Our focus was to develop an anti-angiogenic drug possessing the inhibitory activity of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) production. During preliminary screening, the effects of 13 ozonides on the inhibition of u-PA production in human fibrosarcoma HT-1080 cells and on the inhibition of angiogenesis on chicken embryonic chorioallantoic membranes were determined. Of the ozonides tested, 9 inhibited in vitro u-PA production of HT-1080 cells and 7 of these 9 exhibited strong anti-angiogenic activity. Interestingly, 6 of the 13 ozonides also inhibited cathepsin B activity. 1-Phenyl-1, 4-epoxy-1H,4H-naphtho[1,8-de][1, 2]dioxepin (ANO-2) potently inhibited cathepsin B (IC(50) = 0.47 microM) as well as u-PA production. Consequently, ANO-2 was selected for further study. ANO-2 inhibited tube formation by human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultured on Matrigel while exhibiting no cytotoxicity. Additionally, in vivo administration of ANO-2 inhibited angiogenesis induced by mouse Sarcoma-180 cells tested using the mouse dorsal air sac assay. Moreover, ANO-2 also suppressed primary tumor growth and reduced the number of pulmonary metastases caused by Lewis lung carcinoma cells in mice. These in vitro and in vivo activities indicate that ANO-2 has considerable potential as a new and potent anti-angiogenic drug that inhibits both u-PA production and enzymatic activity of cathepsins, indicating that ANO-2 may be a multifunctional inhibitor of angiogenesis.
Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.