Molecular docking studies and in vitro screening of new dihydropyridine derivatives as human MRP1 inhibitors

The overexpression of multidrug resistance protein 1 (MRP1) by tumor cells results in multidrug resistance (MDR) to structurally unrelated anticancer drugs. Circumvention of MDR by combination of chemosensitizers with antitumor compounds is a new field of investigation in cancer chemotherapy. Much effort has been put-in recently to identify the modulators/inhibitors of MRP1 to overcome the MDR. 1,4-Dihydropyridine (DHP) derivatives are indicated to be a new class of MRP1 inhibitors in cancer treatment. Molecular docking studies were carried out on 48 newly synthesized DHP derivatives with the crystal structure of MRP1 to gain some structural insights on the binding mode and possible interactions with the active site of MRP1 (NBD1). The 10 top-ranked molecules were selectively evaluated, experimentally for their MRP1 inhibitory effect using the insect cell membrane MRP1 ATPase assay. The inhibitory capacity (IC50 concentrations) of the test compounds was compared with the reported IC50- or the Ki-concentrations for benzbromarone, a standard MRP1 inhibitor. Amongst the compounds tested, compounds IA1 and IIA5 were found to exhibit a potent MRP1 inhibitory action with IC50 values of 20 ± 4 and 14 ± 2 μM (mean ± SD), respectively as compared to benzbromarone (IC50 = 4 μM). The compound IIA5, in particular was found to be more potent than IA1 in accordance with the docking results. These new DHP derivatives possess promising characteristics for their development as MDR reversal agents.

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