N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of silver and gold as novel tools against breast cancer progression.

Abstract

Metal carbenic complexes have received considerable attention in both the catalysis and biological fields for their potential applications in cancer and antimicrobial therapies. A small series of new silver and gold N-heterocyclic carbene complexes has been designed and synthesized. Among the tested complexes, one compound was particularly active in inhibiting anchorage-dependent and -independent breast cancer proliferation, and inducing cell apoptosis via a mitochondria-related process. The antitumor activity was associated to the transcriptional activation of the tumor suppressor gene p53 in an Sp1-dependent manner, as evidenced by biological and docking studies. Our results highlight the importance and the versatility of N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of gold and silver as useful tools against breast cancer progression.