Evidence that diclofenac and celecoxib are thyroid hormone receptor beta antagonists

Long term use of NSAIDs is linked to side effects such as gastric bleeding and myocardial infarction.AimsUse of in silico methods and pharmacology to investigate the potential for NSAIDs diclofenac, celecoxib and naproxen to bind to nuclear receptors.Materials and methodsIn silico screening predicted that both diclofenac and celecoxib has the potential to bind to a number of different nuclear receptors; docking analysis confirmed a theoretical ability for diclofenac and celecoxib but not naproxen to bind to TRβ.Key findingsResults from TRβ luciferase reporter assays confirmed that both diclofenac and celecoxib display TRβ antagonistic properties; celecoxib, IC50 3.6 × 10− 6 M, and diclofenac IC50 5.3 × 10− 6 M, comparable to the TRβ antagonist MLS (IC50 3.1 × 10− 6 M). In contrast naproxen, a cardio-sparing NSAID, lacked TRβ antagonist effects. In order to determine the effects of NSAIDs in whole organ in vitro, we used isometric wire myography to measure the changes to Triiodothyronine (T3) induced vasodilation of rat mesenteric arteries. Incubation of arteries in the presence of the TRβ antagonist MLS000389544 (10− 5 M), as well as diclofenac (10− 5 M) and celecoxib (10− 5 M) but not naproxen significantly inhibited T3 induced vasodilation compared to controls.SignificanceThese results highlight the benefits of computational chemistry methods used to retrospectively analyse well known drugs for side effects. Using in silico and in vitro methods we have shown that both celecoxib and diclofenac but not naproxen exhibit off-target TRβ antagonist behaviour, which may be linked to their detrimental side effects.