Antiproliferative 3-deoxysphingomyelin analogs: Design,synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular docking of pyrrolidine-based 3-deoxysphingomyelin analogs as anticancer agents

Sphingomyelins and glycerophospholipids are structurally related phospholipids. Nevertheless, glycerophospholipids analogs are known as antitumor agents while sphingomyelin analogs were reported as cytoprotective agents. Herein, we have addressed the development of 3-deoxysphingomyelin analogs as cytotoxic agents possessing modified sphingobases. Thus, pyrrolidine-based 3-deoxysphingomyelin analogs were synthesized and evaluated against a panel of cell lines representing four major types of cancers. Compounds 3d, 4d and 6d elicited better GI₅₀ values than the FDA approved drug miltefosine. Investigation of their impact on Akt phosphorylation as a possible mechanism for the antiproliferative activity of this class of compounds revealed that these compounds might elicit a concentration-dependent mechanism via inhibition of Akt phosphorylation at the lower concentration. Molecular docking predicted their binding modes to Akt to involve polar head binding to the Pleckstrin homology domain and hydrophobic tail extension into a hydrophobic pocket connecting the Pleckstrin homology domain and the kinase domain. As a whole, the described work suggests compounds 3d, 4d and 6d as promising pyrrolidine-based 3-deoxysphingomyelin analogs for development of novel cancer therapies.     

Synthesis and evaluation of isosteres of N-methyl indolo[3,2-b]-quinoline (cryptolepine) as new antiinfective agents

Isosteres of cryptolepine (1) were synthesized and evaluated for their antiinfective activities. Overall, the sulfur isostere, 5-methyl benzothieno[3,2-b]quinolinium salt (5b), was equipotent to 1 and has shown no cytotoxicity at 23.8 microg/mL. Compound 5b was also found to have a broad spectrum of activity. Both the carbon and oxygen isosteres were less potent than cryptolepine. A limited library of 2-substituted analogs of 5b has been synthesized and evaluated in antifungal screens but did not show increase in potency compared to the unsubstituted 5b. Similarly, evaluation of tricyclic benzothieno[3,2-b]pyridines while showing promise in individual screens did not produce an overall increase in potency. Overall, the evaluation of the activities of 5b compared with standard antifungal/anti-protozoal agents suggests that the benzothienoquinoline scaffold could serve as a lead for optimization.     

Substituted indoloquinolines as new antifungal agents

Cryptolepine (2) possesses desirable properties to serve as a lead in developing new antifungal agents. Using SAR techniques, several analogues of cryptolepine were designed to increase potency and to broaden the antifungal spectrum over several opportunistic microorganisms. A number of 2-substituted indoloquinolines have been synthesized and evaluated in antifungal screens and several have been shown to increase potency and expand the antifungal spectrum of cryptolepine. Comparison of MICs of a number of these analogues with standard antifungal agents, shows them to be comparable to Amphotericin B and Ketoconazole.     

Structure–activity relationship studies of thalidomide analogs with a taxol-like mode of action

Anti-microtubule agents such as paclitaxel and docetaxel have played an important role in the treatment of cancer for many years. Recently, a small molecule that has a taxol-like mode of action (5HPP-33) was reported. Herein, the detailed structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies of 5HPP-33 analogs that are substituted at the isoindole and phenyl rings are described. Bulky substitutions (such as di-isopropyl groups) on the phenyl ring result in the isoindole and phenyl rings being perpendicular to each other. It was found that this conformation is critical for anti-microtubule activity. These studies have provided valuable information, which will be helpful in the design of more potent analogs.     

