New COX-2/5-LOX inhibitors:: Apoptosis-inducing agents potentially useful in prostate cancer chemotherapy

The arachidonic acid metabolizing enzymes cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and lipoxygenases (LOXs) have been found to be implicated in a variety of cancers, including prostate cancer. To develop new therapeutic treatments, it therefore seemed interesting to design dual COX-2/5-LOX inhibitors. We report here the synthesis and in vitro pharmacological properties of diarylpyrazole derivatives that have in their structure key pharmacophoric elements to obtain optimal interaction with subsites of active pockets in both enzyme systems. Using a molecular modeling approach, a set of SAR data is proposed, highlighting the importance of the sulfonyl group of one of the aryl moieties in terms of proliferation inhibition and/or apoptosis induction.