Development of an Androgen Receptor Inhibitor Targeting the N-Terminal Domain of Androgen Receptor for Treatment of Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer.

Abstract

Prostate cancer patients undergoing androgen deprivation therapy almost invariably develop castration-resistant prostate cancer. Resistance can occur when mutations in the androgen receptor (AR) render anti-androgen drugs ineffective or through the expression of constitutively active splice variants lacking the androgen binding domain entirely (e.g., ARV7). In this study, we are reporting the discovery of a novel AR-NTD covalent inhibitor 1-chloro-3-[(5-([(2S)-3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl]amino)naphthalen-1-yl)amino]propan-2-ol (VPC-220010) targeting the AR-N-terminal Domain (AR-NTD). VPC-220010 inhibits AR-mediated transcription of full length and truncated variant ARV7, downregulates AR response genes, and selectively reduces the growth of both full-length AR- and truncated AR-dependent prostate cancer cell lines. We show that VPC-220010 disrupts interactions between AR and known coactivators and coregulatory proteins, such as CHD4, FOXA1, ZMIZ1, and several SWI/SNF complex proteins. Taken together, our data suggest that VPC-220010 is a promising small molecule that can be further optimized into effective AR-NTD inhibitor for the treatment of CRPC.

• Authors: Fuqiang Ban, Eric Leblanc, Ayse Derya Cavga, Chia-Chi Flora Huang, Mark R Flory, Fan Zhang, Matthew E K Chang, Hélène Morin, Nada Lallous, Kriti Singh, Martin E Gleave, Hisham Mohammed, Paul S Rennie, Nathan A Lack, Artem Cherkasov
• Journal: Cancers (Cancers (Basel)) Vol. 13 Issue 14 (Jul 12 2021) ISSN: 2072-6694 [Print] Switzerland
• PMID: 34298700 (Publication Type: Journal Article)