All-trans retinoic acid analogues such as N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR) are effective chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents but their utility has been hampered by dose-limiting side effects. The glucuronide derivatives of 4-HPR, the oxygen-linked 4-HPROG and the carbon-linked 4-HPRCG, have been found to be more effective agents. The synthetic route to the fully C-linked analogue of 4-HPROG (4-HBRCG), which employs Suzuki coupling and Umpolung chemistries as key methodologies, is shown. The results of this study show 4-HBRCG to be an effective chemotherapeutic agent in a rat mammary tumor model while being devoid of classical retinoid toxicities.

The active metabolite of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)), and a series of 2-methylene-19-nor analogs of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) were evaluated for their ability to reduce the size of utricles (comedolytic activity) in a rhino mouse model of acne. All analogs tested, as well as the native hormone, increased the skin epidermal thickness. In contrast, only a subset of analogs that lacked a full side chain and 25-hydroxyl group were found to possess comedolytic activity. A reduction in comedone area could be achieved without adversely affecting serum calcium levels. Although all compounds that contained a side chain ranging from 2 to 5 carbons in length had similar potency as comedolytic agents, increasing the length of the side chain resulted in a progressive increase in calcemic liability. Dose-response studies of the comedolytic analogs showed that an increase in epidermal thickness was achieved at a lower dose than that needed to induce comedolysis. Thus, we have identified a unique subset of vitamin D analogs that produce comedolysis in the absence of hypercalcemia. Further, the activity of vitamin D analogs in causing epidermal hyperproliferation has been distinguished from that resulting in a reduction in utricle size.

Retinoids are a class of compounds with structural similarity to vitamin A. These compounds inhibit the proliferation of many cancer cell lines but have had limited medical application as they are often toxic at therapeutic levels. Efforts to synthesize retinoids with a greater therapeutic index have met with limited success. 4-[(1E)-2-(5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthalenyl)-1-propen-1-yl]benzoic acid (TTNPB) is one of the most biologically active all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) analogues and is highly teratogenic. In this study, we show that modification of the TTNPB carboxyl group with an N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)amido (4HPTTNPB) or a 4-hydroxybenzyl (4HBTTNPB) group changes the activity of the compound in cell culture and in vivo. Unlike TTNPB, both compounds induce apoptosis in cancer cells and bind poorly to the retinoic acid receptors (RARs). Like the similarly modified all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) analogues N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR/fenretinide) and 4-hydroxybenzylretinone (4-HBR), 4HBTTNPB is a potent activator of components of the ER stress pathway. The amide-linked analogue, 4HPTTNPB, is less toxic to developing embryos than the parent TTNPB, and most significantly, the 4-hydroxybenzyl-modified compound (4HBTTNPB) that cannot be hydrolyzed in vivo to the parent TTNPB compound is nearly devoid of teratogenic liability.

While all 2-methylene-19-nor analogs of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1α,25(OH)2D3) tested produce an increase in epidermal thickness in the rhino mouse, only a subset reduce utricle size (comedolysis). All-trans retinoic acid (atRA) also causes epidermal thickening and a reduction in utricle size in the rhino mouse. We now report that 2-methylene-19-nor-(20S)-1α-hydroxybishomopregnacalciferol (2MbisP), a comedolytic analog, increases epidermal thickening more rapidly than does atRA, while both reduce utricle area at an equal rate. Whereas unlike atRA, 2MbisP does not alter the epidermal growth factor receptor ligand, heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor, it does increase the expression of both amphiregulin and epigen mRNA, even after a single dose. In situ hybridization reveals an increase in these transcripts throughout the closing utricle as well as in the interfollicular epidermis. The mRNAs for other EGFR ligands including betacellulin and transforming growth factor-α, as well as the epidermal growth factor receptor are largely unaffected by 2MbisP. Another analog, 2-methylene-19-nor-(20S)-26,27-dimethylene-1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (CAGE-3), produces epidermal thickening but fails to reduce utricle size or increase AREG mRNA levels. CAGE-3 modestly increases epigen mRNA levels, but only after 5 days of dosing. Thus, 2-MbisP produces unique changes in epidermal growth factor receptor ligand mRNAs that may be responsible for both epidermal proliferation and a reduction in utricle size.