Role of the NMDA Receptor in the Antitumor Activity of Chiral 1,4-Dioxane Ligands in MCF-7 and SKBR3 Breast Cancer Cells

Maria Beatrice Morelli, Consuelo Amantini, Massimo Nabissi, Giorgio Santoni, Bernhard Wünsch, Dirk Schepmann, Cristina Cimarelli, Maura Pellei, Carlo Santini, Stefano Fontana, Valerio Mammoli, Wilma Quaglia, Alessandro Bonifazi, Mario Giannella, Gianfabio Giorgioni, Alessandro Piergentili, Fabio Del Bello

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

The potent N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists 1-3 have been demonstrated to show antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects in MCF-7 and SKBR3 breast cancer cell lines. To improve the knowledge about the role played by the NMDA receptor in the antitumor activity of these compounds, the enantiomers of 1 were prepared and evaluated for their affinity for the phencyclidine (PCP) site of the NMDA receptor and for their cytotoxic effect in MCF-7 and SKBR3 cell lines, both expressing the NMDA receptor. The (S)-1 enantiomer, showing negligible affinity for the PCP site, exhibited antiproliferative activity higher than that of (R)-1, which instead bound the PCP site. The downregulation of NMDA GluN1 expression resulted in a decreased (S)-1-induced cytotoxicity and apoptotic cell death, unequivocally demonstrating the involvement of the NMDA receptor in the antitumor effect of this compound. Due to its interesting biological profile, (S)-1 represents a lead compound to develop novel antitumor agents for breast cancer treatment.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)511-516
Number of pages6
JournalACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters
Volume10
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 11 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • 1,4-dioxane compounds
  • apoptosis
  • breast cancer
  • NMDA receptor
  • silencing of NMDA GluN1 subunit

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Drug Discovery
  • Organic Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Role of the NMDA Receptor in the Antitumor Activity of Chiral 1,4-Dioxane Ligands in MCF-7 and SKBR3 Breast Cancer Cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this