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Sigma Receptor Ligands Carrying a Nitric Oxide Donor Nitrate Moiety: Synthesis, In Silico, and Biological Evaluation

Abstract

We report the development of molecular hybrids in which a nitrate group serving as nitric oxide (NO) donor is covalently joined to σ receptor ligands to give candidates for double-targeted cancer therapy. The compounds have been evaluated in radioligand binding assay at both σ receptors and selected compounds tested for NO release. Compounds , , , , and were subjected to MTT test. Compound produced a significant reduction of MCF-7 and Caco-2 cellular viability with comparable IC as doxorubicin, being also not toxic for fibroblast HFF-1 cells. Compound has shown a σ receptor antagonist/σ receptor agonist profile. Two derivatives of compound lacking the nitrate group did not induce a reduction of MCF-7 cellular viability, suggesting a potential synergistic effect between the σ receptors and the NO-mediated events. Overall, the combination of NO donor and σ receptors ligands provided compounds with beneficial effects for the treatment of cancer.

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