Novel hybrids from N-hydroxyarylamide and indole ring through click chemistry as histone deacetylase inhibitors with potent antitumor activities

Novel hybrid molecules 8a–8o were designed and synthesized by connecting indole ring with Nhydroxyarylamide through alkyl substituted triazole, and their in vitro biological activities were evaluated. It was discovered that most of target compounds showed promising anticancer activities,particularly for 8n, which had a significant HDACs inhibitory and antiproliferative activities comparable to or slightly stronger than SAHA against human carcinoma cells. Furthermore, compound 8n exhibited much better selectivity for HDAC1 over HDAC6 and HDAC8 than SAHA. In addition, compound 8n also could dose-dependently induce cancer cell cycling arrest at G0/G1 phase and promote the expression of the acetylation for histone H3 and tubulin in vitro. Therefore, our novel findings may provide a new framework for the design of new selective HDAC inhibitor for the treatment of cancer.     

Design,Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Selective Thiol-based Histone Deacetylase(HDAC) VI InhibitorsBearing Indeno[1,2-c]pyrazole or Benzoindazole Scaffold

A series of thiol-based indeno[1,2-c]pyrazoles and benzoindazole compounds was designed and synthesized according to the structural specificity of histone deacetylase VI(HDAC6) and the structural characteristics of HDAC inhibitors. The inhibitory activities of the target compounds against HDAC6 and HDAC1 were screened by fluorescence analysis. Most of the target compounds showed moderate inhibitory activity against HDAC6(IC₅₀=44—598 nmol/L). Among them, compound A-4 displayed the highest selectivity against HDAC6 and similar inhibitory activity(IC₅₀=44 nmol/L) to that of the positive drug SAHA(IC₅₀=41 nmol/L) against HDAC6.     

同源模建和分子对接研究HDAC1/HDAC8的选择性

组蛋白去乙酰化酶(HDACs)是近年来治疗肿瘤的重要靶标之一.由于HDACs包含多种亚型,且各亚型的生理功能存在一定的差异,其选择性抑制剂的开发已成为当前的研发热点.我们通过同源模建的HDAC1结构,与已有的HDAC8晶体结构的活性位点进行比较分析,探讨了对两者选择性有重要影响的残基,为基于受体的选择性抑制剂研究提供重要信息.同时选择了52个HDAC抑制剂,分别建立了HDAC1、HDAC8的活性值与对接打分值的线性回归模型.所建的HDAC1和HDAC8的线性构效关系模型的非交叉验证系数R2分别为0.82和0.80,表明具有一定的统计学意义.利用所建模型对已设计合成的化合物进行了预测,预测结果对HDAC1、HDAC8选择性抑制剂的优化改造提供了一定的指导意义.     

Target Design of Novel Histone Deacetylase 6 Selective Inhibitors with 2-Mercaptoquinazolinone as the Cap Moiety

Epigenetic alterations found in all human cancers are promising targets for anticancer therapy. In this sense, histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are interesting anticancer agents that play an important role in the epigenetic regulation of cancer cells. Here, we report 15 novel hydroxamic acid-based histone deacetylase inhibitors with quinazolinone core structures. Five compounds exhibited antiproliferative activity with IC₅₀ values of 3.4–37.8 µM. Compound 8 with a 2-mercaptoquinazolinone cap moiety displayed the highest antiproliferative efficacy against MCF-7 cells. For the HDAC6 target selectivity study, compound 8 displayed an IC₅₀ value of 2.3 µM, which is 29.3 times higher than those of HDAC3, HDAC4, HDAC8, and HDAC11. Western blot assay proved that compound 8 strongly inhibited tubulin acetylation, a substrate of HDAC6. Compound 8 also displayed stronger inhibition activity against HDAC11 than the control drug Belinostat. The inhibitory mechanism of action of compound 8 on HDAC enzymes was then explored using molecular docking study. The data revealed a high binding affinity (−7.92 kcal/mol) of compound 8 toward HDAC6. In addition, dock pose analysis also proved that compound 8 might serve as a potent inhibitor of HDAC11.     

