Discovery of novel 4-anilinoquinazoline derivatives as potent inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor with antitumor activity

Two new series of new compounds containing a 6-amino-substituted group or 6-acrylamide-substituted group linked to a 4-anilinoquinazoline nucleus have been discovered as potential EGFR inhibitors. These compounds proved efficient effects on antiproliferative activity and EGFR–TK inhibitory activity. Especially, N⁶-((5-bromothiophen-2-yl)methyl)-N⁴-(3-chlorophenyl)quinazoline-4,6-diamine (5e), showed the most potent inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 3.11 μM for Hep G2, IC₅₀ = 0.82 μM for A549). The EGFR molecular docking model suggested that the new compound is nicely bound to the region of EGFR, and cell morphology by Hoechst stain experiment suggested that these compounds efficiently induced apoptosis of A549 cells.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel C5 halogen-functionalized S-DABO as potent HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors

A series of novel S-DABO analogues (4a1–5a12) have been synthesized by an efficient method and evaluated as inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1). The biological testing results clearly indicated that the substitution of halogen at the C5 position of pyrimidine ring could increase the anti-HIV-1 RT activity. The most active compounds showed activity in the low micromole range with IC₅₀ values (IC₅₀ 0.18–3.03 μM) comparable to nevirapine (IC₅₀ 4.12 μM). The docking showed that a new halogen bond was formed between halogen and carbonyl of TYR188 in the HIV-I RT.     

Ionic liquid mediated synthesis of mono- and bis-spirooxindole-hexahydropyrrolidines as cholinesterase inhibitors and their molecular docking studies

One pot, three-component reaction of 1-acryloyl-3,5-bisarylmethylidenepiperidin-4-ones with isatin and sarcosine in molar ratios of 1:1:1 and 1:2:2 furnished to mono- and bis-spiropyrrolidine heterocyclic hybrids comprising functionalized piperidine, pyrrolidine and oxindole structural motifs. Both mono and bis-spiropyrrolidines displayed good inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) with IC₅₀ values of 2.36–9.43 μM. For butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), mono-cycloadducts in series 8 with IC₅₀ values of lower than 10 μM displayed better inhibitory activities than their bis-cycloadduct analogs in series 9 with IC₅₀ values of 7.44–19.12 μM. The cycloadducts 9j and 8e were found to be the most potent AChE and BChE inhibitors with IC₅₀ values of 2.35 and 3.21 μM, respectively. Compound 9j was found to be competitive inhibitor of AChE while compound 8e was a mixed-mode inhibitor of BChE with calculated K_i values of 2.01 and 6.76 μM, respectively. Molecular docking on Torpedo californica AChE and human BChE showed good correlation between IC₅₀ values and free binding energy values of the synthesized compounds docked into the active site of the enzymes.     

Design and synthesis of guanylthiourea derivatives as potential inhibitors of Plasmodium falciparum dihydrofolate reductase enzyme

A new class of compounds based on S-benzylated guanylthiourea has been designed as potential PfDHFR inhibitors using computer aided methods (molecular electrostatic potential, molecular docking). Several compounds in this class have been synthesized starting from guanylthiourea and alkyl bromides. In vitro studies showed that two compounds from this class are active with the IC₅₀ value of 100 μM and 400 nM.     

The synthesis of 4,7-disubstituted-2H-benzo[b][1,4]-oxazin-3(4H)-ones using Smiles rearrangement and their in vitro evaluation as platelet aggregation inhibitors

A series of novel benzo[b][1,4]oxazin-3(4H)-one derivatives were synthesized as platelet aggregation inhibitors for structure–activity relationships (SAR) analysis. The synthetic pattern, involved Smiles rearrangement for the preparation of benzoxazine, was proven to be more efficient than the conventional methods. Biological evaluation demonstrated that among all the synthesized compounds, compound 9u (IC₅₀ = 9.20 μM) exhibited the most potent inhibition activity compared with aspirin, the positive control (IC₅₀ = 7.07 μM). Molecular docking revealed that these set of compounds could be the GPIIb/IIIa antagonist for that they could be situated in the binding site of GPIIb/IIIa receptor quite well.     

