Design,synthesis, quantum chemical studies and biological activity evaluation of pyrazole–benzimidazole derivatives as potent Aurora A/B kinase inhibitors

Novel pyrazole–benzimidazole derivatives have been designed and synthesized. The entire target compounds were determined against cancer cell lines U937, K562, A549, LoVo and HT29 and were screened for Aurora A/B kinase inhibitory activity in vitro. The compounds 7a, 7b, 7i, 7k and 7l demonstrated significant cancer cell lines and Aurora A/B kinase inhibitory activities. Molecular modeling studies suggested the derivatives have bound in the active site of Aurora A kinase through the formation of four hydrogen bonds. Quantum chemical studies were carried out on these compounds to understand the structural features essential for activity. The cellular activity of 7k was also tested by immunofluorescence.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of thienopyridinones as Chk1 inhibitors

A series of thienopyridinone derivatives was designed and synthesized as inhibitors of checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1). Most of them exhibited moderate to good Chk1 inhibitory activities. Among them, compounds 8q, 8t, and 8w with excellent Chk1 inhibitory activities (IC₅₀ values of 4.05, 6.23, and 2.33 nM, respectively) displayed strong synergistic effects with melphalan, a DNA-damaging agent in the cell-based assay. Further kinase profiling indicated that compound 8t was highly selective against CDK2/cyclinA, Aurora A, and PKC.     

3-Cyano-6-(5-methyl-3-pyrazoloamino)pyridines: Selective Aurora A kinase inhibitors

A new class of Aurora A kinase inhibitor was created by transforming 4-(5-methyl-3-pyrazoloamino)pyrimidine moiety of VX-680 to 3-cyano-6-(5-methyl-3pyrazoloamino)pyridine. Compound 6 exhibited a potent Aurora A kinase inhibitory activity, excellent selectivity to Aurora B kinase and other 60 kinases, good cell permeability and good PK profile. Therefore compound 6 was effective in antitumor mice model at a dose of 30 mg/kg po qd without decrease of body weight.     

Discovery of 4-aminoquinazoline—urea derivatives as Aurora kinase inhibitors with antiproliferative activity

Two series of 20 novel 4-aminoquinazoline—urea derivatives have been designed and synthesized. The entire target compounds were investigated for their in vitro antiproliferative activity against six human cancer cell lines (K562, U937, A549, NCI-H661, HT29 and LoVo) using the MTT-based assay. Most compounds showed significant antiproliferative activities against four solid tumor cell lines, but no or poor activities against two leukemia cell lines. Furthermore, the target compounds were screened for Aurora A/B kinases inhibitory activity. Among them, 7c, 7d, 8c, and 8d are more potent against Aurora A kinase than ZM447439. Docking study of compounds 7d and ZM447439 revealed that they bound strongly to the ATP-binding sites of Aurora A and B. Thus, they may be promising lead compounds for the development of novel anti-tumor drug potentially via inhibiting Aurora kinases.     

Biscoumarin-1,2,3-triazole hybrids as novel anti-diabetic agents: Design,synthesis, in vitro α-glucosidase inhibition,kinetic, and docking studies

A novel series of biscoumarin-1,2,3-triazole hybrids 6a-n was prepared and evaluated for α-glucosidase inhibitory potential. All fourteen derivatives exhibited excellent α-glucosidase inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values ranging between 13.0 ± 1.5 and 75.5 ± 7.0 µM when compared with the acarbose as standard inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 750.0 ± 12.0 µM). Among the synthesized compounds, compounds 6c (IC₅₀ = 13.0 ± 1.5 µM) and 6g (IC₅₀ = 16.4 ± 1.7 µM) exhibited the highest inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and were non-cytotoxic towards normal fibroblast cells. Kinetic study revealed that compound 6c inhibits the α-glucosidase in a competitive mode. Furthermore, molecular docking investigation was performed to find interaction modes of the biscoumarin-1,2,3-triazole derivatives.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 1-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)-5-(quinoxalin-6-yl)-1,2,3-triazoles as transforming growth factor-β type 1 receptor kinase inhibitors

A series of 1-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)-5-(quinoxalin-6-yl)-1,2,3-triazoles has been synthesized and evaluated for their ALK5 inhibitory activity. The 1-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)-1,2,3-triazoles were assembled by Cu(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. Following this, quinoxaline was introduced through Pd-catalyzed direct arylation. The synthesized 1-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)-5-(quinoxalin-6-yl)-1,2,3-triazoles revealed significant selectivity differences with respect to p38α MAP kinase. In particular, 12k showed 80.8% ALK5 inhibitory activity at a concentration of 10 μM and IC₅₀ value of 4.69 μM, but did not show p38α MAP kinase inhibitory activity (?1.94% inhibition at a concentration of 10 μM).     