Optimization of pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine based compounds with pyridine scaffold: Synthesis,biological evaluation and molecular modeling study

BackgroundPyrazolopyrimidine heterocycle and its isosteres represent the main scaffold for many pharmacologically active drugs including anti-inflammatory agents. The COX-2 inhibitors are the principal gate for the design of new safe and potent anti-inflammatory agents.MethodsNovel derivatives of pyrazolo[1,5-a] pyrimidines were synthesized and screened in vivo and in vitro for their anti-inflammatory potential.ResultsWithin the constructed compounds, compound 11 was the most active compound on IL-6 and TNF-α (percentage inhibition = 80 and 89%, respectively). In addition, compound 12 displayed the most inhibitory effect towards COX-2 (IC₅₀ = 1.11 µM), whereas compound 11 recorded the highest COX-2 selectivity (S.I = 8.97). The target derivatives 11–14 displayed good edema inhibitory potential (46–68%) and compound 11 was the most potent candidate (ED₅₀ = 35 mg/kg). Additionally, the most potent sPLA2-V inhibitors were compounds 11 and 13 (IC₅₀ = 1 and 1.7 µM respectively). Regarding activity towards 15-LOX, derivative 12 was the most active compound with IC₅₀ = 5.6 µM revealing higher inhibitory activity than nor-dihydroguaiaretic acid (IC₅₀ = 8.5 µM). To confirm the anti-inflammatory potential of the target derivatives, molecular modeling was performed inside COX-2 and 15-LOX active sites.ConclusionDisplay discoveries increment the plausibility that these pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines might act as a beginning point for the improvement of anti-inflammatory agents.     

Histone deacetylase inhibitor induced the production of three novel prenylated tryptophan analogs in the entomopathogenic fungus, Torrubiella luteorostrata

Suberoyl bis-hydroxamic acid (SBHA), a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, led to significant changes in the secondary metabolism of an entomopathogenic fungus, Torrubiella luteorostrata, and induced the production of three new prenylated tryptophan analogs, luteorides A-C (1-3). The structures are characterized by the presence of an (E)-oxime group, which is an unusual functional group in natural products, and a 3-methylbuta-1,3-dienyl unit as a common substituent. The method of culturing entomopathogenic fungi in the presence of HDAC inhibitors, such as SBHA, is convenient and attractive for obtaining novel secondary metabolites.     

Identification of novel HDAC8 selective inhibitors through ligand and structure based studies: Exploiting the acetate release channel differences among class I isoforms

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are key regulators of gene expression and have emerged as crucial therapeutic targets for cancer. Among the HDACs, inhibition of HDAC8 enzyme has been reported to be a novel strategy in the treatment of female-specific cancers. Most of the HDAC inhibitors discovered so far inhibit multiple HDAC isoforms causing toxicities in the clinic thus limiting their potential. Therefore, the discovery of isoform-selective HDAC8 inhibitors is highly desirable. In the present study, a combination of ligand and structure based drug design tools were utilized to build a statistically significant pharmacophore based 3D QSAR model with statistical parameters R²: 0.9964, and Q²: 0.7154, from a series of 31 known HDAC8 inhibitors. Top 1000 hits obtained from Virtual screening of Phase database were subjected to docking studies against HDAC8. Top 100 hits obtained were redocked into HDAC Class I (HDAC 1,2,3) and Class II isoforms (HDAC 4, 6) and rescored with XP Glide Score. Based on fitness score, XP glide score and interacting amino acid residues, five HDAC8 inhibitors (1–5) were selected for in vitro studies. The HDAC8 activity assay followed by enzyme kinetics clearly indicated Compounds 1, 2 and 3 to be potent HDAC8 selective inhibitors with IC₅₀ of 126 pM, 112 nM, and 442 nM respectively. These compounds were cytotoxic to HeLa cells where HDAC8 is overexpressed but not to normal cells, HEK293. Also, they were able to induce apoptosis by modulating Bax/Bcl2, cleavage of PARP and release of Cytochrome C. Molecular Dynamics simulations observed most favorable interaction patterns and presented a rationale for the activities of the identified compounds. Selectivity against HDAC8 was due to exploitation of the architectural difference in the acetate release channel among class I HDAC isoforms.     