Antitumor agents 279. Structure-activity relationship and in vivo studies of novel 2-(furan-2-yl)naphthalen-1-ol (FNO) analogs as potent and selective anti-breast cancer agents

In our ongoing modification study of neo-tanshinlactone (1), we discovered 2-(furan-2-yl)naphthalen-1-ol (FNO) derivatives 3 and 4 as a new class of anti-tumor agents. To explore structure-activity relationships (SAR) of this scaffold, 18 new analogs, 6-12 and 14-24, were designed and synthesized. The C11-esters 7 and 12 displayed broad anti-tumor activity (ED₅₀ 1.1-4.3 μg/mL against seven cancer cell lines), while C11-hydroxymethyl 14 showed unique selectivity against the SKBR-3 breast cancer cell line (ED₅₀ 0.73 μg/mL). Compounds 15 and 22 displayed potent and selective anti-breast tumor activity (ED₅₀ 1.7 and 0.85 μg/mL, respectively, against MDA-MB-231). The SAR results demonstrated that the substitutions from the ring-opened lactone ring C of 1 are critical to the anti-tumor potency as well as the apparent tumor-tissue type selectivity. Treatment with 3 in Brca1^f11/f11p53^f5&6/f5&6Cre^c mice models significantly inhibited the proliferation of mammary epithelial cells and branching of mammary glands.     

CoMFA studies and in vitro evaluation of some 3-substituted benzylthio quinolinium salts as anticryptococcal agents

The 3-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D-QSAR) molecular modeling technique or comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) has been used to design analogs of the natural product cryptolepine (1). Twenty-three compounds with their in vitro biological activities (IC₅₀ values) against Crytococcus neoformans were used to generate the training set database of compounds for the CoMFA studies. The cross-validated q², noncross-validated r², and partial least squares (PLS) analysis results were used to predict the biological activity of 11 newly designed test set compounds. The best CoMFA model produced a q² of 0.815 and an r² of 0.976 indicating high statistical significance as a predictive model. The steric and electrostatic contributions from the contour map were interpreted from the color-coded contour plots generated from the PLS model and the active structural components for potency against C. neoformans were determined and validated in the test set compounds. The 3-substituted benzylthio quinolinium salts (4) that make up the test set were synthesized and evaluated based on the predicted activity from the CoMFA model and the results produced a good correlation between the predicted and experimental activity (R = 0.82). Thus, CoMFA has served as an effective tool to aid the design of new analogs and in this case, it has aided the identification of compounds equipotent with amphotericin B, the gold standard in antifungal drug design.     

Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of water-soluble amino acid prodrug conjugates derived from combretastatin,dihydronaphthalene, and benzosuberene-based parent vascular disrupting agents

Targeting tumor vasculature represents an intriguing therapeutic strategy in the treatment of cancer. In an effort to discover new vascular disrupting agents with improved water solubility and potentially greater bioavailability, various amino acid prodrug conjugates (AAPCs) of potent amino combretastatin, amino dihydronaphthalene, and amino benzosuberene analogs were synthesized along with their corresponding water-soluble hydrochloride salts. These compounds were evaluated for their ability to inhibit tubulin polymerization and for their cytotoxicity against selected human cancer cell lines. The amino-based parent anticancer agents 7, 8, 32 (also referred to as KGP05) and 33 (also referred to as KGP156) demonstrated potent cytotoxicity (GI₅₀ = 0.11–40 nM) across all evaluated cell lines, and they were strong inhibitors of tubulin polymerization (IC₅₀ = 0.62–1.5 μM). The various prodrug conjugates and their corresponding salts were investigated for cleavage by the enzyme leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). Four of the glycine water-soluble AAPCs (16, 18, 44 and 45) showed quantitative cleavage by LAP, resulting in the release of the highly cytotoxic parent drug, whereas partial cleavage (<10–90%) was observed for other prodrugs (15, 17, 24, 38 and 39). Eight of the nineteen AAPCs (13–16, 42–45) showed significant cytotoxicity against selected human cancer cell lines. The previously reported CA1-diamine analog and its corresponding hydrochloride salt (8 and 10, respectively) caused extensive disruption (at a concentration of 1.0 μM) of human umbilical vein endothelial cells growing in a two-dimensional tubular network on matrigel. In addition, compound 10 exhibited pronounced reduction in bioluminescence (greater than 95% compared to saline control) in a tumor bearing (MDA-MB-231-luc) SCID mouse model 2 h post treatment (80 mg/kg), with similar results observed upon treatment (15 mg/kg) with the glycine amino-dihydronaphthalene AAPC (compound 44). Collectively, these results support the further pre-clinical development of the most active members of this structurally diverse collection of water-soluble prodrugs as promising anticancer agents functioning through a mechanism involving vascular disruption.     

