Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 4‑Anilino-quinazolines and -quinolines as Inhibitors of Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (ABCG2)

Chemotherapeutic
treatment of cancer often fails due to overexpression
of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transport proteins, like ABCG2,
triggering active efflux of various structurally unrelated drugs.
This so-called multidrug resistance (MDR) may be reversed by selective,
potent, and nontoxic inhibitors of ABCG2. As only a few potent inhibitors
are known, new compounds based on a 4-substituted-2-phenylquinazoline
scaffold were investigated. Substitution with hydroxy, cyano, nitro,
acetamido, and fluoro led to high inhibitory activities toward ABCG2.
The ability to reverse MDR of the most active compounds was confirmed
in a MTT efficacy assay. Moreover, a negligibly low intrinsic cytotoxicity
was found resulting in a high therapeutic ratio. Investigations of
the inhibitory activity toward ABCB1 and ABCC1 yielded a high selectivity
toward ABCG2 for the quinazoline compounds. Quinoline-based analogues
showed lower inhibitory activity and selectivity. The study yielded
a variety of promising compounds, some with superior properties compared
to those of the standard inhibitor Ko143.