Synthesis,in vitro evaluation,and molecular docking studies of benzofuran based hydrazone a new inhibitors of urease

This work has described the synthesis of novel class (1–25) of benzofuran based hydrazone. The hybrid scaffolds (1–25) of benzofuran based hydrazone were evaluated in vitro, for their urease inhibition. All the newly synthesized analogues (1–25) were found to illustrate moderate to good urease inhibitory profile ranging from 0.20 ± 0.01 to 36.20 ± 0.70 µM. Among the series, compounds 22 (IC₅₀ = 0.20 ± 0.01 µM), 5 (IC₅₀ = 0.90 ± 0.01 µM), 23 (IC₅₀ = 1.10 ± 0.01 µM) and 25 (IC₅₀ = 1.60 ± 0.01 µM) were found to be the many folds more potent than thiourea as standard inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 21.86 ± 0.40 µM). The elevated inhibitory profile of these analogues might be due to presence of dihydroxy and flouro groups at different position of phenyl ring B attached to hydrazone skeleton. These dihydroxy and fluoro groups bearing compounds have shown many folds better inhibitory profile through involvement of oxygen of dihydroxy groups in hydrogen bonding with active site of enzymes. Various types of spectroscopic techniques such as ¹H-, ¹³C- NMR and HREI-MS spectroscopy were used to confirm the structure of all the newly developed compounds. To find SAR, molecular docking studies were performed to understand, the binding mode of potent inhibitors with active site of enzymes and results supported the experimental data.     

Design,synthesis, crystal structures and biological evaluation of some 1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones as dual CDK2/EGFR potent inhibitors with potential apoptotic antiproliferative effects

A series of novel thiazolidine-4-one derivatives was synthesized by reacting 1,4-disubstituted hydrazine carbothioamides with diethyl azodicarboxylate. The structures were confirmed by spectroscopic data as well as single-crystal X-ray analyses. The antiproliferative activity of the synthesized compounds was investigated against four human cancer cell lines using an MTT assay. Compounds 5d, 5e, and 5f revealed the most potent antiproliferative activity with GI₅₀ values ranging from 0.70 µM to 1.20 µM, compared to doxorubicin GI₅₀ value = 1.10 µM. Compounds 5d, 5e, and 5f were further investigated for their inhibitory activities against CDK2 and EGFR as potential targets for their molecular mechanism. Compounds 5e and 5f have showed potent inhibitory activity to CDK2 enzyme with IC₅₀ values of 18 and 14 nM, which is more potent than the reference dinaciclib (IC₅₀ = 20 nM). Moreover, compounds 5e and 5f were the most potent EGFR inhibitors, with IC₅₀ values of 93 and 87 nM, respectively, compared to the reference erlotinib (IC₅₀ = 70 nM). In addition, the most potent derivatives were tested for their apoptotic activity against caspases 3, 8, and 9, and the results showed that compounds 5d, 5e, and 5f revealed a greater increase in active caspases 3,8 and 9 than doxorubicin. Also, compounds 5d, 5e, and 5f elevated cytochrome C levels in the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line by about 15.5, 15.8, and 16.5 times, respectively. Finally, a molecular docking study was performed to investigate the binding sites of these compounds within the active sites of CDK2 and EGFR targets, and the results confirmed that the most potent CDK2 and EGFR inhibitor 5h also have showed the highest docking score.     

Design,synthesis and docking studies of new hydrazinyl-thiazole derivatives as anticancer and antimicrobial agents

Increase in the number of infections caused by pathogenic microbes in cancer patients has prompted the searcher to invest in the development of agents having dual anticancer and antimicrobial properties. The present study is concerned with synthesis and screening for anticancer and antimicrobial activity of a series of 5-hydrazinyl-2-(2-(1-(thien-2-yl)ethylidene)hydrazinyl)thiazole derivatives. The structure elucidation of the synthesized hydrazinyl thiazole derivatives was illustrated by spectroscopic and elemental analysis. All the newly synthesized compounds 5a-p were evaluated for in-vitro cytotoxic activity against breast carcinoma (MCF-7 cell line), hepatocellular carcinoma (HePG-2) and colorectal cancer (HCT-116) cell lines using MTT assay method. Compounds 5 g, 5h showed broad spectrum activity against three cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ ranged from 3.81 to 11.34 µM in compared to the reference drug Roscovitine (IC₅₀ = 9.32 to 13.82 µM), while compounds 5 l and 5 m were found to be more selective against HePG-2 and HCT-116 cell line (IC₅₀ = 9.29 and 8.93 µM respectively) and compound 5j was more selective against HePG-2 and MCF-7 cell lines (IC₅₀ = 6.73 and 10.87 µM respectively). The inhibitory activity of the most promising compounds was tested against the EGFR and ARO enzymes and were further tested for apoptosis and Annexin V/PI staining. The results of enzyme-based tests revealed that the tested compound 5j has a dual inhibitory effect on the EGFR and ARO enzymes with IC₅₀ = 82.8 and 98.6 nM respectively in compared to the reference drugs Erlotinib and Letrozole (IC₅₀ = 62.4 and 79 nM respectively). Furthermore, the majority of the tested hydrazinyl thiazole derivatives exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against the used pathogenic microbes species. Compounds 4b, 5h, 5j and 5 m exerted a good antibacterial and antifungal activity against all tested pathogenic microbes. Therefore, it was concluded that compounds 5 h, 5j and 5 m proved to possess dual anticancer and antimicrobial agent and may serves as a useful lead compounds in search for further modification or derivatization to give more potent and selective agents.     