Design,synthesis, and biological evaluation of resveratrol analogues as aromatase and quinone reductase 2 inhibitors for chemoprevention of cancer

A series of new resveratrol analogues were designed and synthesized and their inhibitory activities against aromatase were evaluated. The crystal structure of human aromatase (PDB 3eqm) was used to rationalize the mechanism of action of the aromatase inhibitor 32 (IC₅₀ 0.59 μM) through docking, molecular mechanics energy minimization, and computer graphics molecular modeling, and the information was utilized to design several very potent inhibitors, including compounds 82 (IC₅₀ 70 nM) and 84 (IC₅₀ 36 nM). The aromatase inhibitory activities of these compounds are much more potent than that for the lead compound resveratrol, which has an IC₅₀ of 80 μM. In addition to aromatase inhibitory activity, compounds 32 and 44 also displayed potent QR2 inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ 1.7 μM and 0.27 μM, respectively) and the high-resolution X-ray structures of QR2 in complex with these two compounds provide insight into their mechanism of QR2 inhibition. The aromatase and quinone reductase inhibitors resulting from these studies have potential value in the treatment and prevention of cancer.     

An integrative in silico methodology for the identification of modulators of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) tautomerase activity

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a major proinflammatory cytokine that has been increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of several inflammatory, autoimmune, infectious and oncogenic diseases. Accumulating evidence suggests that the tautomerase activity of MIF plays a role in modulating some of its intra- and extra-cellular activities. Therefore, the identification and development of small-molecule inhibitors targeting the catalytic activity of MIF has emerged as an attractive and viable therapeutic strategy to attenuate its function in health and disease. Herein we report a novel virtual screening protocol for the discovery of new inhibitors of MIF’s tautomerase activity. Our protocol takes into account the flexibility and dynamics of the catalytic site by coupling molecular dynamics (MD) simulations aimed at modeling the protein’s flexibility in solution to (i) docking with FlexX, or (ii) docking with FlexX and pharmacophoric filtering with Unity. In addition, we applied in parallel a standalone docking using the new version of Surflex software. The three approaches were used to screen the ChemBridge chemical library and the inhibitory activity of the top-ranked 333 compound obtained from each approach (1000 compound in total) was assessed in vitro using the tautomerase assay. This biochemical validation process resulted in the identification of 12 novel MIF inhibitors corresponding to a 1.2% hit rate. Six of these hits came from Surflex docking; two from FlexX docking with MD simulations and four hits were identified with MDS and pharmacophore filtering with minimal overlap between the hits from each approach. Six hits were identified with IC₅₀ values lower than 10 μM (three hits with IC₅₀ lower than 1 μM); four were shown to be suicide inhibitors and act via covalent modification of the N-terminal catalytic residues Pro1. One additional inhibitor, N-phenyl-N-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl-thiourea, (IC₅₀ = 300 nM) was obtained from FlexX docking combined to pharmacophoric filtering on one of the eight MD structures. These results demonstrate the power of integrative in silico approaches in the discovery of new modulator of MIF’s tautomerase activity. The chemical diversity and mode of action of these compounds suggest that they could be used as molecular probes to elucidate the functions and biology of MIF and as lead candidates in drug developments of anti-MIF drugs.     

Synthesis,biological evaluation and molecular docking of N-phenyl thiosemicarbazones as urease inhibitors

Urease is an important enzyme which breaks urea into ammonia and carbon dioxide during metabolic processes. However, an elevated activity of urease causes various complications of clinical importance. The inhibition of urease activity with small molecules as inhibitors is an effective strategy for therapeutic intervention. Herein, we have synthesized a series of 19 benzofurane linked N-phenyl semithiocarbazones (3a–3s). All the compounds were screened for enzyme inhibitor activity against Jack bean urease. The synthesized N-phenyl thiosemicarbazones had varying activity levels with IC₅₀ values between 0.077 ± 0.001 and 24.04 ± 0.14 μM compared to standard inhibitor, thiourea (IC₅₀ = 21 ± 0.11 μM). The activities of these compounds may be due to their close resemblance of thiourea. A docking study with Jack bean urease (PDB ID: 4H9M) revealed possible binding modes of N-phenyl thiosemicarbazones.     

