Synthesis, biochemical evaluation and rationalisation of the inhibitory activity of a series of 4-hydroxyphenyl ketones as potential inhibitors of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 3 (17β-HSD3)

We report the preliminary results of the synthesis and biochemical evaluation of a number of 4-hydroxyphenyl ketones as inhibitors of the isozyme of the enzyme 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β-HSD) responsible for the conversion of androstenedione (AD) to testosterone (T), more specifically type 3 (17β-HSD3). The results of our study suggest that we have synthesised compounds which are, in general, potent inhibitors of 17β-HSD3, in particular, we discovered that 1-(4-hydroxy-phenyl)-nonan-1-one (8) was the most potent (IC50 = 2.86 ± 0.03 μM). We have therefore provided good lead compounds in the synthesis of novel non-steroidal inhibitors of 17β-HSD3.