Design of Fluorine-Containing 3,4-Diarylfuran-2(5H)-ones as Selective COX-1 Inhibitors
- ACS Med Chem Lett. 2014 Oct 12;5(11):1254-8. doi: 10.1021/ml500344j.
- 1. A. B. Hancock, Jr., Memorial Laboratory for Cancer Research, Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacology, Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, Center for Molecular Toxicology and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine , Nashville, Tennessee 37232, United States.
We report the design and synthesis of fluorine-containing cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1)-selective inhibitors to serve as prototypes for the development of a COX-1-targeted imaging agent. Deletion of the SO2CH3 group of rofecoxib switches the compound from a COX-2- to a COX-1-selective inhibitor, providing a 3,4-diarylfuran-2(5H)-one scaffold for structure-activity relationship studies of COX-1 inhibition. A wide range of fluorine-containing 3,4-diarylfuran-2(5H)-ones were designed, synthesized, and tested for their ability to selectively inhibit COX-1 in purified protein and human Cancer cell assays. Compounds containing a fluoro-substituent on the C-3 phenyl ring and a methoxy-substituent on the C-4 phenyl ring of the 3,4-diarylfuran-2(5H)-one scaffold were the best COX-1-selective agents of those evaluated, exhibiting IC50s in the submicromolar range. These compounds provide the foundation for development of an agent to facilitate radiologic imaging of ovarian Cancer expressing elevated levels of COX-1.