Eleven ruthenium compounds bearing either clinical agent nitroxoline that was previously identified as potent selective reversible inhibitor of cathepsin B activity, or its derivatives were evaluated as antimetastatic agents. We demonstrated that organoruthenation is a viable strategy for obtaining highly effective and specific inhibitors of cathepsin B endo- and exopeptidase activity as shown using enzyme kinetics and microscale thermophoresis. Furthermore, we showed that the novel metallodrugs by cathepsin B inhibition significantly impair processes of tumor progression in in vitro cell based functional assays in at low non-cytotoxic concentrations. Generally, by using metallodrugs we observed an improvement in cathepsin B inhibition, reduction of extracellular matrix degradation and tumor cell invasion compared to free ligands.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4769905
Cystatins are endogenous and reversible inhibitors of cysteine peptidases that are important players in cancer progression. Besides their primary role as regulators of cysteine peptidase activity, cystatins are involved in cancer development and progression through proteolysis-independent mechanisms. Mechanistic studies of cystatin function revealed that they affect all stages of cancer progression including tumor growth, apoptosis, invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis. Recently, the involvement of cystatins in the antitumor immune responses was reported. In this review, we discuss molecular mechanisms and clinical aspects of cystatins in cancer. Altered expression of cystatins in cancer resulting in harmful excessive cysteine peptidase activity has been a subject of several studies in order to find correlations with clinical outcome and therapy response. However, involvement in anti-tumor immune response and signaling cascades leading to cancer progression designates cystatins as possible targets for development of new anti-tumor drugs.
COBISS.SI-ID: 32336423
Cancer is a disease receiving an outstanding input of funds for basic and clinical research but is, nevertheless, still the second leading cause of death in the developed world and a great burden for health systems. New drugs are therefore needed to improve therapy, prolong survival of cancer patients and improve their quality of life. The high cost of development and clinical evaluation of new drugs limits the number that actually enter clinical use. To overcome this problem, repurposing of established drugs for new indications has gained a lot of interest, especially in the field of oncology. The well-established antimicrobial agent nitroxoline has been identified as a promising candidate to be repurposed for cancer treatment in several independent studies. Here we have reviewed a wide range of molecular mechanisms and tumor models involving nitroxoline in impairment of tumor progression. Furthermore, nitroxoline was used as a lead compound for structure-based chemical synthesis of new derivatives in order to improve its potency as well as selectivity for various targets. The potent antitumor activity of nitroxoline points strongly in the direction of its repurposing for cancer treatment and to the benefits of this strategy for patients and healthcare system.
COBISS.SI-ID: 32978215
The concept of multitarget-directed ligands (MTDLs) has attracted considerable interest in the development of agents against Alzheimer's disease. Cathepsin B, a cysteine protease, and butyrylcholinesterase, a serine hydrolase, play important function in the development and progression of Alzheimer's disease. We present herein the evaluation of 8-hydroxyquinoline-based analogues with activities against butyrylcholinesterase and %-secretase activity of cathepsin B. Furthermore, inhibition of amyloid [beta] aggregation, chelation of copper and zinc ions coupled with antioxidative properties and safe cytotoxicity profile of (1R,2S)-N-ethyl-2-[[(8-hydroxy-5-nitroquinolin-7-yl)methyl]amino]cyclohexane-1-carboxamide suggest that this derivative is a good starting point for optimization towards an effective multifunctional ligand.
COBISS.SI-ID: 22167555