Synthesis and QSAR study of novel α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone derivatives as antifungal agents

Thirty-six new α-benzylidene-γ-lactone compounds based α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone substructure were prepared and characterized by spectroscopic analysis. All compounds were evaluated for antifungal activities in vitro against six plant pathogenic fungi and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) against Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum lagenarium were investigated. Compounds 5c-3 and 5c-5 with the halogen atom exhibited excellent fungicidal activity against B. cinerea (IC₅₀ = 22.91, 18.89 μM). The structure-activity relationships (SARs) analysis indicated that the derivatives with electron-withdrawing substituents at the meta- or para-positions improves the activity. Via the heuristic method, the generated quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model (R² = 0.961) revealed a strong correlation of antifungal activity against B. cinerea with molecular structures of these compounds. Meanwhile, the cytotoxicity of 20 representative derivatives was tested in the human tumor cells line (HepG2) and the hepatic L02 cells line, the result indicated that the synthesized compounds showed significant inhibitory activity and limited selectivity. Compound 5c-5 has the highest fungicidal activity with IC₅₀ = 18.89 μM (against B. cinerea.) but low cytotoxicity with IC₅₀ = 35.4 μM (against HepG2 cell line) and IC₅₀ = 68.8 μM (against Hepatic L02 cell line). These encouraging results can be providing an alternative, promising use of α-benzylidene-γ-lactone through the design and exploration of eco-friendly fungicides with low toxicity and high efficiency.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel N-arylidenequinoline-3-carbohydrazides as potent β-glucuronidase inhibitors

Thirty N-arylidenequinoline-3-carbohydrazides (1–30) have been synthesized and evaluated against β-glucuronidase inhibitory potential. Twenty four analogs showed outstanding β-glucuronidase activity having IC₅₀ values ranging between 2.11 ± 0.05 and 46.14 ± 0.95 than standard d-saccharic acid 1,4 lactone (IC₅₀ = 48.4 ± 1.25 μM). Six analogs showed good β-glucuronidase activity having IC₅₀ values ranging between 49.38 ± 0.90 and 80.10 ± 1.80. Structure activity relationship and the interaction of the active compounds and enzyme active site with the help of docking studies were established. Our study identifies novel series of potent β-glucuronidase inhibitors for further investigation.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of 4,5-dibromo-N-(thiazol-2-yl)-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamide derivatives as novel DNA gyrase inhibitors

Development of novel DNA gyrase B inhibitors is an important field of antibacterial drug discovery whose aim is to introduce a more effective representative of this mechanistic class into the clinic. In the present study, two new series of Escherichia coli DNA gyrase inhibitors bearing the 4,5-dibromopyrrolamide moiety have been designed and synthesized. 4,5,6,7-Tetrahydrobenzo[1,2-d]thiazole-2,6-diamine derivatives inhibited E. coli DNA gyrase in the submicromolar to low micromolar range (IC₅₀ values between 0.891 and 10.4 μM). Their “ring-opened” analogues, based on the 2-(2-aminothiazol-4-yl)acetic acid scaffold, displayed weaker DNA gyrase inhibition with IC₅₀ values between 15.9 and 169 μM. Molecular docking experiments were conducted to study the binding modes of inhibitors.     

Synthesis of 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinolinyl substituted 1,2,3-triazole derivatives: Their evaluation as potential PDE 4B inhibitors possessing cytotoxic properties against cancer cells

The 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinolinyl substituted 1,2,3-triazole derivatives were designed as potential inhibitors of PDE4B. These compounds were synthesized via a multi-step sequence consisting of copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) as a key step in aqueous media. The required alkynes were prepared from nimesulide via N-propargylation and then nitro group reduction followed by a CAN mediated modified Skraup reaction of the resulting amine. All the synthesized compounds showed PDE4B inhibitory properties in vitro at 30 μM with two compounds showing >50% inhibition that were supported by the in silico docking results of these compounds at the active site of PDE4B. Three of these PDE4 inhibitors showed promising cytotoxic properties against A549 human lung cancer cells in vitro with IC₅₀ ∼8–9 μM.     

