Profiling novel sulfonamide antitumor agents with cell-based phenotypic screens and array-based gene expression analysis

A series of small molecules from sulfonamide-focused libraries have been evaluated in these laboratories to discover novel antitumor agents. Cell-based screens using flow cytometric analysis revealed the presence of two distinct classes of cell cycle inhibitors in this series; one (including E7010 and ER-67865) arrested mitosis by preventing tubulin polymerization; and the other (including E7070 and ER-68487) caused a decrease in the S-phase fraction along with cell cycle perturbation in G(1) and/or G(2) via an unknown mechanism(s). To further characterize both classes of antitumor sulfonamides with respect to their effects on gene expression, we used oligonucleotide microarray analysis for representative compounds. Consistent with the phenotypic observations, essentially the same transcription profiles were found between E7010 and ER-67865 and also between E7070 and ER-68487. However, there was very little overlap between genes affected by E7010 and E7070. As a characteristic expression change for microtubule-depolymerizing agents, the down-regulation of alpha-tubulin transcripts was evident in both E7010- and ER-67865-treated cells. On the other hand, E7070 and ER-68487 repressed significantly the expression of a variety of genes involved in metabolic processes, cell cycle progression, immune response, and signal transduction. Of the compounds examined, E7010 and E7070 have progressed to clinical trials, demonstrating some objective responses in the Phase I setting. Described herein is profiling of novel anticancer drug candidates from the sulfonamide class based on phenotypic screens and gene expression analysis. This includes a translational research that may suggest potentially useful markers for pharmacodynamic drug assessment in clinic.