09.06.2021

New anticancer compounds: Tin for the win.

Although cisplatin is currently the drug of choice for fighting various types of cancer, it still causes a number of side effects and damages in particular to patients' nerves, kidneys and ears. Scientists are therefore increasingly looking for alternative cytotoxic compounds that are effective without platinum. Recent studies show that tin complexes have a stronger effect on cancer cells than platinum drugs, while having a better water solubility and fewer side effects. To date, tin(IV) carboxylates have proven to be particularly effective against human tumor cell lines. IPB scientists, together with Serbian partners, have synthesized new organotin(IV) complexes with the commercially available drug oxaprozin and two other novel propanoic acid derivatives as ligands. Oxaprozin, originally an anti-inflammatory substance, was chosen as ligand mainly because its metal complexes exhibit potent antiproliferative effects. After the syntheses were carried out, all the compounds, complexes and also the ligand precursors generated were tested for anticancer activities in various human cell cultures, such as prostate and breast cancer cell lines. In contrast to the inactive ligand precursors, all organotin(IV) carboxylates showed strong cytotoxic activities on all cancer cell lines even at micromolar concentrations. The oxaprozin-organotin complex was particularly potent against the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Further studies on the mode of action of this complex suggest that the tin-oxaprozin complex initiates caspase-independent apoptosis of breast cancer cells. Caspases are cysteine proteases that trigger programmed cell death of damaged and malignant cells in animal organisms by initiating caspase cascades. 

Original Publication:
Nebojša Đ Pantelić , Bojan Božić , Bojana B Zmejkovski , Nebojša R Banjac , Biljana Dojčinović , Ludger A Wessjohann & Goran N Kaluđerović In Vitro Evaluation of Antiproliferative Properties of Novel Organotin(IV) Carboxylate Compounds with Propanoic Acid Derivatives on a Panel of Human Cancer Cell Lines. Molecules 26(11): 3199, doi: 10.3390/molecules26113199.