Synthesis of New Thioureas Derivatives and Evaluation of Their Efficacy as Proliferation Inhibitors in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells by Using 99mTc-MIBI Radiotracer

Background & Objective: Anti-tumor activity of some thioureas derivatives is well documented in literature and received considerable attention. The present study aims to synthesize and characterize some novel thioureas and carbonylthioureas as anti-tumor agents for MCF-7 breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Materials & Methods: Several 1-allyl-3-(substituted phenyl), N,N'-(phenylene) bis(3-allyldithithiourea) and 1-cyclopropanecarbonyl-3-(substituted phenyl)-thioureas derivatives were synthesized and confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy, NMR and C-13-NMR. Anti-tumor activity of these compounds was determined by various in vitro and in vivo assays including; MTT, tumor volume measurement as well as, Tc-99m-MIBI tumor uptake in MCF-7 tumor bearing nude mice. Results: Among all of the synthesized compounds, some thioureas derivatives [3i] and [4b] at 100 nM concentration exhibited significant inhibitory effects on the proliferation of MCF-7 cell in vitro. However, this inhibition was not observed in HUVEC human endothelial normal cells. In vivo anti-tumor effects of the synthesized compounds on MCF-7 xenograft mouse models demonstrated a reduction in the tumor volume for various concentrations between 2 to 10 mg/kg after 21 days. These effects were comparable with Tamoxifen as standard anti-estrogen drug. According to the Tc-99m-MIBI biodistribution result, treatment of MCF-7 bearing nude mice with both [3i] and [4b] compounds at the maximum concentration (10 mg/kg) can lead to a significant decrease of Tc-99m-MIBI tumor uptake. Conclusion: Compounds [3i] and [4b] suppressed the growth of MCF-7 cells in the xenograft nude mice at the doses that were well-tolerated. Our study suggests that these new compounds with their significant anti-tumor effects, may serve as useful candidates for breast cancer therapy.