Synthesis,biological evaluation and Structure Activity Relationships (SARs) study of 8-(substituted)aryloxycaffeine

A series of 8-(substituted)aryloxycaffeine were prepared from 8-bromocaffeine and (substituted)phenols by modified Ullmann reaction. In vitro antibacterial activity, inhibitory activity on topoisomerase II and pharmacological activities were evaluated for the synthesized 8-(substituted)aryloxycaffeine. Among the synthesized compounds, 8-(5-chloropyridin-3-yloxy)caffeine (3k) showed strong inhibitory activity (MIC = 15.6 μg/mL) against the tested gram negative (−) bacteria Salmonella enteritidis. 8-(quinolin-8-yloxy)caffeine (3g) showed the strongest inhibitory activity against topoisomerase II. And the compounds 8-(6-methylpyridin-2-yloxy)caffeine (3j) and 8-(3-chloro-6-(trifluoromethyl)pyridin-2-yloxy)caffeine (3m) showed analgesic effect without the central nervous system stimulation.     

Total Synthesis of the Bicyclic Depsipeptide HDAC Inhibitors Spiruchostatins A and B, 5′′‐epi‐Spiruchostatin B,FK228 (FR901228) and Preliminary Evaluation of Their Biological Activity

The bicyclic depsipeptide histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors spiruchostatins A and B, 5′′‐epi‐spiruchostatin B and FK228 were efficiently synthesized in a convergent and unified manner. The synthetic method involved the following crucial steps: i) a Julia–Kocienski olefination of a 1,3‐propanediol‐derived sulfone and a L ‐ or D ‐malic acid‐derived aldehyde to access the most synthetically challenging unit, (3S or 3R,4E)‐3‐hydroxy‐7‐mercaptohept‐4‐enoic acid, present in a D ‐alanine‐ or D ‐valine‐containing segment; ii) a condensation of a D ‐valine‐D ‐cysteine‐ or D ‐allo‐isoleucine‐D ‐cysteine‐containing segment with a D ‐alanine‐ or D ‐valine‐containing segment to directly assemble the corresponding seco‐acids; and iii) a macrocyclization of a seco‐acid using the Shiina method or the Mitsunobu method to construct the requisite 15‐ or 16‐membered macrolactone. The present synthesis has established the C5′′ stereochemistry of spiruchostatin B. In addition, HDAC inhibitory assay and the cell‐growth inhibition analysis of the synthesized depsipeptides determined the order of their potency and revealed some novel aspects of structure–activity relationships. It was also found that unnatural 5′′‐epi‐spiruchostatin B shows extremely high selectivity (ca. 1600‐fold) for class I HDAC1 (IC₅₀=2.4 nM ) over class II HDAC6 (IC₅₀=3900 nM ) with potent cell‐growth‐inhibitory activity at nanomolar levels of IC₅₀ values.     

