratory activity of sipholenol A and analogues are reported against the highly metastatic human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 in a wound-healing assay. Sipholenol A and sipholenone A were semisynthetically optimized using ligand-based strategies to generate structurally diverse analogues in an attempt to maximize their antimigratory activity. A total of 22 semisynthetic ester, ether, oxime, and carbamate analogues were generated and identified by extensive one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry analyses. Sipholenol A 4β-4-chlorobenzoate and 19,20-anhydrosipholenol A 4β-4-chlorobenzoate esters were the most potent of all tested analogues in the wound-healing assay, with IC(50) values of 5.3 and 5.9 μM, respectively. Generally, ester derivatives showed better antimigratory activities than the carbamate analogues. A KINOMEscan of 19,20-anhydrosipholenol A 4β-benzoate ester against 451 human protein kinases identified protein tyrosine kinase 6 (PTK6) as a potential target. In breast tumor cells, PTK6 promotes growth factor signaling and migration, and as such the semisynthetic sipholanes were evaluated for their ability to inhibit PTK6 phosphorylation in vitro. The two analogues with the highest antimigratory activities, sipholenol A 4β-4-chlorobenzoate and 19,20-anhydrosipholenol A 4β-4-chlorobenzoate esters, also exhibited the most potent inhibition of PTK6 phosphorylation inhibition. None of the compounds exhibited cytotoxicity in a normal epithelial breast cell line. These derivatives were evaluated in an in vitro invasion assay, where sipholenol A succinate potently inhibited MDA-MB-231 cell invasion at 10 μM. These results highlight sipholane triterpenoids as novel antimigratory marine natural products with potential for further development as agents for the control of metastatic breast malignancies.

Topics: Animals; Breast Neoplasms; Callyspongia; Cell Line; Cell Movement; Epithelial Cells; Female; Humans; Neoplasm Proteins; Phosphorylation; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Structure-Activity Relationship; Triterpenes