Metal-based 2,3-indolinedione derivatives as proteasome inhibitors and inducers of apoptosis in human cancer cells

Proliferation and apoptotic pathways are tightly regulated in cells by the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS). Alterations in the UPS may result in cellular transformation or other pathological conditions. The proteasome is indeed often found to be overactive in cancer cells. It has been reported that 2,3-indolinedione (L), which exists in marine organisms, as well as in mammals, is a proteasome inhibitor. Studies have shown that metal-based complexes inhibit proteasome activity and induce apoptosis in certain human cancer cells. In the current study, we synthesized six novel metal-based complexes with derivatives of 2,3-indolinedione: [Cd (C15H11O3N2) (CH3COO)] (C1), [Cd (C15H11O2N2) (CH3COO)] (C2), [Co (C15H9O4N2) (CH3COO)] (C3), [Co (C15H11O2N2) (CH3COO)] (C4), [Zn (C19H14O3N3) (CH3COO)] (C5) and [Zn (C17H13O3N2) (CH3COO)] (C6). We sought to characterize and assess the proteasome inhibitory and anti-proliferative effects of these metal-based complexes in human breast (MDA-MB-231) and prostate (LNCaP and PC-3) cancer cells, in order to determine whether specific structures contribute to the inhibition of tumor proteasome activity and the induction of apoptosis. The results revealed that the complexes, C1, C3 and C5, but not their counterparts, C2, C4 and C6, inhibited the chymotrypsin-like activity of the human cancer cellular 26S proteasome; in addition, these complexes promoted the accumulation of the proteasome target protein, Bax, inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis in a concentration- and time-dependent manner due to their unique structures. Our data suggest that the study of metal-based complexes, including aromatic ring structures with electron-attracting groups, may be an interesting research direction for the development of anticancer drugs.