125
100
75
50
25
0
125
100
75
50
25
0
Figure 2. Cytotoxicity of sigma receptor ligands as obtained from the MTT assay. SH-SY5Y (right chart) and Panc1 (left chart) cells were treated with
different 1R and 2R ligands (50 μM) for 48h. MTT assay was then performed, cytotoxicity of compounds was determined, and data were reported as % of
cytotoxicity vs the control (cells treated with DMSO 1%). The bars represent the mean ± SE from three independent experiments performed in triplicate.
In conclusion, the results of our in vitro investigation confirm
the role of the N-benzylpiperidine core as an excellent scaffold
not only for 1, but also for 2 ligands. At the same time, this
study highlights the following, specific moieties as beneficial to
support -binding: i) the original aromatic fragment linked to
the tertiary nitrogen amide atom (R2 of 1 and 2) seems to be
unnecessary: in fact, its replacement with an alkyl chain does
not affect the R affinity, not only for 1R (3d), but also for
2R subtype (3k); ii) on the other hand, the length of the alkyl
chain can modulate the selectivity towards both receptor
subtypes: a small methyl group leads the selectivity towards
2R, while a longer alkyl chain (eg. pentyl) shifts the selectivity
towards 1R subtype.
biomarker of proliferation in solid tumors. J. Cancer, 2000, 82,
1223-1232.
5.
Colabufo, N.A.; Berardi, F.; Contino, M.; Ferorelli,
S.; Niso, M.; Perrone, R.; Pagliarulo, A.; Sapanuro, P.; Pagliarulo,
V. Sigma-2 receptors as a biomarker of proliferation in solid
tumors. Cancer lett. 2006, 237, 83-88.
6.
a) Kashiwagi, H.; Mc Dunn, J.E.; Simon, P.O.;
Goedegebure, P.S.; Xu, J.; Jones, L.; Chang, K.; Johnston, F.;
Trinkaus, K.; Hotchkiss, R.S.; Mach, R.H.; Hawkins, W.G.
Selective Sigma-2 Ligands Preferentially Bind to Pancreatic
Adenocarcinomas: Applications in Diagnostic Imaging and
Therapy. Mol. Cancer 2007, 6, 48. b) Kashiwagi, H., McDunn, J.
E., Simon, P. O., Goedegebuure, P. S., Vangveravong, S., Chang,
K., Hotchkiss, R. S., Mach, R. H. & Hawkins, W. G. Sigma-2
receptor ligands potentiate conventional chemotherapies and
improve survival in models of pancreatic adenocarcinoma,
Journal of Translational Medicine. 2009, 7, 24.
Taken together, all this information might be exploited in the
future to design and synthesize new molecules featuring
different alkyl chains or alicyclic rings and characterized by
strong binding capabilities toward the 1 or 2 receptor
subtypes. In particular, our results support the implementation
of the compound 3k in the database of well-known 2R binders,
to be used in the future as a lead compound to generate a novel,
and more reliable, tree-dimensional 2R pharmacophore model.
7.
Hellewell, S.B.; Bruce, A.; Feinstein, G.; Orringer, J.;
Williams, W.; Bowen, W.D. Rat liver and kidney contain high
densities of sigma 1 and sigma 2 receptors: characterization by
ligand binding and photoaffinity labeling. Eur. J. Pharmacol.,
1994, 268 (1), 9-18.
Acknowledgments
8.
Klouz, A.; Sapena, R.; Liu, J.; Maurice, T.; Tillement,
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Authors are thankful to Dr. Fabio Hollan (Dept. of Chemistry
and Pharm. Sciences - University of Trieste) for providing the
MS analysis.
J.P.; Papadopoulos, V.; Morin, D. Evidence for sigma-1-like
receptors in isolated rat liver mitochondrial membranes. Br. J.
Pharmacol., 2002, 135 (7), 1607-1615.
9.
Xu, J.; Zeng, C.; Chu, W.; Pan, F.; Rothfuss, J.M.;
Zhang, F.; Zhou, D.; Zeng, D.; Vangveravong, S.; Johnston, F.;
Spitzer, D.; Chang, K.C.; Hotchkiss, R.S.; Hawkins, W.G.;
Wheeler, K.T.; Mach, R.H. Identification of the PGRMC1 protein
complex as the putative sigma-2 receptor binding site. Nat.
Comm., 2011, 2, 380.
References and notes
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Zeng, C.; Rothfuss, J.; Zhang, J.; Chu, W.;
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