Anticancer activity and cellular repression of c-MYC by the G-quadruplex-stabilizing 11-piperazinylquindoline is not dependent on direct targeting of the G-quadruplex in the c-MYC promoter

Peda V.L. Boddupally, Seongmin Hahn, Cristina Beman, Biswanath De, Tracy A. Brooks, Vijay Gokhale, Laurence H. Hurley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

103 Scopus citations

Abstract

This G-rich region of the c-MYC promoter has been shown to form a G-quadruplex structure that acts as a silencer element for c-MYC transcriptional control. In the present work, we have synthesized a series of 11-substituted quindoline analogues as c-MYC G-quadruplex-stabilizing compounds, and the cell-free and in vitro activity of these compounds were evaluated. Two lead compounds (4 and 12) demonstrated good cell-free profiles, and compound 4 (2-(4-(10H-indolo[3,2-b]quinolin-11-yl)piperazin-1-yl)-N,N-dimethylethanamine) significantly down-regulated c-MYC expression. However, despite the good cell-free activity and the effect of these compounds on c-MYC gene expression, we have demonstrated, using a cellular assay in a Burkitts lymphoma cell line (CA46-specific), that these effects were not mediated through targeting of the c-MYC G-quadruplex. Thus, caution should be used in assigning the effects of G-quadruplex-interactive compounds that lower c-MYC to direct targeting of these promoter elements unless this assay, or similar ones, demonstrates direct targeting of the G-quadruplex in cells.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)6076-6086
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Medicinal Chemistry
Volume55
Issue number13
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 12 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Molecular Medicine
  • Drug Discovery

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