Copper complexes are hopeful anticancer drugs due to their multifacet biological properties and high biocompatibility. Inflammatory environment plays an important role in
tumor progression and affects the body response to chemotherapeutic agents. A
copper(II) complex CuLA with a
phenanthroline derivative N-(1,10-phenanthrolin-5-yl)-nonanamide (L) and two
aspirin anions (A) as the
ligands was synthesized. CuLA effectively induces
mitochondrial dysfunction and promotes early-apoptosis in SKOV-3 cells; moreover, it suppresses the expression of
cyclooxygenase-2, a key
enzyme involved in inflammatory response, in
lipopolysaccharide stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. By contrast, the analogue complex CuL without
aspirin ligand shows similar influences on cellular redox homeostasis and cell cycle progression but relatively low cytotoxic activity due to its mild effect on mitochondrial function; more importantly, it lacks inhibition to
cyclooxygenase-2. The results demonstrate that CuLA inhibits
cancer cells through dual pathways involving DNA damage and
mitochondrial dysfunction. The introduction of
aspirin not only enhances the antitumour efficacy but also reduces the inflammatory threat.
Copper complexes with both antitumor and anti-inflammatory activities may represent a new type of multifunctional
metal complexes in hope to be developed into novel metallodrugs.