Fioravanti R. et al.
As regioisomers/bioisosteres of , a 4-phenylbenzamide tranylcypromine (TCP) derivative previously disclosed by us, we report here the synthesis and biological evaluation of some (hetero)arylbenzoylamino TCP derivatives -, in which the 4-phenyl moiety of was shifted at the benzamide C3 position or replaced by 2- or 3-furyl, 2- or 3-thienyl, or 4-pyridyl group, all at the benzamide C4 or C3 position. In anti-LSD1-CoREST assay, all the derivatives were more effective than the analogues, with the thienyl analogs and being the most potent (IC values = 0.015 and 0.005 μM) and the most selective over MAO-B (selectivity indexes: 24.4 and 164). When tested in U937 AML and prostate cancer LNCaP cells, selected compounds , , , , and displayed cell growth arrest mainly in LNCaP cells. Western blot analyses showed increased levels of H3K4me2 and/or H3K9me2 confirming the involvement of LSD1 inhibition in these assays.
