Synthesis and antitumor activity of 1,2,4-triazoles having 1,4-benzodioxan fragment as a novel class of potent methionine aminopeptidase type II inhibitors

A series of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives containing 1,4-benzodioxan (5a-5q) have been designed, synthesized, structurally determined, and their biological activities were evaluated as potential MetAP2 inhibitors. All the synthesized compounds were first reported. Among the compounds, compound 5k showed the most potent biological activity against HEPG2 cancer cell line (IC(50)=0.81 μM for HEPG2 and IC(50)=0.93 μM for MetAP2), which was comparable to the positive control. Docking simulation by positioning compound 5k into the MetAP2 structure active site was performed to explore the possible binding model. The results of apoptosis and Western-blot assay demonstrated that compound 5k possessed good antitumor activity against HEPG2 cancer cell line. Therefore, compound 5k with potent inhibitory activity in tumor growth inhibition may be a potential antitumor agent against HEPG2 cancer cell.     

Synthetic studies on 2'-substituted-4'-thiocytidine derivatives as antineoplastic agents.

As potential antineoplastic agents, we have synthesized 4'-thioFAC and 4'-thiocytarazid by developing an alternative synthetic method. 4'-ThioFAC showed potent antineoplastic activities in vivo as well as in vitro.     

Synthesis,cytotoxicity, and in vivo antitumor activity study of parthenolide semicarbazones and thiosemicarbazones

Parthenolide is an important sesquiterpene lactone with potent anticancer activities. In order to further improve its biological activity, a series of parthenolide semicarbazone or thiosemicarbazone derivatives was synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activity. Derivatives were tested in vitro against 5 human tumor cell lines, and many of these showed higher cytotoxicity than parthenolide. Five compounds were further studied for their antitumor activity in mice. The in vivo result indicated that compound 4d showed both promising antitumor activity against mice colon tumor and small side effects on immune systems. The cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution of compound 4d were also studied. Molecular docking studies revealed multiple interactions between 4d and NF-κB. Our findings demonstrate the potential of semicarbazones as a promising type of compounds with anticancer activity.     

Design, synthesis and antitumor evaluation of novel thalidomide dithiocarbamate and dithioate analogs against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma-induced solid tumor in Swiss albino mice

A series of 16 novel thalidomide sulfur analogs containing one and two sulfur atoms 2 and 4-18, respectively, were designed and synthesized. These compounds were screened for in vitro antitumor activity against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cell line and exhibited potent cytotoxic activity. On the bases of the obtained results for in vitro cytotoxic activity, thalidomide sulfur analogs containing two sulfur atoms 8, 9, 13 and 14 were selected and tested in vivo against EAC-induced solid tumor in female mice compared to thalidomide 1 as well as its analog 2 and exhibited a highly significant reduction in tumor volume (TV). Results illustrated the antioxidative activity of these compounds as the level of hepatic lipid peroxidation decreased and levels of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase were elevated. The histopathological investigations revealed that thalidomide sulfur analogs 2, 8, 9, 13 and 14 have antimitotic, apoptotic and necrotic activities against solid tumor. These compounds lead to increase of Fas-L expression. The immunohistochemical studies showed a decrease in Ki67 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) staining in tumor cells from treated-animals when compared with non-treated groups, which suggests an inhibition of tumor proliferation rate and angiogenic process associated with tumor growth. Compounds 9 and 13 were the most potent compounds in tumor necrosis without liver necrosis. At the same time, treatment with compound 9 resulted in liver degeneration.     

