Antitumor agents 287. Substituted 4-amino-2H-pyran-2-one (APO) analogs reveal a new scaffold from neo-tanshinlactone with in vitro anticancer activity

4-Amino-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one (ABO) and 4-amino-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one (ATBO) analogs were found to be significant in vitro anticancer agents in our previous research. Our continuing study has now discovered a new simplified (monocyclic rather than tricyclic) class of cytotoxic agents, 4-amino-2H-pyran-2-one (APO) analogs. By incorporating various substituents on the pyranone ring, we have established preliminary structure-activity relationships (SAR). Analogs 19, 20, 23, and 26-30 displayed significant tumor cell growth inhibitory activity in vitro. The most active compound 27 exhibited ED₅₀ values of 0.059-0.090 μM.     

Antitumor agents 278. 4-Amino-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one (ABO) analogs as potent in vitro anti-cancer agents

4-Amino-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one (ABO) analogs were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for cytotoxic activity. Among all 4-substituted ABO analogs, cyclohexyl (12), N-methoxy-N-methylacetamide (14), and various aromatic derivatives (15–25 and 27) exhibited promising cell growth inhibitory activity with ED₅₀ values of 0.01–5.8 μM against all tested tumor cell lines. The 4′-methoxyphenyl derivative (18) and 3′-methylphenyl derivative (24) showed the most potent antitumor activity against a broad range of cancer cell lines with ED₅₀ values of 0.01–76 μM. Preliminary SAR results indicated that substitutions on nitrogen are critical to the antitumor potency.     

Antitumor agents 281. Design, synthesis, and biological activity of substituted 4-amino-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one analogs (ATBO) as potent in vitro anticancer agents

In our exploration of new biologically active chemical entities, we designed and synthesized a novel class of antitumor agents, substituted 4-amino-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one (ATBO) analogs. We evaluated their cytotoxic activity against seven human tumor cell lines from different tissues, and established preliminary structure-activity relationships (SAR). All analogs, except 8, 9, and 25-27, displayed potent tumor cell growth inhibitory activity. Especially, compounds 15 and 33 with a 4-methoxyphenyl group at position C-4 were extremely potent with ED(50) values of 0.008-0.064 and 0.035-0.32 μM, respectively. Compound 15 was the most potent analog compared with structurally related neo-tanshinlactone (e.g., 1) and 4-amino-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one (ABO, e.g., 4) analogs, and thus merits further exploration as an anti-cancer drug candidate.     

Discovery of (1R,6S)-5-[4-(1-cyclobutyl-piperidin-4-yloxy)-phenyl]-3,4-diaza-bicyclo[4.1.0]hept-4-en-2-one (R,S-4a): Histamine H3 receptor inverse agonist demonstrating potent cognitive enhancing and wake promoting activity

A series of fused cyclopropyl-4,5-dihydropyridazin-3-one (3,4-diaza-bicyclo[4.1.0]hept-4-en-2-one) phenoxypiperidine analogs was designed and synthesized, leading to the identification of (1R,6S)-5-[4-(1-cyclobutyl-piperidin-4-yloxy)-phenyl]-3,4-diaza-bicyclo[4.1.0]hept-4-en-2-one (R,S-4a) as a second-generation pyridazin-3-one H₃R antagonist. Compound R,S-4a was a potent H₃R functional antagonist in vivo in the rat dipsogenia model, demonstrated potent wake activity in the rat EEG/EMG model, and enhanced short-term memory in the rat social recognition memory model at doses as low as 0.03–0.3 mg/kg po.     

Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 1-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrazino[1,2-a]indole-3-carboxamide analogs in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cell lines

A series of novel 1-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrazino[1,2-a]indole-3-carboxamide analogs were designed and synthesized for developing pyrazinoindolone scaffolds as anti-breast cancer agents. Compounds 1h and 1i, having a furan-2-yl-methylamide and benzylamide group, respectively, exhibited more potent cytotoxicity in MDA-MB-468 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells than compounds possessing aliphatic groups. Compounds 2a and 2b, as (R)-enantiomers of 1h and 1i, also had inhibitory activity against MDA-MB-468 cells. Moreover, analogs (3a–b and 3d–e) bearing a benzyl group at the N-2 position showed more potent activity than gefitinib, as a potent EFGR-TK inhibitor. Especially, compound 3a exhibited selective cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-468 cells; it also had a synergistic effect in combination with gefitinib against MDA-MB-468 cells. In addition, we confirmed that compounds 3a and 3d inhibit phosphorylation of Akt in MDA-MB-468 cells using western blot analysis. Therefore, these 1-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrazino[1,2-a]indole-3-carboxamide analogs may be helpful for investigating new anti-TNBC agents.     

Design,synthesis and activity evaluation of indole-based double – Branched HDAC1 inhibitors

Histone deacetylases inhibitors (HDACIs) represents effective treatments for cancer. In continuing our efforts to develop novel and potent HDACIs, a series of N-hydroxycinnamamide-based HDACIs with aromatic ring and various aliphatic linker have been successfully designed and synthesized. Biological evaluations established that compounds 4h, 4i, 4j, 4l, 4r showed superior inhibition on histone deacetylase and antiproliferative activity in some solid tumor cell lines [HeLa, SK-N-BE(2), PC-3] compared to the known inhibitor SAHA. Among these analogs, 4l exhibited selectivity to HDAC1.     

Regioselective synthesis of 3-benzyl substituted pyrimidino chromen-2-ones and evaluation of anti-microbial and anti-biofilm activities

Regioselective synthesis of a number of highly functionalized 3-benzylpyrimidino chromen-2-ones (4) were accomplished in a one pot three component reaction in acetic acid and determined their anti-microbial and anti-biofilm activities. Compounds 4o and 4p showed an excellent anti-microbial activity against Micrococcus luteus MTCC 2470 at a par with standard control (Ciprofloxacin) and exhibited best activity against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 and Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121. Further, compounds 4h, 4i, 4m, 4n and 4q showed promising activity against Micrococcus luteus MTCC 2470, Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 and Bacillus subtilis MTCC 121. Whereas, compounds 4m showed very promising biofilm inhibition activity against Staphylococcus aureus MLS 16 MTCC 2940 and 4o, 4p showed very potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96 at a par with Ciprofloxacin used as standard control.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of arylpiperazine derivatives as potential anti-prostate cancer agents

A novel scaffold of arylpiperazine derivatives was discovered as potent androgen receptor (AR) antagonist through rational drug designation based on our pre-work, leading to the discovery of a series of new antiproliferative compounds. Compounds 10, 16, 27, 29 and 31 exhibited relatively strong antagonistic potency against AR and exhibited potent AR binding affinities, while compounds 5, 6, 10, 14, 16, 19, 21, 27 and 31 exhibited strong cytotoxic activities against LNCaP cells (AR-rich) as well as also displayed the higher activities than finasteride toward PC-3 (AR-deficient) and DU145 (AR-deficient). Docking study suggested that the most potent antagonist 16 mainly bind to AR ligand binding pocket (LBP) site through hydrogen bonding interactions. The structure-activity relationship (SAR) of these designed arylpiperazine derivatives was rationally explored and discussed. These results indicated that the novel scaffold compounds demonstrated a step towards the development of novel and improved AR antagonists, and promising candidates for future development were identified.     

4-Aminophenyl acetamides and propanamides as potent transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) ligands

A series of 2-(3,5-substituted 4-aminophenyl)acetamide and propanamide derivatives were investigated as human TRPV1 antagonists. The analysis of the structure-activity relationship indicated that 2-(3,5-dihalo 4-aminophenyl)acetamide analogues displayed excellent antagonism of hTRPV1 activation by capsaicin and showed improved potency compared to the corresponding propanamides. The most potent antagonist (36) exhibited potent and selective antagonism for hTRPV1 not only to capsaicin but also to NADA and elevated temperature; however, it only displayed weak antagonism to low pH. Further studies indicated that oral administration of antagonist 36 blocked the hypothermic effect of capsaicin in vivo but demonstrated hyperthermia at that dose. A docking study of 36 was performed in our established hTRPV1 homology model to understand its binding interactions with the receptor and to compare with that of previous antagonist 1.     

