PUBLICATION

Discovery of Oral Natural Benzofuranoid p-Terphenyl Derivative CHNQD-03301 as a Potent Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Signaling Inhibitor for Cancer Therapy

Authors
Wang, C.F., Cui, X.N., Lv, L.X., Wang, W.H., Jing, Q.Q., Yin, J.N., Cao, X.Z., Wei, M.Y., Lu, L., Shao, C.L.
ID
ZDB-PUB-251030-2
Date
2025
Source
Journal of medicinal chemistry : (Journal)
Registered Authors
Lu, Ling
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Administration, Oral
  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents*/administration & dosage
  • Antineoplastic Agents*/chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents*/pharmacokinetics
  • Antineoplastic Agents*/pharmacology
  • Antineoplastic Agents*/therapeutic use
  • Benzofurans*/administration & dosage
  • Benzofurans*/chemistry
  • Benzofurans*/pharmacokinetics
  • Benzofurans*/pharmacology
  • Benzofurans*/therapeutic use
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Discovery*
  • Humans
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit*/antagonists & inhibitors
  • Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit*/metabolism
  • Mice
  • Signal Transduction/drug effects
  • Structure-Activity Relationship
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
41159374 Full text @ J. Med. Chem.
Abstract
Hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment drives aggressive cancer phenotypes, and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is a potential therapeutic target for anticancer drugs. We screened for HIF-1α inhibitors from the compound library. With terphenyllin derivative 10 as a hit, a small molecular library of 27 benzofuranoid p-terphenyls was constructed. Among them, CHNQD-03301 (20) with a rare acetonide group exhibited the strongest HIF-1α inhibitory activity (IC50 = 10.97 nM). Mechanically, it promoted the proteasomal degradation of HIF-1α protein, leading to its significant suppression. Further studies demonstrated its ability to reverse HIF accumulation-induced angiogenesis and mitigate the HIF-induced erythrocytosis phenotype in zebrafish models. Importantly, CHNQD-03301 significantly suppressed tumor growth (TGI = 51.0% and 52.0%) at 1 mg/kg (p.o.) in HCT116 xenograft and MB49 allograft models, respectively. Meanwhile, CHNQD-03301 demonstrated favorable pharmacokinetic properties and a safety profile. In conclusion, this study provided promising oral HIF-1α signaling inhibitor CHNQD-03301 for further development in cancer therapy.
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