In vitro inhibition of beta-haematin formation, DNA interactions, antiplasmodial activity, and cytotoxicity of synthetic neocryptolepine derivatives

Neocryptolepine, a minor alkaloid of Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, was investigated as a lead for new antiplasmodial agents, because of its lower cytotoxicity than cryptolepine, the major alkaloid. Synthetic 2- or 3-substituted neocryptolepine derivatives were evaluated for their biological activity. In addition to the antiplasmodial activity (Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine-sensitive and -resistant) also the cytotoxicity (MRC-5 cells) was determined. Several compounds such as 2-bromoneocryptolepine showing higher and more selective antiplasmodial activity than neocryptolepine were obtained. Several functional assays and in vitro tests were used to obtain additional information on the mechanism of action, i.e., the beta-haematin formation inhibitory assay (detoxification of haem) and the DNA-methylgreen displacement assay (interaction with DNA). It could be demonstrated that the 2- or 3-substituted neocryptolepine derivatives investigated here have about the same potency to inhibit the beta-haematin formation as chloroquine, indicating that inhibition of haemozoin formation makes at least an important contribution to their antiplasmodial activity, although their in vitro antiplasmodial activity is still less than chloroquine.     

A First Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of a New Class of Purine and Guanine Thioglycoside Analogs

A first microwave-assisted synthesis of a new class of novel purine thioglycoside analogs from readily available starting materials has been described. The key step of this protocol is the formation of sodium pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine-7-thiolate and 7-mercaptopyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine derivatives via condensation of 5-amino-1H-pyrazoles with sodium 2,2-dicyanoethene-1,1-bis(thiolate) salts or 2-(dimercaptomethylene)malononitrile, respectively, under microwave irradiation, followed by coupling with halo sugars to give the corresponding purine thioglycoside analogs. The obtained purines and purines thioglycosides derivatives were evaluated in vitro against lung (A549), colon (HCT116), liver (HEPG2), and prostate (PC3) cancer cell lines. Some of these compounds (5b, 5d, 5f, and 9a–d) exhibited little potency toward the four cell lines. On the other hand, compound 5a elicited higher cytotoxicity on both prostate (PC3) and colon (HCT116), respectively, while it was found moderate on lung (A549), and inactive on liver (HEPG2). Moreover, compound 5c was found moderate with LC₅₀ values 52.0–88.9 μM for almost all the cell lines.     

In vitro screening of pentamidine analogs against bacterial and fungal strains

A series of linear pentamidine analogs exhibiting low cytotoxicity, active against Pneumocystis carinii, were evaluated for in vitro activities against bacterial and fungal strains. The majority of the tested bis-amidines exhibited marked activities against Gram-positive strains. In view of the fact that the highest potency was found for 1,5-bis(4-amidinophenoxy)-3-thiapentane dihydrochloride 1j with the S atom in the middle of the aliphatic linker, four new pentamidines bearing S atoms were synthesized and also evaluated against MRSA strains. N,N′-Dialkylated pentamidines with S atoms in the linker are the promising lead structures for antimicrobials development.     

Uncialamycin as a novel payload for antibody drug conjugate (ADC) based targeted cancer therapy

Uncialamycin analogs were evaluated as potential cytotoxic agents in an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approach to treating human cancer. These analogs were synthesized using Hauser annulations of substituted phthalides as a key step. A highly potent uncialamycin analog 3c with a valine-citrulline dipeptide linker was conjugated to an anti-mesothelin monoclonal antibody (mAb) through lysines to generate a meso-13 conjugate. This conjugate demonstrated subnanomolar potency (IC50?=?0.88?nM, H226 cell line) in in vitro cytotoxicity experiments with good immunological specificity to mesothelin-positive lung cancer cell lines. The potency and mechanism of action of this uncialamycin class of enediyne antitumor antibiotics make them attractive payloads in ADC-based cancer therapy.     

