Design and Synthesis of 2‐(5‐Phenylindol‐3‐yl)benzimidazole Derivatives with Antiproliferative Effects towards Triple‐Negative Breast Cancer Cells by Activation of ROS‐Mediated Mitochondria Dysfunction

Benzimidazole derivatives are widely studied because of their broad‐spectrum biological activity, such as antitumor properties and excellent fluorescence performance. Herein, two types of 2‐(5‐phenylindol‐3‐yl)benzimidazole derivatives ( 1 a – 1 h and 2 a – 2 e ) were rationally designed and synthesized. When these compounds were investigated in vitro anti‐screening assays, we found that all of them possessed antitumor effect, in particular compound 1 b , which showed an outstanding antiproliferative effect on MDA‐MB‐231 cells (IC₅₀≈2.6 μm ). A study of the drug action mechanisms in cells showed that the antitumor activity of the compounds is proportional to their lipophilicity and cellular uptake; the tested compounds all entered the lysosome of MDA‐MB‐231 cells and caused changes in the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and then caused mitochondrial damage. Apparent differences in the ROS levels for each compound suggest that the lethality of these compounds towards MDA‐MB‐231 cells is closely related to the ROS levels. Taken together, this study not only provides a theoretical basis for 2‐(5‐phenylindol‐3‐yl)benzimidazole anticarcinogens but also offers new thinking on the rational design of next‐generation antitumor benzimidazole derivatives.     

Semi-Synthesis and In Vitro Anti-Cancer Evaluation of Magnolol Derivatives

Magnolol (MAG), a biphenolic neolignan, has various biological activities including antitumor effects. In this study, 15 MAG derivatives were semi-synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro anticancer activities. From these derivatives, compound 6a exhibited the best cytotoxic activity against four human cancer cell lines, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 20.43 to 28.27 μM. Wound-healing and transwell assays showed that compound 6a significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, Western blotting experiments, performed using various concentrations of 6a, demonstrated that it downregulates the expression of HIF-1α, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in a concentration-dependent manner. Overall, these results suggest that substituting a benzyl group having F atoms substituted at the C2 position on MAG is a viable strategy for the structural optimization of MAG derivatives as anticancer agents.     

Design,Synthesis, and Antitumor Activity of a Series of Novel 4-(Aromatic Sulfonyl)-1-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]deca-6,9-dien-8-ones

Many sulfonamides show anticancer activity. Based on benzenesulfonylazaspirodienone (HL-X9) identified in our previous work, we optimized the lead compound for better efficacy, thereby synthesizing a series of novel 4-(aromatic sulfonyl)-1-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]deca-6,9-dien-8-one derivatives through a key step of metal-catalyzed cascade cyclization. The preliminary antiproliferative tests have shown that the anticancer activities of acetyl-protected mannose-linked sulfonylazaspirodienone derivatives (7i–7l) have been greatly improved. Among them, 7j is the most potent derivative, with IC₅₀ values of 0.17 µM, 0.05 µM, and 0.07 µM for A549, MDA-MB-231, and HeLa cell lines, respectively. Flow cytometry analysis shows that 7j arrests MDA-MB-231 cells in the G2/M phase and has a certain effect on the apoptosis of MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, the acute toxicity of 7j was lower than that of adriamycin.     

Synthesis,cytotoxicity, apoptosis and molecular docking studies of novel phenylbutyrate derivatives as potential anticancer agents

Phenylbutyrate (PB), a small aromatic fatty acid, has been known as an interesting compound with the ability of anti-proliferation and cell growth inhibition in cancer cells. In the present study, a series of PB derivatives were synthesized by Passerini multicomponent reaction and their cytotoxic activities against various human cancer cell lines including A549 (non-small cell lung cancer), MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer), and SW1116 (colon cancer) were evaluated. The results revealed that B9, displayed significantly higher in vitro cytotoxicity with IC₅₀ of 6.65, 8.44 and 24.71 μM, against A549, MDA-MB-231 and, SW1116, respectively, in comparison to PB. The effects of these compounds on the proliferation of MCF-10A as non-tumoral breast cell line, showed good selectivity of the compounds between tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic cell lines. Moreover, B9 has indicated apoptosis-inducing activities to MDA-MB-231 cancer cell line in a dose-dependent manner. The molecular docking studies of the synthesized compounds on pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 2 (PDK2; PDB ID: 2BU8) and histone deacetylase complex (HDAC; PDB ID: 1C3R), as the main targets of PB were applied to predict the binding sites and binding orientation of the compounds to these targets.     

The Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Effect of a Novel Synthesized S-Triazine Dipeptide Series,and Toxicity Screening in Zebrafish Embryos

Several derivatives containing morpholine/piperidine, anilines, and dipeptides as pending moieties were prepared using s-triazine as a scaffold. These compounds were evaluated for their anticancer activity against two human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231), a colon cancer cell line (HCT-116), and a non-tumorigenic cell line (HEK 293). Tamoxifen was used as a reference. Animal toxicity tests were carried out in zebrafish embryos. Most of these compounds showed a higher activity against breast cancer than colon cancer. Compound 3a—which contains morpholine, aniline, and glycylglycinate methyl ester—showed a high level of cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cells with IC₅₀ values of less than 1 µM. This compound showed a much lower level of toxicity against the non-tumorigenic HEK-293 cell line, and in the in vivo studies using zebrafish embryos. Furthermore, it induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase, and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. On the basis of our results, 3a emerges as a potential candidate for further development as a therapeutic drug to treat hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.     

Benzo[f]indole-4,9-dione Derivatives Effectively Inhibit the Growth of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype of breast cancer with poor clinical outcome, and currently no effective targeted therapies are available. Indole compounds have been shown to have potential antitumor activity against various cancer cells. In the present study, we found that new four benzo[f]indole-4,9-dione derivatives reduce TNBC cell viability by reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation stress in vitro. Further analyses showed that LACBio1, LACBio2, LACBio3 and LACBio4 exert cytotoxic effects on MDA-MB 231 cancer cell line by inducing the intrinsic apoptosis pathway, activating caspase 9 and Bax/Bcl-2 pathway in vitro. These results provide evidence that these new four benzo[f]indole-4,9-dione derivatives could be potential therapeutic agents against TNBC by promoting ROS stress-mediated apoptosis through intrinsic-pathway caspase activation.     

N9位芳基取代嘌呤-8-酮类衍生物的合成及抗肿瘤活性

合成了一系列N9位芳基取代嘌呤-8-酮类衍生物, 利用核磁共振氢谱(¹H NMR)、 核磁共振碳谱(¹³C NMR)和高分辨质谱(HRMS)进行了结构确证. 采用四甲基偶氮唑盐(MTT)法测定了目标化合物的体外抗肿瘤细胞增殖活性. 结果表明, 嘌呤酮环的C2位及N9位的取代对活性有较大影响, C2位引入对位由含氮六元环取代的苯胺, N9位引入对三氟甲基苯均有利于提高抗肿瘤活性. 化合物12c对人白血病细胞(K562)、 人前列腺癌细胞(PC-3)、 人乳腺癌细胞(MDA-MB-231)及人结肠癌细胞(HCT116)的抑制效果明显优于阳性对照药R-Roscovitine.     

Synthesis and evaluation of antiproliferative activity of substituted N-(9-oxo-9H-xanthen-4-yl)benzenesulfonamides

Several novel N-(9-oxo-9H-xanthen-4-yl)benzenesulfonamide derivatives were prepared as potential antiproliferative agents. The in vitro antiproliferative activity of the synthesized compounds was investigated against a panel of tumor cell lines including breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231, T-47D) and neuroblastoma cell line (SK-N-MC) using MTT colorimetric assay. Etoposide, a well-known anticancer drug, was used as a positive standard drug. Among synthesized compounds, 4-methoxy-N-(9-oxo-9H-xanthen-4-yl)benzenesulfonamide (5i) showed the highest antiproliferative activity against MDA-MB-231, T-47D, and SK-N-MC cells. Furthermore, pentafluoro derivatives 5a and 6a exhibited higher antiproliferative activity than doxorubicin against human leukemia cell line (CCRF-CEM) and breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-468) cells. Structure–activity relationship studies revealed that xanthone benzenesulfonamide hybrid compounds can be used for the development of new lead anticancer agents.     

