The discovery of a novel series of potential ERRα inverse agonists based on p-nitrobenzenesulfonamide template for triple-negative breast cancer in vivo.

Oestrogen related receptor α participated in the regulation of oxidative metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis, and was overexpressed in many cancers including triple-negative breast cancer. A set of new ERRα inverse agonists based on p-nitrobenzenesulfonamide template were discovered and compound 11 with high potent activity (IC50 = 0.80 μM) could significantly inhibit the transcription of ERRα-regulated target genes. By regulating the downstream signalling pathway, compound 11 could suppress the migration and invasion of the ER-negative MDA-MB-231 cell line. Furthermore, compound 11 demonstrated a significant growth suppression of breast cancer xenograft tumours in vivo (inhibition rate 23.58%). The docking results showed that compound 11 could form hydrogen bonds with Glu331 and Arg372 in addition to its hydrophobic interaction with ligand-binding domain. Our data implied that compound 11 represented a novel and effective ERRα inverse agonist, which had broad application prospects in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.