Examination of the in vitro (anti)estrogenic, (anti)androgenic and (anti)dioxin-like activities of tetralin, indane and isochroman derivatives using receptor-specific bioassays.

Molecules derived from tetralin, indane and isochroman are often used in the synthesis of fragrance materials. The two polycyclic musk fragrances AHTN (6-acetyl-1,1,2,4,4,7-hexamethyltetralin), HHCB (1,2,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta-γ-2-benzopyran) and ADBI (4-acetyl-1,1-dimethyl-6-tert-butylindane) are derived from tetralin, isochroman and indane, respectively. In previous studies, AHTN and HHCB have been shown to antagonize estrogen receptors (ERs), both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we used two newly developed reporter gene assays, to examine the agonistic and antagonistic properties of several indane, tetralin and isochroman derivatives towards the human androgen receptor (AR) and aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Additionally, we also assessed (anti)estrogenicity of these compounds.