Identification of novel androgen receptor (AR) antagonists may lead to urgently needed new treatments for patients with prostate cancer resistant to current AR antagonists. AR is presently the main target for treating prostate cancer. Clinically approved AR antagonists compete with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) for binding to the ligand-binding domain (LBD) of AR, and patients eventually develop resistance to these treatments. One approach to overcoming resistance is to discover compounds that inhibit AR in alternative ways. Our lab previously identified a small molecule, JJ-450, that is capable of inhibiting AR lacking LBD. To optimize the efficacy of this class of inhibitors, we developed structural analogues of JJ-450 and identified (+)-JJ-74-138 as a promising candidate. Here, we show that (+)-JJ-74-138 is more potent than JJ-450 in the inhibition of androgen-independent AR activity in enzalutamide-resistant LN95 cells. Further studies showed (+)-JJ-74-138 inhibition of castration-resistant PSA expression in all tested castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cells. (+)-JJ-74-138 inhibited mRNA expression of AR and ARv7 target genes and reduced AR level in the nucleus in the absence of androgens. Also, this analogue noncompetitively inhibited androgen-stimulated AR activity in C4-2, LN95, and 22Rv1 CRPC cells. At low dosages, (+)-JJ-74-138 inhibited the proliferation of enzalutamide-resistant AR-positive LN95 and 22Rv1 cells, but not AR-negative PC3 and DU145 cells. A surface plasmon resonance assay detected (+)-JJ-74-138 binding to AR and a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay indicated (+)-JJ-74-138 inhibited AR binding to androgen response elements. In addition, (+)-JJ-74-138 inhibited 22Rv1 xenograft tumor growth. Our observations suggest that (+)-JJ-74-138 is a novel noncompetitive AR antagonist capable of inhibiting enzalutamide-resistant CRPC.
©2022 American Association for Cancer Research.