Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.10.15.340745v1?rss=1 Authors: Souza, S. A., Held, A., Lu, W., Drouhard, B., Avila, B., Leyva-Montes, R., Hu, M. G., Miller, B. R., Ng, H. L. Abstract: Aromatase (Cyp19) catalyzes the last biosynthetic step of estrogens in mammals and is a primary therapeutic target for postmenopausal women with hormone-related breast cancer. However, treatment with aromatase inhibitors is often associated with adverse effects and drug resistance. In this study, we used virtual screening to target a potential cytochrome P450 reductase binding site to discover four novel non-steroidal aromatase inhibitors. The inhibitors have potencies comparable to the noncompetitive tamoxifen metabolite, endoxifen. Our two most potent inhibitors, AR11 and AR13, exhibit mixed-type and competitive-type inhibition. The cytochrome P450 reductase binding site likely acts as a transient binding site. Modeling shows that our inhibitors actually bind better at various sites near the catalytic site. These structures may serve as chemical scaffolds to inhibit aromatase with different adverse effects profiles than clinically used aromatase inhibitors. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info