Discovery of 2-(3,5-difluoro-4-methylsulfonaminophenyl)propanamides as potent TRPV1 antagonists

A series of A-region analogues of 2-(3-fluoro-4-methylsufonamidophenyl) propanamide 1 were investigated as TRPV1 antagonists. The analysis of structure-activity relationship indicated that a fluoro group at the 3- (or/and) 5-position and a methylsulfonamido group at the 4-position were optimal for antagonism of TRPV1 activation by capsaicin. The most potent antagonist 6 not only exhibited potent antagonism of activation of hTRPV1 by capsaicin, low pH and elevated temperature but also displayed highly potent antagonism of activation of rTRPV1 by capsaicin. Further studies demonstrated that antagonist 6 blocked the hypothermic effect of capsaicin in vivo, consistent with its in vitro mechanism, and it showed promising analgesic activity in the formalin animal model.     

Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of 3-aryl-3-hydroxy-1-phenylpyrrolidine derivatives as novel androgen receptor antagonists

We designed and synthesized a series of 3-aryl-3-hydroxy-1-phenylpyrrolidine derivatives D and evaluated their potential as novel androgen receptor (AR) antagonists therapeutically effective against castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Introduction of a methyl group at the 2-position (R²) of the pyrrolidine ring increased the AR binding affinity. The (2S,3R) configuration of the pyrrolidine ring was favorable for the AR antagonistic activity. It was found that introduction of an amide substituent (R¹) and a pyridin-3-yl group (Q) was effective for reducing the AR agonistic activity which appeared during the optimization of lead compound 6. Compound 54 showed potent antitumor effects against a CRPC model of LNCaP-hr cell line in a mouse xenograft, in which bicalutamide exhibited only partial suppression of tumor growth. Thus, the pyrrolidine derivatives such as 54 are novel AR antagonists, and their properties having efficacy against CRPC are distinct from those of a representative first-generation antagonist, bicalutamide.     

Synthesis of new heterocyclic hybrids based on pyrazole and thiazolidinone scaffolds as potent inhibitors of tyrosinase

As a part of ongoing studies in developing new Tyrosinase inhibitors, a class of structurally novel 2-(2,4-dimethoxy phenylamino)-5 methylene-4-thiazolinone derivatives were synthesized by incorporating 2-(2,4-dimethoxy-phenylamino)-thiazol-4-one with various 1-(1-methyl-buta-1,3-dienyl)-3-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carbaldehyde. The results showed that some of the synthesized compounds exhibited significant inhibitory activities. Especially, 5-[3-(2-chloro-phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-ylmethylene]-2-(2,4-dimethoxy-phenylamino)-thiazol-4-one (5h) and 5-[3-(3-chloro-phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-ylmethylene]-2-(2,4-dimethoxy-phenylamino)-thiazol-4-one (5g) possessing 2-chloro-phenyl and 3-chloro-phenyl group exhibited the most potent tyrosinase inhibitory activity with an IC₅₀ value of 34.12 and 52.62 μM, respectively. The inhibition mechanism analysis of 5h and 5g thiazolidinone derivatives demonstrated that the inhibitory effects of the compounds on tyrosinase were reversible and competitive. Preliminary structure–activity relationships (SAR) analysis suggested that further development of such compounds might be of interest, as it manifests simple reversible slow binding inhibition against monophenolase and diphenolase.     

