Monoamine Oxidase (MAO) as a Potential Target for Anticancer Drug Design and Development

Monoamine oxidases (MAOs) are oxidative enzymes that catalyze the conversion of biogenic amines into their corresponding aldehydes and ketones through oxidative deamination. Owing to the crucial role of MAOs in maintaining functional levels of neurotransmitters, the implications of its distorted activity have been associated with numerous neurological diseases. Recently, an unanticipated role of MAOs in tumor progression and metastasis has been reported. The chemical inhibition of MAOs might be a valuable therapeutic approach for cancer treatment. In this review, we reported computational approaches exploited in the design and development of selective MAO inhibitors accompanied by their biological activities. Additionally, we generated a pharmacophore model for MAO-A active inhibitors to identify the structural motifs to invoke an activity.     

Phenothiazine-based chalcones as potential dual-target inhibitors toward cholinesterases (AChE,BuChE) and monoamine oxidases (MAO-A,MAO-B)

Chalcones targeting neurodegenerative diseases have been known as attractive structures in drug design and discovery. In this study, phenothiazine-based chalcones as ChEs and MAOs inhibitors were designed and synthesized via base-catalyzed Claisen-Schmidt condensation, and chemical structures of the compounds were elucidated by NMRs and HRMS. Compounds 3 and 9 showed promising inhibition potency against AChE enzyme with IC₅₀ values of 0.221 μM and 0.053 μM while compound 9 displayed remarkable inhibition potency toward MAO-B enzyme with IC₅₀ value of 0.048 μM. Compound 9 , as a dual-target inhibitor, selectively inhibited AChE and MAO-B enzymes. This promising behavior is an advantage for the compound since MAO-B and AChE inhibition have a role in Alzheimer's disease. Fused tricyclic ring systems such as phenothiazine incorporated with chalcone moiety being multitargeting ligands may help scientists for the rational design of novel lead compounds targeting neurodegenerative illnesses.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new pyrazolebenzene-sulphonamides as potential anticancer agents and hCA I and II inhibitors

Cancer is a disease characterized by the continuous growth of cells without adherence to the rules that healthy normal cells obey. Carbonic anhydrase I and II (CA I and CA II) inhibitors are used for the treatment of some diseases. The available drugs in the market have limitations or side effects, which bring about the need to develop new drug candidate compound(s) to overcome the problems at issue. In this study, new pyrazole-sulphonamide hybrid compounds 4-[5-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-3-aryl-4,5-dihydro-1 H -pyrazol-1-yl]benzenesulphonamides (4a - 4j) were designed to discover new drug candidate compounds. The compounds 4a - 4j were synthesized and their chemical structures were confirmed using spectral techniques. The hypothesis tested was whether an introduction of methoxy and polymethoxy group(s) lead to an increased potency selectivity expression (PSE) value of the compound, which reflects cytotoxicity and selectivity of the compounds. The cytotoxicity of the compounds towards tumor cell lines were in the range of 6.7 – 400 µM. The compounds 4i (PSE₂ = 461.5) and 4g (PSE₁ = 193.2) had the highest PSE values in cytotoxicity assays. Ki values of the compounds were in the range of 59.8 ± 3.0 - 12.7 ± 1.7 nM towards hCA I and in the range of 24.1 ± 7.1 - 6.9 ± 1.5 nM towards hCA II. While the compounds 4b, 4f, 4g, and 4i showed promising cytotoxic effects, the compounds 4c and 4g had the inhibitory potency towards hCA I and hCA II, respectively. These compounds can be considered as lead compounds for further research.     

