Novel N-Methylated Cyclodepsipeptide Prodrugs for Targeted Cancer Therapy

J Med Chem. 2021 Jan 28;64(2):991-1000. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01387. Epub 2021 Jan 8.

Abstract

Coibamide A (1) is a highly N-methylated cyclodepsipeptide with low nanomolar antiproliferative activities against various cancer cell lines. In previous work, we discovered a simplified analogue, [MeAla3-MeAla6]-coibamide (1a), which exhibited the same inhibitory abilities as coibamide A. Herein, to reduce the whole-body toxicity and improve the solubility of 1a, two novel peptide-drug conjugates RGD-SS-CA (2) and RGD-VC-CA (3) were designed, synthesized, and evaluated. Composed of cyclodepsipeptide 1a, a tumor-homing RGD motif, and a conditionally labile linker, the conjugates are expected to release 1a tracelessly in specific tumor microenvironments. Compared with RGD-VC-CA (3), RGD-SS-CA (2) proved to be superior in in vitro drug release and cytotoxicity tests. Notably, intravenous injection of RGD-SS-CA (2) into mice-bearing human tumor xenografts induced significant tumor growth suppression with negligible toxicity. Therefore, as a novel prodrug of the coibamide A analogue, conjugate 2 has great potential for further exploration in cancer drug discovery.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / toxicity
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Depsipeptides / chemical synthesis*
  • Depsipeptides / chemistry
  • Depsipeptides / pharmacology*
  • Depsipeptides / toxicity
  • Drug Design
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Prodrugs / pharmacology
  • Solubility
  • Tumor Microenvironment / drug effects
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Depsipeptides
  • Prodrugs
  • coibamide A