LuxR-dependent quorum sensing: Computer aided discovery of new inhibitors structurally unrelated to N-acylhomoserine lactones

A virtual screening, involving flexible docking sequences within the LuxR, TraR and LasR binding sites, was used as a structural binding sites similarity filter to specifically target conserved residues in the proteins of the LuxR family (namely Tyr62, Trp66, Tyr70, Asp79, Trp94 for LuxR). This docking-based screening, employing a genetic algorithm, was performed on a 2344 chemical compounds library, together with empirical binding free energy (ΔG_bind) calculations. Docking results were analysed, and the compounds detected with reproducible low ΔG_bind values or identified as being in the top 120 for most of the docking sequences, were selected as hits candidates which interact with conserved residues. Biological evaluation with LuxR-dependent quorum sensing led to the discovery of some new inhibitors, namely tamoxifen, sertraline, pimethixene, terfenadine, fendiline and calmidazolium. Notably, calmidazolium was identified as one of the most potent AHL-structurally unrelated inhibitors of LuxR-dependent quorum sensing, with an IC₅₀ value of 7.0 ± 0.2 μM.     

Novel biphenyl bis-sulfonamides as acetyl and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors: Synthesis,biological evaluation and molecular modeling studies

A series of new biphenyl bis-sulfonamide derivatives 2a–3p were synthesized in good to excellent yield (76–98%). The inhibitory potential of the synthesized compounds on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) was investigated. Most of the screened compounds showed modest in vitro inhibition for both AChE and BChE. Compared to the reference compound eserine (IC₅₀ 0.04 ± 0.0001 μM for AChE) and (IC₅₀ 0.85 ± 0.0001 μM for BChE), the IC₅₀ values of these compounds were ranged from 2.27 ± 0.01 to 123.11 ± 0.04 μM for AChE and 7.74 ± 0.07 to <400 μM for BuChE. Among the tested compounds, 3p was found to be the most potent against AChE (IC₅₀ 2.27 ± 0.01 μM), whereas 3g exhibited the highest inhibition for BChE (IC₅₀ 7.74 ± 0.07 μM). Structure–activity relationship (SAR) of these compounds was developed and elaborated with the help of molecular docking studies.     

Synthesis and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity evaluation of N-substituted aminomethyl-β-d-glucopyranosides

A series of N-substituted 1-aminomethyl-β-d-glucopyranoside derivatives was prepared. These novel synthetic compounds were assessed in vitro for inhibitory activity against yeast α-glucosidase and both rat intestinal α-glucosidases maltase and sucrase. Most of the compounds displayed α-glucosidase inhibitory activity, with IC₅₀ values covering the wide range from 2.3 μM to 2.0 mM. Compounds 19a (IC₅₀ = 2.3 μM) and 19b (IC₅₀ = 5.6 μM) were identified as the most potent inhibitors for yeast α-glucosidase, while compounds 16 (IC₅₀ = 7.7 and 15.6 μM) and 19e (IC₅₀ = 5.1 and 10.4 μM) were the strongest inhibitors of rat intestinal maltase and sucrase. Analysis of the kinetics of enzyme inhibition indicated that 19e inhibited maltase and sucrase in a competitive manner. The results suggest that the aminomethyl-β-d-glucopyranoside moiety can mimic the substrates of α-glucosidase in the enzyme catalytic site, leading to competitive enzyme inhibition. Moreover, the nature of the N-substituent has considerable influence on inhibitory potency.     

Discovery of new inhibitors of the bacterial peptidoglycan biosynthesis enzymes MurD and MurF by structure-based virtual screening

The ATP-dependent Mur ligases (MurC, MurD, MurE and MurF) successively add l-Ala, d-Glu, meso-A₂pm or l-Lys, and d-Ala-d-Ala to the nucleotide precursor UDP-MurNAc, and they represent promising targets for antibacterial drug discovery. We have used the molecular docking programme eHiTS for the virtual screening of 1990 compounds from the National Cancer Institute ‘Diversity Set’ on MurD and MurF. The 50 top-scoring compounds from screening on each enzyme were selected for experimental biochemical evaluation. Our approach of virtual screening and subsequent in vitro biochemical evaluation of the best ranked compounds has provided four novel MurD inhibitors (best IC₅₀ = 10 μM) and one novel MurF inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 63 μM).     