Synthesis and antifungal evaluation of 1-aryl-2-dimethyl- aminomethyl-2-propen-1-one hydrochlorides

The development of resistance to current antifungal therapeutics drives the search for new effective agents. The fact that several acetophenone-derived Mannich bases had shown remarkable antifungal activities in our previous studies led us to design and synthesize some acetophenone-derived Mannich bases, 1-8 and 2-acetylthiophene-derived Mannich base 9, 1-aryl-2-dimethylaminomethyl-2-propen-1-one hydrochloride, to evaluate their antifungal activities. The designed chemical structures have α,β-unsaturated ketone moieties, which are responsible for the bioactivities of the Mannich bases. The aryl part was C?H?(1); 4-CH?C?H? (2); 4-CH?OC?H? (3); 4-ClC?H? (4); 4-FC?H? (5); 4-BrC?H? (6); 4-HOC?H? (7); 4-NO?C?H? (8); and C?H?S(2-yl) (9). In this study the designed compounds were synthesized by the conventional heating method and also by the microwave irradiation method to compare these methods in terms of reaction times and yields to find an optimum synthetic method, which can be applied for the synthesis of Mannich bases in further studies. Since there are limited number of studies reporting the synthesis of Mannich bases by microwave irradiation, this study may also contribute to the general literature on Mannich bases. Compound 7 was reported for the first time. Antifungal activities of all compounds and synthesis of the compounds by microwave irradiation were also reported for the first time by this study. Fungi (15 species) were used for antifungal activity test. Amphotericin B was tested as an antifungal reference compound. In conclusion, compounds 1-6, and 9, which had more potent (2-16 times) antifungal activity than the reference compound amphotericin B against some fungi, can be model compounds for further studies to develop new antifungal agents. In addition, microwave irradiation can be considered to reduce reaction period, while the conventional method can still be considered to obtain compounds with higher reaction yields in the synthesis of new Mannich bases.     

Energy absorption buildup factors of some potential bioactive compounds in the energy region 0.015–15 MeV

Kinetic energy released per unit mass relative to air and energy absorption buildup factors has been calculated for some potential bioactive compounds in the energy region of 0.015–15?MeV. The bioactive compounds of 1-aryl-3-dibenzylamino-propane-1-on hydrochloride type Mannich bases were used in this work. Aryl part was changed as C₆H₅ (1), 4-CH₃C₆H₄ (2), C₄H₃S-2-yl (3), 4-FC₆H₄ (4), 4-BrC₆H₄ (5), 4-ClC₆H₄ (6), and 4-NO₂C₆H₄ (7). The energy absorption buildup factors have been calculated for penetration depth of 40 mean free paths. It is observed that kinetic energy released per unit mass relative to air depends on the photon energy and chemical content of compounds. The compounds with least mean atomic number possess the maximum value of energy absorption buildup factors. Also, the energy absorption buildup factors are found the highest in intermediate energy, whereas the lowest in low as well as high energies.     

Synthesis,cytotoxic, and carbonic anhydrase inhibitory effects of new 2-(3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-(aryl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)benzo[d]thiazole derivatives

2-(3-[4-Methoxyphenyl]-5-aryl-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)benzo[d]thiazoles ( 1b-7b ) were synthesized for the first time except 1b , and spectral methods such as ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and HRMS were utilized to illuminate the chemical structures of the synthesized compounds. Phenyl ( 1b ), 2-methoxyphenyl ( 2b ), 4-methoxyphenyl ( 3b ), 4-methoxy-3-hydroxyphenyl ( 4b ), 2,5-dimethoxyphenyl ( 5b ), 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl ( 6b ), or thiophene-2-yl ( 7b ) was used as a aryl part. The inhibitory effects of the compounds were evaluated toward human carbonic anhydrase I and II enzymes (hCA I and hCA II). In vitro cytotoxic effects of the compounds against human oral squamous carcinomas and human normal oral cells were carried out via MTT. The compounds ( 1b-7b ) had Ki values of 36.87 ± 11.62-66.24 ± 2.99 μM (hCA I) and 22.66 ± 1.41-89.95 ± 6.25 μM (hCA II). Compounds 1b (Ki = 36.87 ± 11.62 μM) toward hCA I, 6b (Ki = 22.66 ± 1.41 μM) toward hCA II had significant enzyme inhibitory potency. Compound 6b had the highest tumor selectivity (TS = 29.3) and potency selectivity expression (PSE = 272.3) values. Therefore, compounds 1b and 6b with CAs inhibition effect and compound 6b with the cytotoxicity may be forwarded to further studies as potent compounds.     

