Boron estrogens: synthesis, biochemical and biological testing of estrone and estradiol-17 beta 3-carboranylmethyl...

Synthesis, biochemical and biological testing of the first carborane derivatives of estrogens are described. Estrone 3-carboranylmethyl ether was synthesized in two steps from estrone. Reduction of estrone 3-carboranylmethyl ether with sodium borohydride provided estradiol-17 beta 3-carboranylmethyl ether. Enzyme kinetic measurements showed that estrone 3-carboranylmethyl ether is a substrate for human placental 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase with Km = 5 x 10(-6)M, and Vmax = 0.016 mumol min-1 microgram -1. The relative affinity constant of estradiol-17 beta 3-carboranylmethyl ether for rat uterine estrogen receptor was 0.5 (compared with a value of 100 for estradiol-17 beta). Consistent with its low affinity for estrogen receptor, the dose-dependent uterotropic response to estradiol-17 beta 3-carboranylmethyl ether in castrated female rats was one sixtieth that of estradiol-17 beta. None of the tested rats had a toxic reaction to estradiol-17 beta 3-carboranylmethyl ether. These results demonstrate that exceptionally stable carborane derivatives of estrogens can be synthesized with preservation of their biochemical and biological properties. Boron-containing estrogens may be useful for thermal neutron capture therapy of cancers with estrogen receptors to concentrate boron in the cell nucleus.