Design,Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of Novel 6,7-Dimethoxyquinazoline Derivatives Containing Diaryl Urea Moiety

A series of 6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline derivatives connected by diaryl urea scaffolds was designed, synthesized and their in vitro antitumor activities were evaluated. Most of them showed an excellent potency against the four tested cancer cell lines as compared with sorafenib. Particularly, a promising compound 20 was identified, which showed the most potent antitumor activities with IC₅₀ values of 0.08, 0.09, 0.16 and 0.19 μmol/L against H460, HT-29, MKN-45 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines, respectively. The structure-activity relationship(SAR) analysis indicated that compounds with dimethylamino or diethylamino group at the C4 position of 6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline moiety exhibited superior activities than compounds bearing morpholino groups.     

Synthesis, X-ray structural analysis, and cytotoxic activity of some new androstane d-homo lactone derivatives

A series of d-homo lactones 4?C10 from dehydroepiandrosterone 1 via 16-hydroximino derivatives 2 and 3 were synthesized. The d-homo lactone 4 was transformed by the Oppenauer oxidation to obtain compound 5. The (Z)-2-hydroxymethylene-4-en-3-one compound 6, was obtained through reaction of 4-en-3-one compound 5 with ethyl formate and sodium hydride. The epoxides 8 and 9 were prepared from compound 7 by oxidation with m-chloroperbenzoic acid. Compound 10 was obtained by treating epoxides 8 and 9 with chromium(VI)-oxide. The structure of compounds 6 and 10 were confirmed by X-ray structural analysis. These derivatives were screened for antitumor activity against three tumor cell lines (human breast adenocarcinoma ER+, MCF-7, human breast adenocarcinoma ER?, MDA-MB-231, prostate cancer AR?, PC-3), and one human non-tumor cell line, MRC-5. Compounds 4, 7, 8, and 10 exhibited significant antitumor activity against MDA-MB-231 cells, while compound 5 showed strong cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231. No compounds displayed toxicity against MRC-5 cells.     

Design, Synthesis and Anticancer Activity of 4-Morpholinothieno[3,2-<i>d</i>]pyrimidine Derivatives Bearing Arylmethylene Hydrazine Moiety

Three series of 4-morpholinothieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives containing arylmethylene hydrazine moiety (11a-f, 13a-k and 15a-h) were synthesized and their chemical structures as well as the relative stereochemistry were confirmed. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against three cancer cell lines (H460, HT-29, MDA-MB-231). Most of them exhibited moderate to significant cytotoxicity and high-selectivity against one or more cell lines, especially compounds 11c, 13b, 15f and 15g possessing dramatically increased cytotoxicity as compared with the positive controls, which were further evaluated for six other cancer cell lines and one normal cell line. The most promising compound 11c, bearing 3,4-methylenedioxy phenyl group, showed remarkable cytotoxicity against H460, HT-29 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines with IC50 values of 0.003?μM, 0.42?μM and 0.74?μM, which was 1.6- to 290-fold more potent than GDC-0941.     

Synthesis of Novel Methyl 3-(hetero)arylthieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylates and Antitumor Activity Evaluation: Studies In Vitro and In Ovo Grafts of Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) with a Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cell Line

A series of novel functionalized methyl 3-(hetero)arylthieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylates 2a–2h were synthesized by C-C Pd-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of methyl 3-bromothieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylate with (hetero)aryl pinacol boranes, trifluoro potassium boronate salts or boronic acids. Their antitumoral potential was evaluated in two triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines—MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468, by sulforhodamine B assay. Their effects on the non-tumorigenic MCF-12A cells were also evaluated. The results demonstrated that three compounds caused growth inhibition in both TNBC cell lines, with little or no effect against the non-tumorigenic cells. The most promising compound was further studied concerning possible effects on cell viability (by trypan blue exclusion assay), cell proliferation (by bromodeoxyuridine assay) and cell cycle profile (by flow cytometry). The results demonstrated that the GI₅₀ concentration of compound 2e (13 μM) caused a decreased in MDA-MB-231 cell number, which was correlated with a decreased in the % of proliferating cells. Moreover, this compound increased G0/G1 phase and decreased S phases, when compared to control cells (although was not statistic significant). Interestingly, compound 2e also reduced tumor size using an in ovo CAM (chick chorioallantoic membrane) model. This work highlights the potential antitumor effect of a novel methyl 3-arylthieno[3,2-b]pyridine-2-carboxylate derivative.     