Synthesis of 1H-1,2,3-triazole derivatives as new α-glucosidase inhibitors and their molecular docking studies

Inhibition of α-glucosidase is an effective strategy for controlling the post-prandial hyperglycemia in diabetic patients. For the identification of new inhibitors of this enzyme, a series of new (R)-1-(2-(4-bromo-2-methoxyphenoxy) propyl)-4-(4-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole derivatives were synthesized (8a–d and 10a–e). The structures were confirmed by NMR, mass spectrometry and, in case of compound 8a, by single crystal X-ray crystallography. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activities were investigated in vitro. Most derivatives exhibited significant inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase enzyme. Their structure-activity relationship and molecular docking studies were performed to elucidate the active pharmacophore against this enzyme. Compound 10b was the most active analogue with IC₅₀ value of 14.2 µM, while compound 6 was found to be the least active having 218.1 µM. A preliminary structure-activity relationship suggested that the presence of 1H-1,2,3-triazole ring in 1H-1,2,3-triazole derivatives is responsible for this activity and can be used as anti-diabetic drugs. The molecular docking studies of all active compounds were performed, in order to understand the mode of binding interaction and the energy of this class of compounds.     

Optimization and biological evaluation of nicotinamide derivatives as Aurora kinase inhibitors

Aurora kinases are known to be overexpressed in various solid tumors and implicated in oncogenesis and tumor progression. A series of nicotinamide derivatives were synthesized and their biological activities were evaluated, including kinase inhibitory activity against Aur A and Aur B and in vitro antitumor activity against SW620, HT-29, NCI-H1975 and Hela cancer cell lines. In addition, the study of antiproliferation, cytotoxicity and apoptosis was performed meanwhile. As the most potent inhibitor of Aur A, 4-((3-bromo-4-fluorophenyl)amino)-6-chloro-N-(4-((6,7-dimethoxyquinolin-4-yl)oxy)-3-fluorophenyl)nicotinamide (10l) showed excellent antitumor activity against SW620 and NCI-H1975 with IC₅₀ values were 0.61 and 1.06 μM, while the IC₅₀ values of reference compound were 3.37 and 6.67 μM, respectively. Furthermore, binding mode studies indicated that compound 10l forms better interaction with Aur A.     

Discovery of novel 2,4-disubstituted pyrimidines as Aurora kinase inhibitors

In order to explore novel Aurora kinase inhibitors, a series of novel 2,4-disubstituted pyrimidines were designed, synthesized and evaluated their in vitro anti-proliferative activities against a panel of cancerous cell lines (A549, HCT-116 and MCF-7). Among them, compound 12a showed the moderate to high anti-proliferative activities against A549 (IC₅₀ = 12.05 ± 0.45 μM), HCT-116 (IC₅₀ = 1.31 ± 0.41 μM) and MCF-7 (IC₅₀ = 20.53 ± 6.13 μM) cells, as well as the Aurora A and Aurora B inhibitory activities with the IC₅₀ values of 309 nM and 293 nM, respectively. Furthermore, compound 12a induced apoptosis by upregulated the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and decreased the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-xl in HCT-116 cells. Moreover, the molecular docking study showed that compound 12a had good binding modes with Aurora A and Aurora B and the bioinformatics prediction discovered that compound 12a exhibited good drug likeness using SwissADME. Taken together, these results indicated that 12a may be a potential anticancer compound that was worthy of further development as Aurora kinase inhibitor.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of nitroxide labeled pyrimidines as Aurora kinase inhibitors

To find novel effective Aurora kinases inhibitors, a series of structurally interesting nitroxide labeled pyrimidines were synthesized and evaluated their anti-proliferative and Aurora kinases inhibitory activities. Among them, butyl 2-(3-((5-fluoro-2-((4-((1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-4-yl)carbamoyl) phenyl) amino)pyrimidin-4-yl)amino)-1H-pyrazol-5-yl)acetate (22) possessed the most potent anti-proliferative effects against four carcinoma cell lines with IC₅₀ values in range of 0.89–11.41?μM, and kinases inhibition against Aurora A and B with the IC₅₀ values were 9.3 and 2.8?nM, respectively. Furthermore, compound 22 blocked the phosphorylation of Aurora A (T288), Aurora B (Thr232) and HisH3, decreased the expression of proteins TPX2, Eg5 and Bora, as well as disrupted the mitotic spindle formation in HeLa cells. Molecular docking studies indicated that compound 22 well interact with both Aurora A and B. The results showed that compound 22 is a potential anticancer agent as promising pan-Aurora kinase inhibitor.     

