Selective inhibitors of CYP2J2 related to terfenadine exhibit strong activity against human cancers in vitro and in vivo.

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Chen C, Li G, Liao W, Wu J, Liu L, Ma D, Zhou J, Elbekai RH, Edin ML, Zeldin DC, Wang DW

Selective inhibitors of CYP2J2 related to terfenadine exhibit strong activity against human cancers in vitro and in vivo.

J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2009 Jun;329(3):908-18. doi: 10.1124/jpet.109.152017. Epub 2009 Mar 16.

PubMed ID

19289568 [ View in PubMed

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Abstract

The cytochrome P450 epoxygenase, CYP2J2, converts arachidonic acid to four regioisomeric epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs). We found recently that this enzyme is dramatically up-regulated in a variety of established human carcinoma cell lines and in human cancerous tissue and promotes the neoplastic phenotype. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that specific inhibitors of CYP2J2 related to the drug terfenadine are effective antitumor agents. Four of these inhibitors (compounds 4, 5, 11, and 26) were tested for effectiveness in vitro and in vivo. In Tca-8113 cells, the CYP2J2 inhibitors decreased EET production by approximately 60%, whereas they had no effect on CYP2J2 mRNA or protein expression. Compound 26 inhibited the proliferation of human tumor cells, reduced their ability to adhere, invade, and migrate, and attenuated activation of epithelial growth factor receptor signal and kinases and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase/Akt pathways. Inhibition of CYP2J2 also significantly potentiated human tumor cell apoptosis and caused a corresponding increase in caspase-3 activity and change in expression of apoptosis-related proteins Bax and Bcl-2. In murine xenograft models using MDA-MB-435 cells, treatment with compound 26 significantly repressed tumor growth, decreased lung metastasis, and was associated with increased expression of the anticancer genes CD82 and nm23, without causing toxicity. These data suggest that CYP2J2 inhibitors hold significant promise for use in treatment of neoplastic diseases.

DrugBank Data that Cites this Article

Drug Enzymes

Drug	Enzyme	Kind	Organism	Pharmacological Action	Actions
Terfenadine	Cytochrome P450 2J2	Protein	Humans	Unknown	Inhibitor	Details