Synthesis of novel fenfuram-diarylether hybrids as potent succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors

Twelve novel fenfuram-diarylether hybrids were designed, synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR and MS. Their in vitro antifungal activities were evaluated against five phytopathogenic fungi by mycelial growth inhibition method. Most compounds showed significant antifungal effect on Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Compound 1c exhibited the most potent antifungal effect on R. solani with an EC₅₀ value of 0.242 mg/L, superior to the commercial fungicide boscalid (EC₅₀ = 1.758 mg/L) and the lead fungicide fenfuram (EC₅₀ = 7.691 mg/L). Molecular docking revealed that compound 1c featured a higher affinity for succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) than fenfuram. Furthermore, it was shown that the 2-chlorophenyl group of compound 1c formed a π-π stacking with D/Tyr-128 and a Cl-π interaction with B/His-249, which made compound 1c more active than fenfuram against SDH.     

In silico and in vitro methods to identify ebola virus VP35-dsRNA inhibitors

Ebola virus continues to be problematic as sporadic outbreaks in Africa continue to arise, and as terrorist organizations have considered the virus for bioterrorism use. Several proteins within the virus have been targeted for antiviral chemotherapy, including VP35, a dsRNA binding protein that promotes viral replication, protects dsRNA from degradation, and prevents detection of the viral genome by immune complexes. To augment the scope of our antiviral research, we have now employed molecular modeling techniques to enrich the population of compounds for further testing in vitro. In the initial docking of a static VP35 structure with an 80,000 compound library, 40 compounds were selected, of which four compounds inhibited VP35 with IC₅₀ <200 μM, with the best compounds having an IC₅₀ of 20 μM. By superimposing 26 VP35 structures, we determined four aspartic acid residues were highly flexible and the docking was repeated under flexible parameters. Of 14 compounds chosen for testing, five compounds inhibited VP35 with IC₅₀ <200 μM and one compound with an IC₅₀ of 4 μM. These studies demonstrate the value of docking in silico for enriching compounds for testing in vitro, and specifically using multiple structures as a guide for detecting flexibility and provide a foundation for further development of small molecule inhibitors directed towards VP35.     

(2S,4S)-1-[2-(1,1-Dimethyl-3-oxo-3-pyrrolidin-1-yl-propylamino)acetyl]-4-fluoro-pyrrolidine-2-carbonitrile: A potent,selective, and orally bioavailable dipeptide-derived inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase IV

A series of 2-[3-[2-[(2S)-2-cyano-1-pyrrolidinyl]-2-oxoethylamino]-3-methyl-1-oxobutyl]-based DPP-IV inhibitors with various monocyclic amines were synthesized. The structure–activity relationships (SAR) led to the discovery of potent DPP-IV inhibitors, having IC₅₀ values of <100 nM with excellent selectivity over the closely related enzymes, DPP-II, DPP8, DPP9 and FAP (IC₅₀ > 20 μM). Of these compounds, the analogues 12a, 12h and 12i exhibited a long-lasting ex vivo DPP-IV inhibition in rats.     

Design,synthesis and antifungal activity of novel fenfuram-diarylamine hybrids

Ten novel fenfuram-diarylamine hybrids were designed and synthesized. And their antifungal activities against four phytopathogenic fungi have been evaluated in vitro and most of the compounds demonstrated a significant antifungal activities against Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Compound 5e exhibited the most potent antifungal activity against R. solani with an EC₅₀ value of 0.037 mg/L, far superior to the commercially available fungicide boscalid (EC₅₀ = 1.71 mg/L) and lead fungicide fenfuram (EC₅₀ = 6.18 mg/L). Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy images showed that the mycelia on treated media grew abnormally with tenuous, wizened and overlapping colonies compared to the negative control. Molecular docking studies revealed that compound 5e featured a higher affinity for succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) than fenfuram. Furthermore, it was shown that the 3-chlorophenyl group in compound 5e formed a CH-π interaction with B/Trp-206 and a Cl-π interaction with D/Tyr-128, rendering compound 5e more active than fenfuram against SDH.