Synthesis and bioactivities of 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-((heteroaryl)thio)ethanones as carbonic anhydrase I,II and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

The discovery of enzyme targeting inhibitors is a popular area of drug research. Biological activities of the compounds bearing phenol and heteroaryl groups make them popular groups in drug design targeting important enzymes such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE, E.C.3.1.1.7) and carbonic anhydrases (CAs, EC 4.2.1.1). 1-(4-hydroxyphenyl)- 2-((aryl)thio)ethanones as possible AChE and CAs inhibitors were synthesized, and their chemical structures were confirmed by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HRMS. The compounds 2 and 4 were found potent AChE inhibitors with the Ki values of 22.13 ±1.96 nM and 23.71 ±2.95 nM, respectively, while the compounds 2 (Ki = 8.61 ±0.90 nM, on hCA I) and 1 (Ki = 8.76 ±0.84 nM, on hCA II) had considerable CAs inhibitory potency. The lead compounds may help the scientists for the rational designing of an innovative class of drug candidates targeting enzyme-based diseases.     

Synthesis and pharmacological effects of novel benzenesulfonamides carrying benzamide moiety as carbonic anhydrase and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

N -(1-(4-Methoxyphenyl)-3-oxo-3-((4-( N -(substituted)sulfamoyl)phenyl)amino)prop-1-en-1-yl)benzamides 3a – g were designed since sulfonamide and benzamide pharmacophores draw great attention in novel drug design due to their wide range of bioactivities including acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and human carbonic anhydrase I and II (hCA I and hCA II) inhibitory potencies. Structure elucidation of the compounds was carried out by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HRMS spectra. In vitro enzyme assays showed that the compounds had significant inhibitory potential against hCA I, hCA II, and AChE enzymes at nanomolar levels. Ki values were in the range of 4.07 ± 0.38 – 29.70 ± 3.18 nM for hCA I and 10.68 ± 0.98 – 37.16 ± 7.55 nM for hCA II while Ki values for AChE were in the range of 8.91 ± 1.65 – 34.02 ± 5.90 nM. The most potent inhibitors 3g (Ki = 4.07 ± 0.38 nM, hCA I), 3c (Ki = 10.68 ± 0.98 nM, hCA II ) , and 3f (Ki = 8.91 ± 1.65 nM, AChE) can be considered as lead compounds of this study with their promising bioactivity results. Secondary sulfonamides showed promising enzyme inhibitory effects on AChE while primary sulfonamide derivative was generally effective on hCA I and hCA II isoenzymes.     

Synthesis of 1-Aryl-3-phenethylamino-1-propanone hydrochlorides as possible potent cytotoxic agents

1-Aryl-3-phenethylamino-1-propanone hydrochlorides 1-10, which are potentialpotent cytotoxic agents, were synthesized via Mannich reactions using paraformaldehyde,phenethylamine hydrochloride as the amine component and acetophenone, 4'-methyl-, 4'-methoxy-, 4'-chloro-, 4'-fluoro-, 4'-bromo-, 2',4'-dichloro-, 4'-nitro-, 4'-hydroxyacetophenone or 2-acetylthiophene as the ketone component. Yields were in the87-98 % range. Of the compounds synthesized, compounds 2, 6-8 and 10 were new. Theoptimum reaction conditions were investigated by changing the mol ratios of the reactants,the solvents and the acidity levels using 1 and 10 as representative targets. It was observedthat the best mol ratio of the ketone, paraformaldehyde and phenethylamine hydrochloridewas 1:1.2:1 (compared with a 2:2.1 ratio), and the most suitable reaction medium wasethanol containing concentrated hydrochloric acid (compared with only ethanol or nosolvent). This study may serve as a guide for the conditions of the reactions to synthesizecompounds having similar chemical structures.