The bioisosteric modification of pyrazinamide derivatives led to potent antitubercular agents: Synthesis via click approach and molecular docking of pyrazine-1,2,3-triazoles

Tuberculosis remains as a major public health risk which causes the highest mortality rate globally and an improved regimen is required to treat the drug-resistant strains. Pyrazinamide is a first-line antitubercular drug used in combination therapy with other anti-TB drugs. Herein, we describe the modification of pyrazinamide structure using bioisosterism and rational approaches by incorporating the 1,2,3-triazole moiety. Three sets of pyrazine-1,2,3-triazoles (3a-o, 5a-o and 9a-l) are designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro inhibitory potency against mycobacterium tuberculosis H₃₇Rv. The pyrazine-1,2,3-triazoles synthesized through the bioisosteric modification displayed improved activity as compared to rationally modified pyrazine-1,2,3-triazoles. Among 42 title compounds, seven derivatives demonstrated significant anti-tubercular activity with the MIC of 1.56 μg/mL, which are two-fold more potent than the parent compound pyrazinamide. Further, the synthesized pyrazinamide analogs demonstrated moderate inhibition activity against several bacterial strains and possessed an acceptable in vitro cytotoxicity profile as well. Additionally, the activity profile of pyrazine-1,2,3-triazoles was validated by performing the molecular docking studies against the Inh A enzyme. Furthermore, in silico ADME prediction revealed good oral bioavailability for the potent molecules.     

Simple di- and trivanillates exhibit cytostatic properties toward cancer cells resistant to pro-apoptotic stimuli

A series of 33 novel divanillates and trivanillates were synthesized and found to possess promising cytostatic rather than cytotoxic properties. Several compounds under study decreased by >50% the activity of Aurora A, B, and C, and WEE1 kinase activity at concentrations <10% of their IC₅₀ growth inhibitory ones, accounting, at least partly, for their cytostatic effects in cancer cells and to a lesser extent in normal cells. Compounds 6b and 13c represent interesting starting points for the development of cytostatic agents to combat cancers, which are naturally resistant to pro-apoptotic stimuli, including metastatic malignancies.     

Synthesis of novel benzenesulfonamide bearing 1,2,3-triazole linked hydroxy-trifluoromethylpyrazolines and hydrazones as selective carbonic anhydrase isoforms IX and XII inhibitors

A series of twenty four hydroxy-trifluoromethylpyrazoline-carbonyl-1,2,3-triazoles and four hydrazones bearing benzenesulfonamide moieties was obtained by condensation of carboxyhydrazides with substituted 1,3-diketones. All the newly synthesized compounds were investigated as inhibitors of physiologically and pharmacologically relevant human (h) carbonic anhydrsae (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) cytosolic isoforms hCA I and II, as well as transmembrane tumor-assosciated isoforms hCA IX and XII. These compounds exhibited excellent CA inhibitory potency against the four CA isoenzymes as compared to clinically used reference drug acetazolamide (AAZ). Some compounds bearing bulkier group at C-5′ position of 1,2,3-triazoles ring were weaker inhibitors of hCA I. Inhibition assay against hCA II indicates, that several derivatives exhibited upto 27-fold more effective inhibitory activity compared to AAZ. Five of the assayed compounds displayed low nanomolar potency (K_i ≤ 10 nM) against hCA IX, whereas five compounds were found to be endowed with excellent inhibitory potencies (K_i ≤ 5 nM) against hCA XII. The biological activity profile presented herein will be useful for designing new leads and provide candidates for preclinical investigations.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of substituted 1,2,3-benzotriazines and pyrido[3,2-d]-1,2,3-triazines as inhibitors of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2

A novel series of substituted 1,2,3-benzotriazines and pyrido[3,2-d]-1,2,3-triazines were synthesized. The abilities of these compounds to inhibit the VEGFR-2 kinase activity and the proliferation of human microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs) were determined. 6-Methoxy-4-substituted-1,2,3-benzotriazines and 4-substituted-6-chloro-pyrido[3,2-d]-1,2,3-triazines have the abilities of inhibiting the VEGFR-2 kinase activity, but only the 4-substituted-6-chloro-pyrido[3,2-d]-1,2,3-triazines exhibit good growth inhibitory effects on MVECs. Compound 6-chloro-4-(3-trifluoromethylanilino)-pyrido[3,2-d][1,2,3]triazin (11d) is less half active than PTK787 to inhibit the VEGFR-2 kinase activity, but is more active than PTK787 to inhibit the growth of MVECs. The potential binding modes of 6d, 11d, and CTZ12 in complex with their putative intracellular target, VEGFR-2, were predicted using Surflex-Dock.     

Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel 4-oxobenzo[d]1,2,3-triazin-benzylpyridinum derivatives as potent anti-Alzheimer agents

Novel 4-oxobenzo[d]1,2,3-triazin derivatives bearing pyridinium moiety 6a–q were synthesized and screened against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). Most of the synthesized compounds showed good inhibitory activity against AChE. Among the synthesized compounds, the compound 6j exhibited the highest AChE inhibitory activity. It should be noted that these compounds displayed low anti-BuChE activity with the exception of the compound 6i, as it exhibited BuChE inhibitory activity more than donepezil. The kinetic study of the compound 6j revealed that this compound inhibited AChE in a mixed-type inhibition mode. This finding was also confirmed by the docking study. The latter study demonstrated that the compound 6j interacted with both the catalytic site and peripheral anionic site of the AChE active site. The compound 6j was also observed to have significant neuroprotective activity against H₂O₂-induced PC12 oxidative stress, but low activity against β-secretase.     

Synthesis and nematicidal activities of 1,2,3-benzotriazin-4-one derivatives containing benzo[d][1,2,3]thiadiazole against Meloidogyne incognita

Based on the characteristic of benzo[d][1,2,3]thiadiazole to induce the systemic acquired resistance and improve the immunity of plants, benzo[d][1,2,3]thiadiazole was introduced into 1,2,3-benzotriazin-4-one, thirty-one novel 1,2,3-benzotriazin-4-one derivatives containing benzo[d][1,2,3]thiadiazole were designed and synthesized. Nematicidal activity showed that most of the synthesized compounds exhibited great inhibitory activity in vivo against Meloidogyne incognita at 20 mg/L. Among 31 tested compounds, A2 and A3 showed an excellent nematicidal activity with the inhibition rate of 50.4% and 53.1% at the concentration of 1.0 mg/L, respectively. The influence of substituent type and position was investigated. The relationship between structure and activity was also preliminary analyzed.     

Design and synthesis of novel quinazolinone-1,2,3-triazole hybrids as new anti-diabetic agents: In vitro α-glucosidase inhibition,kinetic, and docking study

A novel series of quinazolinone-1,2,3-triazole hybrids 10a-p were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity leading to efficient anti-diabetic agents. All synthesized compounds exhibited good inhibitory activity against yeast α-glucosidase (IC₅₀ values in the range of 181.0–474.5 µM) even much more potent than standard drug acarbose (IC₅₀ = 750.0). Among them, quinazolinone-1,2,3-triazoles possessing 4-bromobenzyl moiety connected to 1,2,3-triazole ring (10g and 10p) demonstrated the most potent inhibitory activity towards α-glucosidase. Compound 10g inhibited α-glucosidase in a competitive manner with K_i value of 117 µM. Furthermore, the binding modes of the most potent compounds 10g and 10p in the α-glucosidase active site was studied through in silico docking studies. Also, lack of cytotoxicity of compounds 10g and 10p was confirmed via MTT assay.     

Design,synthesis, in vitro,and in silico studies of novel diarylimidazole-1,2,3-triazole hybrids as potent α-glucosidase inhibitors

In this work, new derivatives of diarylimidazole-1,2,3-triazole 7a-p were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. All compounds showed potent inhibitory activity in the range of IC₅₀ = 90.4–246.7 µM comparing with acarbose as the standard drug (IC₅₀ = 750.0 µM). Among the synthesized compounds, compounds 7b, 7c, and 7e were approximately 8 times more potent than acarbose. The kinetic study of those compounds indicated that they acted as the competitive inhibitors of α-glucosidase. Molecular docking studies were also carried out for compounds 7b, 7c, and 7e using modeled α-glucosidase to find the interaction modes responsible for the desired inhibitory activity.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel pazopanib derivatives as antitumor agents

A series of novel pazopanib derivatives, 7a–m, were designed and synthesized by modification of terminal benzene and indazole rings in pazopanib. The structures of all the synthesized compounds were confirmed by ¹H NMR and MS. Their inhibitory activity against VEGFR-2, PDGFR-α and c-kit tyrosine kinases were evaluated. All the compounds exhibited definite kinase inhibition, in which compound 7l was most potent with IC₅₀ values of 12 nM against VEGFR-2. Furthermore, compounds 7c, 7d and 7m demonstrated comparable inhibitory activity against three tyrosine kinases to pazopanib, and compound 7f showed superior inhibitory effects than that of pazopanib.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of trisubstituted imidazole derivatives as inhibitors of p38alpha mitogen-activated protein kinase

A series of trisubstituted imidazole derivatives containing a 4-fluorophenyl group, a pyrimidine ring, and a CN- or CONH₂-substituted benzyl moiety have been synthesized and evaluated for p38α MAP kinase inhibitory activity. Among them, compounds 22c, 27b, and 28b inhibited p38α MAP kinase with IC₅₀ values 27.6, 28, and 31 nM, respectively.