Cytotoxicity and anticancer activity of natural rubber latex particles for cancer cells

To broaden the knowledge of cytotoxicity of natural rubber latex (NRL) nanoparticles we for the first time examined the latex biocompatibility in vitro against a panel of cancer cells (A549, A2780, and MDA-MB-231). Owing to fractionation of NRL nanoparticles by ultra-centrifuge, the effect of the non-rubber constituents (intermediate of 5.8 wt% and sediment of 0.2 wt%) on the cytotoxicity was clarified. For intermediate constituent, the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values at 24 h was 1.05 mg/mL for A549 cells, which was one order of magnitude higher in toxicity as compared to that for A2780 (0.24 mg/mL) and MDA-MB-231 (0.36 mg/mL) cells. In addition, profound studies including cell cycle arrest abilities and apoptosis induction profiles against cancer cells were discussed in detail. It was found that the constituents exhibit some significant effect on the cell cycle arrest and trigger apoptosis for A2780 cells. This effective apoptosis induction profiles was more prominent in MDA-MB-231 cells incubated with NRL nanoparticles and sediment loading conditions. The percentage of apoptotic cells was ca. 6–8% of the total cells.     

Synthesis and in vitro cytotoxic evaluation of 2-hydrazinylpyrido[2,3-b]pyrazin-3(4H)-one derivatives

A series of novel 2-hydrazinylpyrido[2,3-b]pyrazin-3（4H）-one derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against A549,MDA-MB-231 and HT-29 cell lines in vitro.Pharmacological data indicated that compounds 5b,5c,10a and 10g possessed marked cytotoxicity,especially 10a(with IC₅₀ values of 0.81,2.56 and 1.63μmol/L against A549,MDA-MB- 23 1 and HT29 cell lines,respectively),which had emerged as a lead compound.     

Design,Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Benzothiazole Derivatives Bearing Semicarbazone Moiety as Antitumor Agents

A series of novel benzothiazole derivatives bearing semicarbazone as a linker was designed and synthesized, and their in vitro antitumor activities were evaluated against four cancer cell lines(HT29, H460, A549 and MDA-MB-231). Most of them showed moderate to excellent activity against all the tested cell lines. Among them, compounds 12a―12i with fluoro-substituted benzyl-1H-indole moiety displayed more potent activity than those with phenyl moiety. The most promising compound 12d exhibited excellent antitumor activity with IC₅₀ values of 0.015, 0.28, 1.53 and 0.68 μmol/L against the four tested cell lines respectively.     

新型吲哚苯醌衍生物的合成及抗肿瘤活性

基于醌类以及含"2-苯基萘型"结构单元的衍生物在临床上表现出良好的抗肿瘤活性,设计了取代吲哚苯醌衍生物。以2-取代吲哚衍生物为底物,乙腈为反应溶剂,在相转移催化剂苄基三乙基氯化铵和无水碳酸钾存在下,与四溴苯醌反应,合成了9个未见文献报道的2-取代吲哚-1,4-醌衍生物(2a^2c,3a^3c,4a^4c),其结构经1H NMR,13C NMR和HR-MS(ESI)表征。体外抗肿瘤活性实验表明,该类化合物对人肺癌细胞系(A549)、人乳腺癌细胞系(MDA-MB-231)及宫颈癌细胞系(Hela)具有抑制作用,其中化合物2b和3c对人乳腺癌细胞系MDA-MB-231具有良好的抑制活性。     

Design,Synthesis and Anticancer Activity of Novel 6-（Aminophenyl）-2,4-bismorpholino-1,3,5-triazine Derivatives Bearing Arylmethylene Hydrazine Moiety

