Antitumor activity of BJ-1207, a 6-amino-2,4,5-trimethylpyridin-3-ol derivative, in human lung cancer

Enhanced expression of NADPH oxidase (NOX) and the subsequent production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are associated with lung cancer. In the present study, fifty 6-amino-2,4,5-trimethylpyridin-3-ol derivatives were screened for anticancer activity by targeting NOX2-derived ROS. The compounds suppressed ROS production and decreased cancer cell viability (R2 = 0.79). Among the derivatives, the compound coded BJ-1207, which contained a 4-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)piperidine moiety, exhibited the most effective anticancer activity against A549 lung cancer cell line and eight other cancer cell lines, including H1299, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, HT-29, SW620, Mia PaCa-2, PANC-1, and U937. BJ-1207 also showed significantly lower inhibitory effects on kinase insert domain receptor (KDR) and c-KIT tyrosine kinase but higher inhibitory activity on NOX than those of sunitinib, a multi-receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor. In addition, BJ-1207-induced inhibition of RTK-downstream signaling pathways, such as ROS production, and expression of target genes, such as stem cell factor and transforming growth factor-α, were similar to those induced by sunitinib. In the xenograft chick tumor model, BJ-1207 inhibited lung tumor growth to a similar or much greater extent than that of sunitinib or cisplatin, respectively. Overall, the present study showed that BJ-1207, a vitamin B6-derived 2,4,5-trimethylpyridin-3-ol compound with azacyclonol moiety at C (6)-position of the pyridine ring, inhibited NOX activity and that it is a promising lead compound for developing anticancer drugs against lung cancer.