Novel aromatic carboxamides from dehydroabietylamine as potential fungicides: Design,synthesis and antifungal evaluation

The present study was carried out to design and synthesize a number of novel aromatic carboxamide derivatives of dehydroabietylamine. The preliminary antifungal assay indicated that most of title compounds displayed moderate to good antifungal activity toward the six fungal strains in vitro. Compounds 3i, 3q, 4b and 4d showed significant antifungal activity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, with EC₅₀ values ranging from 0.067 ～ 0.393 mg/L. Compounds 3i, 4b and 4d also showed pronounced mycelial growth inhibition activities against B. cinerea and A. solani. Furthermore, in the in vivo assay, compound 4b exhibited brilliant protective activity against S. sclerotiorum-infected rape leaves. Meanwhile, the in vivo bioassay on tomato plants infected by B. cinerea showed that compound 3i and 4d displayed excellent protective activity at 200 mg/L, which were near to boscalid. Primary mechanistic study revealed that 4b could inhibit sclerotia formation as well as reduce the exopolysaccharide level. SEM and TEM analysis indicated that 4b possessed a strong ability to destroy the surface morphology of mycelia, cell structure and seriously interfere with the growth of the fungal pathogen. In addition, 4b exhibited good inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 23.3 ± 1.6 μM) toward succinate dehydrogenase (SDH). Molecular modeling study confirmed the binding modes between compound 4b and SDH. The above antifungal results and fungicidal mechanism study revealed that this class of dehydroabietylamine derivatives could be potential SDH inhibitors and lead compounds for novel fungicides development.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of isoxazole-naphthalene derivatives as anti-tubulin agents

In this study, a novel series of isoxazole-naphthalene derivatives as tubulin polymerization inhibitors were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their anti-proliferative activities against human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. Most of the synthesized compounds exhibited moderate to potent antiproliferative activity (IC₅₀ < 10.0 μM), as compared to cisplatin (15.24 ± 1.27 μM). Among them, compound 5j containing 4-ethoxy substitution at phenyl ring was found to be the most active compound with IC₅₀ value of 1.23 ± 0.16 μM. Mechanistic studies revealed that compound 5j arrested cell cycle at G2/M phase and induces apoptosis. Furthermore, in vitro tubulin polymerization assay showed that compound 5j displayed better inhibition activity on tubulin polymerization (IC₅₀ = 3.4 μM) than colchicine (IC₅₀ = 7.5 μM). Molecular docking study also revealed that compound 5j binds to the colchicine binding site of tubulin.     

3D-QSAR,docking, molecular dynamics simulation and free energy calculation studies of some pyrimidine derivatives as novel JAK3 inhibitors

Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) is a promising drug target for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, autoimmune disorders, organ transplant rejection and various cancers. In the present study, 3D-QSAR, docking, MD simulation and MM/PBSA studies were performed on a series of pyrimidine-based JAK3 inhibitors. A reliable COMSIA (q² = 0.717 and r² = 0.986) model was developed and validated using external validation test set, bootstrapping, progressive scrambling and r_m² metrics analyses. Structural requirements identified through contour maps of the model were strategically utilized to computationally design 170 novel JAK3 inhibitors with improved potency. Docking studies were performed on the selected data set and newly designed compounds to show their binding mode and to identify important interacting residues inside the active site of JAK3. In addition, docking results of the selected designed compounds inside the active sites of JAK1, JAK2 and TYK2 indicated their JAK3 selectivity. MD simulation (100 ns) on the docked complex of compound 28 (one of highly active compounds of the data set) assisted in the further exploration of the binding interactions. Some crucial residues like Lys830 (glycine-rich loop), Val836, Ala853, Leu905 (hinge region), Cys909, Asn954, Leu956 and Ala966 were identified. Hydrogen bond interactions with hinge residue Leu905 were critical for the binding of JAK3 inhibitors. Additionally, MM/PBSA calculation provided the binding free energy of the compound 28. Newly designed molecules showed promising results in the preliminary in silico ADMET evaluations. Outcomes of the study can further be exploited to develop potent JAK3 inhibitors.     

Identification of novel diclofenac acid and naproxen bearing hydrazones as 15-LOX inhibitors: Design,synthesis, in vitro evaluation,cytotoxicity, and in silico studies