Two new coumarin derivatives from the whole plant of Spermacoce latifolia

Six coumarin derivatives including two new, 2-acetyl-4-hydroxy-6H-furo[2,3-g]chromen-6-one (1) and 2-(1',2'-dihydroxypropan-2'-yl)-4-hydroxy-6H-furo[2,3-g]chromen-6-one (2), and four known ones, 7H-furo [3,2-g][1]benzopyran-7-one (3), esculetin (4), isoscopoletin (5) and 7,8-dihydroxy-6-methoxycoumarin (6), were isolated for the first time from the whole plant of Spermacoce latifolia. Their structures were determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature reported data. In vitro antibacterial assay indicated that compounds 1, 2 and 4 were active toward bacteria Staphyloccocus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus cereus with MIC values ranging from 7.81 to 62.5 ug/mL.     

ZnCl2 catalyzed new coumarinyl-chalcones as cytotoxic agents

A new series of coumarin-yl-chalcone derivatives (3a-m) had been designed and synthesized through different reactions such as aromatic addition, cyclization and Claisen-Schmidt reactions in good yields (54–78%). 5-acetyl-4-(2-hydroxyphenyl) -6-methyl-3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H) -one (1) has been synthesized by multi-component one pot reaction of salicylaldehyde, methyl acetoacetate and urea, which was further reacted with malonic acid employing ZnCl₂ catalyst to yield 5-acetyl-4-(4-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-8-yl) -6-methyl-3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H) -one (2). The title compounds (3a-m) were synthesised by reacting 5-acetyl-4-(4-hydroxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-8-yl) -6-methyl-3, 4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-one (2) with different aromatic aldehydes in the presence of potassium hydroxide. In silico studies, a preliminary screening method for predicting the anti-cancer activity was performed for the synthesized compounds (3a-m) against Src, Alb tyrosine kinase and homology model protein (PDB ID: 4csv). The derivatives 3h and 3m showed moderate binding energies. The in vitro cytotoxic activity was evaluated for the compounds 3h and 3m by using human cancer cell-line morphology and MTT assay against three human cell-lines A549 (Lung), Jurkat (Leukemia) and MCF-7 (Breast). The results indicate that the derivatives 3h and 3m display significant anti-cancer activity, however it was found to be less cytotoxic when compared to the standard used i.e. Imatinib.     

Design and synthesis of novel chromenone derivatives as interleukin-5 inhibitors

A novel series of chromenone analogs were synthesized and evaluated for their inhibitory activity against interleukin-5. Among them 5-(cyclohexylmethoxy)-3-[3-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propyl]-4H-chromen-4-one (9b, 94% inhibition at 30 μM, IC₅₀ = 4.0 μM) and 5-(cyclohexylmethoxy)-3-[3-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)propyl]-4H-chromen-4-one (9c, 94% inhibition at 30 μM, IC₅₀ = 6.5 μM) showed the most potent activity. According to the SAR studies introduction of propanone unit in between chromenone and ring B as in 5-(cyclohexylmethoxy)-3-[3-(4-phenyl)-3-oxopropyl]-4H-chromen-4-ones (8) moderately increased the activity. However, the reduction of these propanones 8 to propanols 9 remarkably enhanced the activity. A small substituent at position 4 of ring B in 9, especially with hydrogen bonding capability, provides favorable contribution. Disappearance of IL-5 inhibitory activity upon saturation of chroman-4-one of 9 to chroman-4-ones 10 proves the critical importance of planar chromen-4-one unit of this scaffold in the IL-5 inhibition.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of furocoumarin derivatives on melanin synthesis in murine B16 cells for the treatment of vitiligo

Furocoumarins, isolated from Psoralen corylifolia L., were found to be the most effective drug in the treatment of vitiligo nowadays. Twenty-five furocoumarin derivatives were thus designed and synthesized in order to improve the melanogenesis in B16 cells for the first time. Among them, twenty-three compounds were more potent than the positive control (8-MOP), the commonly used drug for vitiligo in clinic. Noticeably, compounds 6m (350.5%) and 6p (313.1%) based on the scaffold of 6k (2H-benzofuro[2,3-h]chromen-2-one) were nearly 3-fold stronger than 8-MOP (114.50%). The in vitro melanin synthesis evaluation of these structurally diverse analogues had also led to an outline of structure–activity relationship.     

