Synthesis and Anticancer Cytotoxicity of Azaaurones Overcoming Multidrug Resistance

oleh: Szilárd Tóth, Áron Szepesi, Viet-Khoa Tran-Nguyen, Balázs Sarkadi, Katalin Német, Pierre Falson, Attilio Di Pietro, Gergely Szakács, Ahcène Boumendjel

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-02-01

Deskripsi

The resistance of tumors against anticancer drugs is a major impediment for chemotherapy. Tumors often develop multidrug resistance as a result of the cellular efflux of chemotherapeutic agents by ABC transporters such as P-glycoprotein (ABCB1/P-gp), Multidrug Resistance Protein 1 (ABCC1/MRP1), or Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (ABCG2/BCRP). By screening a chemolibrary comprising 140 compounds, we identified a set of naturally occurring aurones inducing higher cytotoxicity against P-gp-overexpressing multidrug-resistant (MDR) cells versus sensitive (parental, non-P-gp-overexpressing) cells. Follow-up studies conducted with the P-gp inhibitor tariquidar indicated that the MDR-selective toxicity of azaaurones is not mediated by P-gp. Azaaurone analogs possessing pronounced effects were then designed and synthesized. The knowledge gained from structure−activity relationships will pave the way for the design of a new class of anticancer drugs selectively targeting multidrug-resistant cancer cells.