Inflammation is the immune system's adaptive response to tissue dysfunction or homeostatic imbalance, inducing fever, pain, physiological and biochemical changes via the cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX) pathways. NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as diclofenac acid and naproxen, are the most common inhibitors of the COX pathway. These drugs, however, are currently being studied as LOX inhibitors as well. Therefore, in the present study, a novel series of diclofenac acid and naproxen-bearing hydrazones 7(a-r) were designed, synthesized, and characterized by different spectroscopic methods like ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR and HRMS (EI) analysis. All these synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro inhibitory potential against the Soybean 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX) enzyme. These compounds exhibited varying degrees of inhibitory potential ranging from IC₅₀ 4.61 ± 3.21 μM to 193.62 ± 4.68 μM in comparison to standard inhibitors quercetin (IC₅₀ 4.84 ± 6.43 μM) and baicalein (IC₅₀ 22.46 ± 1.32 μM). The most potent compounds in the series were compounds 7c (IC₅₀ 4.61 ± 3.21 μM), and 7f (IC₅₀ 6.64 ± 4.31 μM). These compounds were found least cytotoxic and showed 96.42 ± 1.3 % and 94.87 ± 1.6 % viability to cells at 0.25 mM concentration respectively. ADME and in silico studies supported the drug-likeness and binding studies of the molecules with the target enzyme.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel intramolecularly O,C,O-coordinated heteroleptic organostannylenes and their tungstenpentacarbonyl complexes

The syntheses are reported of the novel heteroleptic organostannylenes [2,6-(ROCH₂)₂C₆H₃]SnCl (1, R = Me; 2, R = t-Bu) and of their tungstenpentacarbonyl complexes [2,6-(ROCH₂)₂C₆H₃](X)SnW(CO)₅ (3, X = Cl, R = Me; 4, X = Cl, R = t-Bu; 5, X = H, R = Me). The compounds were characterized by means of elemental analyses, ¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹⁹Sn NMR spectroscopies, electrospray mass spectrometry and in case of 3 and 4 also by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. For the two latter compounds the substituents bound at the ether oxygen atom control the strength of intramolecular O → Sn coordination. Thus, the O–Sn distances amount to 2.391(5)/2.389(5) (3) and 2.464(3)/2.513(3) Å (4).     

Synthesis,biological evaluation and molecular docking study of pyrimidine based thiazolidinone derivatives as potential anti-urease and anti-cancer agents

Hybrid analogs containing molecules are always the choice of different synthetic researcher due to their diverse biological applications and significantly more efficient. Heterocyclic being a good inhibitors against varied disease are most commonly used in drug designing and development. The current study also addressed the synthesis of pyrimidine-based thiazolidinone derivatives (1–13) using stepwise processes and their structure was confirmed using various characterization techniques such as ¹HNMR, ¹³CNMR, and HREI-MS. Furthermore, the biological significances of the synthesized scaffolds were also explored and proved to be as anti-urease and anti-cancer moieties. Their inhibitory potentials were determined using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in the presence of their standard drugs, Thiourea (IC₅₀ = 8.20 ± 0.20 µM) and Tetrandrineb (IC₅₀ = 12.30 ± 0.10 µM) respectively. Structure activity relationship (SAR) was established for all the synthesized scaffolds and compared their inhibitory potentials in which scaffolds 3 (IC₅₀ = 2.30 ± 0.30 and 3.20 ± 0.50 µM), 6 (IC₅₀ = 3.10 ± 0.20 and 6.20 ± 0.10 µM), 7 (IC₅₀ = 3.20 ± 0.20 and 3.80 ± 0.30 µM) and 10 (IC₅₀ = 4.20 ± 0.20 and 5.10 ± 0.30 µM) exhibited the most influential activity. These compounds were subsequently examined using molecular docking experiments, which evaluate the binding interaction of ligands with enzyme active sites.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 2-phenyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-​indole derivatives as potential anticancer agents and tubulin polymerization inhibitors

A new series of 2-phenyl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-?indole derivatives as tubulin polymerization inhibitors were synthesized and evaluated for the anti-proliferative activities. All newly prepared compounds were tested for their antiproliferative activity in vitro on the human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549). Among them, compound 7b with a 4-methoxyl substituent at the phenylhydrazone moiety exhibited the most potent anticancer activity against MCF-7 and A549 with IC₅₀ values of 1.77 ± 0.37 and 3.75 ± 0.11 μM, respectively. Interestingly, 7b displayed significant selectivity in inhibiting cancer cells over LO2 (normal human liver cells). Further mechanism studies revealed that 7b significantly arrested cell cycle at G2/M phase and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, 7b effectively inhibited tubulin polymerization with an inhibitory manner similar to that of colchicine. Furthermore, molecular docking study suggested that 7b had high binding affinities for the colchicine binding pocket of tubulin. Hence, this study demonstrates for the first time that tetrahydroindole can be used as a functional group for the design and development of new tubulin polymerization inhibitors.