Anticancer and Immunomodulatory Effects of a Thiazolyl Benzodiazepine Targeting HSP90 in ER<SUP>+</SUP> Breast Cancer


Coskun K. A., Tutar L., Cifci K. U., Al M., KOCA İ., Gumus M., ...Daha Fazla

PHARMACEUTICALS, cilt.18, sa.11, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 18 Sayı: 11
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.3390/ph18111665
  • Dergi Adı: PHARMACEUTICALS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, EMBASE, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Background: Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is a molecular chaperone that stabilizes numerous oncogenic proteins and supports tumor survival. Small molecules targeting HSP90 offer a novel approach to overcome drug resistance and immune suppression in breast cancer. Methods: A novel thiazolyl benzodiazepine (TB) containing a hydrazone moiety was evaluated in breast cancer cell lines (ER+ MCF-7, TNBC MDA-MB-231, and HER2+ SK-BR-3). Cytotoxicity was assessed using the CCK-8 assay, followed by PCR sequencing, flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, protein profiling, and HSP90 binding assays. Results: TB showed the strongest activity in MCF-7 cells (IC50 = 7.21 mu M) compared to MDA-MB-231 (IC50 = 28.07 mu M) and SK-BR-3 (IC50 = 12.8 mu M) cells. Mechanistic studies showed that TB binds to HSP90 (Kd = 3.10 mu M), leading to disruption of the oncogenic signal. TB induced G2/M cell cycle arrest, promoted apoptosis via Bax and Caspase-3 activation, and suppressed cancer stem cell markers (NANOG, OCT4, SOX2). Additionally, TB activated immune-related pathways via ERK/MAPK signaling and upregulated genes such as SMAD2, SMAD3, and JUN. Conclusions: TB functions as an HSP90 inhibitor with dual anticancer and immunomodulatory properties in Estrogen Receptor-Positive (ER+) breast cancer cells. These findings suggest that TB represents a promising scaffold for the development of multi-targeted breast cancer therapies.