Discovery of novel peptide-dehydroepiandrosterone hybrids inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress with effective in vitro and in vivo anti-melanoma activities

Eur J Med Chem. 2024 Mar 7;269:116296. doi: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116296. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSteroid hybrids have emerged as a type of advantageous compound as they could offer improved pharmacological and pharmaceutical properties. Here, we report a series of novel peptide-dehydroepiandrosterone hybrids, which would effectively induce endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and lead to apoptosis with outstanding in vitro and in vivo anti-melanoma effects. The lead compound IId among various steroids conjugated with peptides and pyridines showed effective in vivo activity in B16 xenograft mice: in medium- and high-dose treatment groups (60 and 80 mg/kg), compound IId would significantly inhibit the growth of tumours by 98%-99% compared to the control group, with the highest survival rate as well. Further mechanism studies showed that compound IId would damage the endoplasmic reticulum and upregulate the ERS markers C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) and glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), which could further regulate caspase and Bcl-2 family proteins and lead to cell apoptosis. The compound IId was also proven to be effective in inhibiting B16 cell migration and invasion.PMID:38467086 | DOI:10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116296
Source: European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Authors: Source Type: research