In an attempt to develop potent and selective anticancer agents,we designed and synthesized a series of novel bis（morpholino-1,3,5-triazine） derivatives beating aylmethylene hydrazine moiety and evaluated their cytotoxicity,in vitro,against H460（non-small-cell lung cancer）,HT-29（human colorectal cancer） and MDA-MB-231（human breast cancer） cell lines.The pharmacological results indicate that all the compounds exhibit enhanced cytotoxicity than BMCL-200908069-1,and six target compounds（7e,7h,7j,9a,9b,9c） were superior to PAC-1 against all the tested cancer cell lines.The most active compound 7j,with IC50（inhibitory concentration 50％）values of 0.75,0.34 and 0.60 μ mol/L against HT-29,H460 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cell lines,was 39-,28-,and 60-fold more potent than BMCL-200908069-1 （29.24,9.52 and 36.21 μmol/L）,respectively.     

Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of sorafenib derivatives containing indole (ketone) semicarbazide analogs as antitumor agents

A series of new sorafenib derivatives was designed and synthesized. The antiproliferative activity of the synthesized compounds against human lung cancer cell (A549), human pancreatic cancer cell (PC-3), human leukemia cell (K562), and human hepatoma cell (SMMC-7721) was evaluated by MTT assay. The results revealed that several compounds displayed more significant antitumor activities than commercial anticancer agent sorafenib against SMMC-7721. In addition, compounds 7a , 7g , 7l , 7m , and 7p represented obvious growth inhibition with IC₅₀ values of 1-9 μM against four cancer cell lines, demonstrating more predominant activities against cancer cells as compared to sorafenib. Furthermore, some structure-activity relationships have also been established. Compounds containing indole and benzene ring substituted by halogen showed better activity than sorafenib. Wound healing assay suggested that cells would be targeted on their migratory capacity by 7g , potentially affecting the migration activity of these tumors. The effects of A549 and PC-3 cell apoptosis induced by compound 7g were significantly increased compared with sorafenib. Importantly, the result of western blot assay showed that 7g inhibited cell growth by suppressing the activity of EGFR, especially the expression of p-EGFR (Tyr1068).     

Synthesis,cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing activity of novel 1H-benzo[d]imidazole derivatives of dehydroabietic acid

With the expectation of finding new and effective antitumor drugs, a series of novel N-(1H-benzo[d]imidazole-2-yl)-benzamide/benzenesulfonamide derivatives of dehydroabietic acid were synthesized and evaluated for cytotoxic activity against three human cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HeLa, and HepG2 cells) and one human normal hepatocyte cell line (LO2). As a result, a number of derivatives showed moderate to good antitumor activities. Among them, compound 8h exhibited the most potent activities against three cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 0.87 ± 0.18, 9.39 ± 0.72, and 8.31 ± 0.64 μM, respectively, and was less active to normal hepatocyte LO2 cells. Further mechanism studies revealed that compound 8h could arrest the cell cycle of MCF-7 cells at S phase and induce the apoptosis of MCF-7 cells in ROS-mediated mitochondrial pathway.     

Valtrate from Valeriana jatamansi Jones induces apoptosis and inhibits migration of human breast cancer cells in vitro

Abstract

Valtrate is a principle compound isolated from Valeriana jatamansi Jones, a traditional Chinese folk medicine originally used to treat various nervous disorders. Here, we found that valtrate exhibited significant anti-cancer activity in vitro, especially in human breast cancer cells, while displayed relatively low cytotoxicity to normal human breast epithelial cells (MCF 10A). Valtrate induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M stage and apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells, with reduced expression of p-Akt (Ser 473), cyclin B1 and caspase 8, and increased expression of p21, p-cdc2, cleaved-caspase 3, cleaved-caspase 7 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). In addition, valtrate inhibited cell migration through down-regulation of MMP-9 and MMP-2 expression. These results demonstrate that valtrate possesses anti-breast cancer activities via cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and inhibition of cell migration, thus supporting valtrate as a potential antitumor agent.