Previously, we reported a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 inhibitor LW6 containing an (aryloxyacetylamino)benzoic acid moiety inhibits malate dehydrogenase 2 (MDH2) using a chemical biology approach. Structure–activity relationship studies on a series of (aryloxyacetylamino)benzoic acids identified selective MDH1, MDH2, and dual inhibitors, which were used to study the relationship between MDH enzyme activity and HIF-1 inhibition. We hypothesized that dual inhibition of MDH1 and MDH2 might be a powerful approach to target cancer metabolism and selected methyl-3-(3-(4-(2,4,4-trimethylpentan-2-yl)phenoxy)propanamido)-benzoate (16c) as the most potent dual inhibitor. Kinetic studies revealed that compound 16c competitively inhibited MDH1 and MDH2. Compound 16c inhibited mitochondrial respiration and hypoxia-induced HIF-1α accumulation. In xenograft assays using HCT116 cells, compound 16c demonstrated significant in vivo antitumor efficacy. This finding provides concrete evidence that inhibition of both MDH1 and MDH2 may provide a valuable platform for developing novel therapeutics that target cancer metabolism and tumor growth.

中文翻译：

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3-（3-（4-（2,4,4-三甲基戊烷-2-基）苯氧基）-丙酰胺基）苯甲酸甲酯作为靶向癌症代谢的新型和双重苹果酸脱氢酶（MDH）1/2抑制剂

以前，我们报道了使用化学生物学方法，含有（芳氧基乙酰氨基）苯甲酸部分的缺氧诱导因子（HIF）-1抑制剂LW6抑制苹果酸脱氢酶2（MDH2）。对一系列（芳氧基乙酰氨基）苯甲酸的结构-活性关系研究确定了选择性MDH1，MDH2和双重抑制剂，这些抑制剂用于研究MDH酶活性与HIF-1抑制之间的关系。我们假设对MDH1和MDH2的双重抑制可能是靶向癌症代谢的有力方法，并且选择了3-（3-（4-（2,4,4-三甲基戊烷-2-基）苯氧基）丙酰胺基）-苯甲酸甲酯（16c）作为最有效的双重抑制剂。动力学研究表明，化合物16c竞争性抑制MDH1和MDH2。化合物16c抑制线粒体呼吸和缺氧诱导的HIF-1α积累。在使用HCT116细胞的异种移植测定中，化合物16c表现出显着的体内抗肿瘤功效。这一发现提供了具体的证据，即抑制MDH1和MDH2可能为开发针对癌症代谢和肿瘤生长的新型疗法提供有价值的平台。