Development of 2-aryl substituted quinazolin-4(3H)-one,pyrido[4,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one derivatives as microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 inhibitors

mPGES-1 is inducible terminal synthase acting downstream of COX enzymes in arachidonic acid pathway, regulates the biosynthesis of pro-inflammatory prostaglandin PGE₂. Cardiovascular side effect of coxibs and NSAIDs, selective for COX-2 inhibition, stimulated interest in mPGES-1, a therapeutic target with potential to deliver safe and effective anti-inflammatory drugs. The synthesis and structure activity relationship of a series of compounds from 2-aryl substituted quinazolin-4(3H)-one, pyrido[4,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one scaffolds as mPGES-1 inhibitor are discussed. A set of analogs (28, 48, 49) were identified with <10 nM potencies in the recombinant human mPGES-1 enzyme and in the A549 cellular assays. These analogs were also found to be potent in the human whole blood assay (<400 nM). Furthermore, the representative compound 48 was shown to be selective with other prostanoid synthases and was able to effectively regulate PGE₂ biosynthesis in clinically relevant inflammatory settings, in comparison with celecoxib.     

2-Aminopyrimidin-4(1H)-one as the novel bioisostere of urea: Discovery of novel and potent CXCR2 antagonists

2-Aminopyrimidin-4(1H)-one was proposed as the novel bioisostere of urea. Bioisosteric replacement of the reported urea series of the CXCR2 antagonists with 2-aminopyrimidin-4(1H)-ones led to the discovery of the novel and potent CXCR2 antagonist 3e. 2-Aminopyrimidin-4(1H)-one derivative 3e demonstrated a good developability profile (reasonable solubility and high permeability) and superior chemical stability especially in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) compared with ureas.     

Synthesis and docking studies of novel antitumor benzimidazoles

In this work, the benzimidazole-pyrrole conjugates 6a–h and benzimidazole-tetracycles conjugates 12–14 were prepared. The cytotoxicity of the compounds 3, 4a–h, 6a–h, 8, 10 and 12–14 was tested against lung cancer cell line A549. Compound 6b exhibited higher activity than the bis-benzoxazole natural product (UK-1), the standard. The tested 4g,h, 6a–h, 10 and 12–14 exhibited remarkable cytotoxicity activity against breast cancer cell line MCF-7 with higher activity than tamoxifen. Furthermore, compound 4h was found to be also more potent than doxurubicin. The antitumor promotion activity of synthesized compounds 4g,h, 6a–h, 10 and 12–14 has been estimated by studying their possible inhibitory effects on EBV-EA activation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Among the studied compounds, the inhibitory activities of compounds 8, 13 and 14 demonstrated strong inhibitory effects on the Epstein–Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation without showing any cytotoxicity on the Raji cells and their effects being stronger than that of a representative control, oleanolic acid.Moreover, the molecular docking of the new compounds into plasminogen activator (uPA) receptor has been in correlation with the antitumor activity. All synthesized compounds 3, 4a–h, 6a–h, 8, 10 and 12–14 were docked into same groove of the binding site of the native co-crystalized (4-iodobenzo[b]thiophene-2-carboxamidine) ligand (PDB code:1c5x) for activity explaination. Compounds 4h, 6b and 13, giving the best docking results, were further studied to estimate their effect on the level of uPA using AssayMax human urokinase (uPA) ELISA kit. In case of A549 cell line, compound 6 exhibited similar activity to MMC, and for MCF-7 cell line, compound 4h exhibited similar activity to doxorubicin, in inhibiting the expression of uPA.     

Urea based CCR3 antagonists employing a tetrahydro-1,3-oxazin-2-one spacer

Conformational restriction of open chain analogs with a more polar tetrahydro-1,3-oxazin-2-one spacer led to the identification of potent urea-based CCR3 antagonists that exhibited excellent selectivity over binding to CYP2D6. The in vitro binding and eosinophil shape change data are presented. Compound 19b exhibited similar selectivity and potency to our development candidate BMS-639623.