Mode of action investigation for the antibacterial cationic anthraquinone analogs

Reported previously by our group, we have developed a novel class of antibacterial cationic anthraquinone analogs with superb potency (MIC <1μg/mL) against Gram positive (G+) pathogens including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, most of these compounds only manifest modest antibacterial activity against Gram negative (G-) bacteria. Further investigation on the antibacterial mode of action using fluorogenic dyes reveals that these compounds exert two different modes of action that account for the difference in their antibacterial profile. It was found that most of the compounds exert their antibacterial activity by disrupting the redox processes of bacteria. At high concentration, these compounds can also act as membrane disrupting agents. This information can help to design new therapeutics against various bacteria.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of amino analogs of Ludartin: Potent and selective cytotoxic agents

Diverse amino analogs of Ludartin, a cytotoxic guaianolide and a position isomer of an anticancer drug, Arglabin were prepared through Michael type addition at its highly active α-methylene-γ-lactone motif. The semisynthetic derivatives were subjected to sulphorhodamine B cytotoxicity assay against a panel of four different human cancer cell lines viz. lung (A-549), leukemia (THP-1), prostate (PC-3) and colon (HCT-116) to look into structure–activity relationship. Few of the analogs displayed potent selective cytotoxicity compared to the parent molecule-Ludartin (1). (11R)-13-(Diethyl amine)-11,13-dihydroludartin (6) and (11R)-13-(piperidine)-11,13-dihydroludartin (10) showed almost same cytotoxicity against leukemia cell lines (THP-1) as that of parent molecule-Ludartin, but were more active against colon (HCT-116) cancer cells. (11R)-13-(Morpholine)-11,13-dihydroludartin (11) displayed selectively better cytotoxicity against Leukemia cancer cells (THP-1) exhibiting IC₅₀ of 2.8 μM. (11R)-13-(6-Nitroindazole)-11,13-dihydroludartin (17) was four times more potent than Ludartin with selective cytotoxic effects against prostate cancer cells (2.2 μM) while as (11R)-13-(6-nitroindazole)-11,13-dihydroludartin (18) exhibited three-fold selective cytotoxicity for Lung (A-549) cancer cell lines exhibiting IC₅₀ of 2.6 μM.     

Probing 13C chemical shielding tensors in cryptolepine and two bromo-substituted analogs for antiplasmodial activity

Density functional theory calculations were applied to investigate ¹³C chemical shielding tensors in cryptolepine and its bromo-substituted analogs, 2-bromocryptolepine and 2,7-dibromocryptolepine. The fact that bromo-substituted cryptolepine shows higher antiplasmodial activity than cryptolepine raises the question of whether this effect can be related to the electronic properties around carbon atoms. The results show that changes to the principal components of the shielding tensors upon substitution are significant. In particular, σ ₃₃ is the most affected tensor for carbons in the substituted ring, which could be related to the increased antiplasmodial activity of bromosubstituted cryptolepine. The analyses were also focused on atomic charges and dipole moment.     

Synthesis of furopyrazole analogs of 1-benzyl-3-(5-hydroxymethyl-2-furyl)indazole (YC-1) as novel anti-leukemia agents

As part of our continuing search for potential anticancer drug candidates in YC-1 analogs, several 1-benzyl-3-(substituted aryl)-5-methylfuro[3,2-c]pyrazoles were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxicity against HL-60 cell line. Among these compounds, 1-benzyl-3-(5-hydroxymethyl-2-furyl)-5-methylfuro[3,2-c]pyrazole (1) showed more potency than YC-1. Through investigation of action mechanism, it was found that compound 1 induced terminal differentiation of HL-60 cells toward granulocyte lineage and promoted HL-60 cell differentiation by regulation of Bcl-2 and c-Myc proteins. Meanwhile, compound 1 also demonstrated apoptosis inducing effect. Such anti-leukemia mechanism of action is apparently different from that of YC-1 which mainly works by inducing apoptosis, but not cell differentiation. Therefore, compound 1 is identified here as a new lead compound of cell differentiating agent and apoptosis inducer for further development of new anti-leukemia agents.     

Selective analogs of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 for the study of specific functions of Vitamin D

New analogs of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ synthesized in our research group that show selective activity in vivo are presented along with supporting biological results. Compounds that act preferentially on intestine are 2-(3′-propylidene-19-nor-(20S or 20R))-1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ and 2-methylene-19-21-dinor-1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃. Compounds that act anabolically to induce bone formation are 2-methylene-19-nor-(20S)-1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (2MD), the 2α-methyl derivative, the 26,27-dimethyl derivative, and the 26-dimethylene derivative. Compounds that act preferentially on parathyroid glands are 2-methylene-19-nor-1α-hydroxy-homopregnacalciferol, the 20S-bishomo derivative and the 2-methylene-19,26,27-trinor-1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃. These latter compounds do not elevate serum calcium until doses of the order of >300 μg/kg body weight are used, while parathyroid hormone levels are suppressed at much lower doses. Some of these novel analogs may ultimately be useful as new and safer therapeutic agents. Regardless of their clinical utility, they represent valuable research tools that can be used to study the specific functions of the Vitamin D hormone in vivo.     

Synthesis and evaluation of novel dolastatin 10 derivatives for versatile conjugations

Dolastatin 10 (1) is a highly potent cytotoxic microtubule inhibitor (cytotoxicity IC₅₀?<?5.0?nM) and several of its analogs have recently been used as payloads in antibody drug conjugates. Herein, we describe the design and synthesis of a series of novel dolastatin 10 analogs useful as payloads for conjugated drugs. We explored analogs containing functional groups at the thiazole moiety at the C-terminal of dolastatin 10. The functional groups included amines, alcohols, and thiols, which are representative structures used in known conjugated drugs. These novel analogs showed excellent potency in a tumor cell proliferation assay, and thus this series of dolastatin 10 analogs is suitable as versatile payloads in conjugated drugs. Insights into the structure–activity relationships of the analogs are also discussed.     

3D-QSAR based optimization of insect neuropeptide allatostatin analogs

Allatostatins (AST) are neuropeptides originally described as inhibitors of juvenile hormone (JH) synthesis in insects. Consequently, they have been considered as potential lead compounds for the discovery of new insect growth regulators (IGRs). In the present work, receptor-based three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) was studied with 48 AST analogs, and a general approach for novel potent bioactive AST analogs is proposed. Hence, six novel AST analogs were designed and synthesized. Bioassays indicated that the majority novel analogs exhibited potent JH inhibitory activity, especially analog A6 (IC₅₀: 3.79?nmol/L), which can be used as lead compound to develop new IGRs.     

Thalidomide dithiocarbamate and dithioate derivatives induce apoptosis through inhibition of histone deacetylases and induction of caspases

Anti-cancer effect and mechanism of cell death were investigated in a battery of five thalidomide analogs containing one sulfur atom 2 or two sulfur atoms 3–6 and were compared with thalidomide 1 activity. The cytotoxic effect of thalidomide analogs 2–6 against Hep-G2, 1301, and HCT-116 cells was estimated by the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptosis and necrosis cell percentage was stained by ethidium bromide and acridine orange, DNA fragmentation, inhibition of histone deacetylase (HDAC), and total caspases were assayed by universal procedures and kits. We report here for the anti-cancer activity of thalidomide dithiocarbamate analog 3 and thalidomide dithioate analog 5 against Hep-G2 and HCT-116 cells, which was more cytotoxic than thalidomide itself, and that the cytotoxicity was associated with DNA fragmentation and was due to apoptosis and not necrosis. Moreover, we suggest that the cell death pathway is evoked by thalidomide dithiocarbamate analog 3 and thalidomide dithioate analog 5 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells through multiple consequences that trigger apoptotic cell death; involving the enhancement of DNA fragmentation, the activation of caspases, and the induction of histone acetylation. In conclusion, thalidomide dithiocarbamate analog 3 and thalidomide dithioate analog 5 are promising anti-cancer agents more than thalidomide.     

Synthesis of Leishmania Cap-4 Intermediates,Cap-2 and Cap-3

Synthesis of Leishmania mRNA 5′-cap analogs, m ⁷ Gpppm ₂ ⁶ AmpAm (cap-2), and m ⁷ Gpppm ₂ ⁶ AmpAmpCm (cap-3) is reported. Binding affinities of those cap analogs for LeishIF4E proteins were determined using fluorescence spectroscopy. Cap-3 showed similar affinity to LeishIF4Es compared to the mature trypanosomatids cap structure (cap-4).