Synthesis and biological activities of 2-oxocycloalkylsulfonamides

A series of novel 2-oxocycloalkylsulfonamides (4) were synthesized and their structures confirmed by IR, (1)H NMR, and elemental analysis. The bioassay showed that they have fair to excellent fungicidal activities against Botrytis cinerea Pers and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Among them, compounds 4A(10), 4A(11), 4A(12), 4B(2), and 4B(3), the EC(50) values of which were 2.12, 3.66, 3.96, 2.38, and 2.43 microg/mL, respectively, displayed excellent fungicidal activity against B. cinerea Pers, and are comparable with commercial fungicide procymidone (the EC(50) value is 2.45 microg/mL). 3D QSAR against B. cinerea Pers was studied, a statistically significant and chemically meaningful CoMFA model was developed and some compounds which have a high predicted activity were forecasted. In addition, the bioassay also showed that the compounds have good inhibitory activities against human tumor cells HL-60, BGC-823, Bel-7402 and KB. It is interesting to point out that the antitumor activities of compounds 4 are in accordance with their fungicidal activity to a great extent: compounds having relatively best antitumor activities (4A(10), 4A(11), 4A(12), and 4B(3)) also displayed excellent fungicidal activity.     

Antitumor studies. part 3: design, synthesis, antitumor activity, and molecular docking study of novel 2-methylthio-, 2-amino-, and 2-(N-substituted amino)-10-alkyl-2-deoxo-5-deazaflavins

Various novel 10-alkyl-2-deoxo-2-methylthio-5-deazaflavins have been synthesized by reaction of 6-(N-alkylanilino)-2-methylthiopyrimidin-4(3H)-ones with Vilsmeier reagent. The similar 2-(N-substituted amino) derivatives were prepared by nucleophilic replacement reaction of the 2-methylthio moiety by appropriate amines. The 2-oxo derivatives (i.e., 5-deazaflavins) were obtained by acidic hydrolysis of the 2-methylthio derivatives. The antitumor activities against CCRF-HSB-2 and KB cells and the antiviral activities against HSV-1 and HSV-2 have been investigated in vitro, and many compounds showed promising antitumor activities. Furthermore, AutoDock molecular docking into PTK has been done for lead optimization of these compounds as potential PTK inhibitors. Whereas, the designed 2-deoxo-5-deazaflavins connected with amino acids at the 2-position exhibited the good binding affinities into PTK with more hydrogen bonds.     

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.     

Synthesis of C4-fluorinated solamins and their growth inhibitory activity against human cancer cell lines

C4-Fluorinated analogues of solamin, an antitumor acetogenin, were synthesized and investigated for their antitumor activities against 39 tumor cell lines. C4-Fluorinated solamins showed more potent growth inhibitory activity against cancer cell lines than solamin.     

3-Aryl/Heteroaryl-5-amino-1-(3′,4′,5′-trimethoxybenzoyl)-1,2,4-triazoles as antimicrotubule agents. Design,synthesis, antiproliferative activity and inhibition of tubulin polymerization

Many natural and synthetic substances are known to interfere with the dynamic assembly of tubulin, preventing the formation of microtubules. In our search for potent and selective antitumor agents, a novel series of 1-(3′,4′,5′-trimethoxybenzoyl)-5-amino-1,2,4-triazoles were synthesized. The compounds had different heterocycles, including thiophene, furan or the three isomeric pyridines, and they possessed a phenyl ring bearing electron-releasing or electron-withdrawing substituents at the 3-position of the 5-amino-1,2,4-triazole system. Most of the twenty-two tested compounds showed moderate to potent antiproliferative activities against a panel of solid tumor and leukemic cell lines, with four (5j, 5k, 5o and 5p) showing strong antiproliferative activity (IC₅₀ < 1 μM) against selected cancer cells. Among them, several molecules preferentially inhibited the proliferation of leukemic cell lines, showing IC₅₀ values 2-100-fold lower for Jurkat and RS4;11 cells than those for the three lines derived from solid tumors (HeLa, HT-29 and MCF-7 cells). Compound 5k strongly inhibited tubulin assembly, with an IC₅₀ value of 0.66 μM, half that obtained in simultaneous experiments with CA-4 (IC₅₀ = 1.3 μM).     

Synthesis, X-ray crystal structural study, antiviral and cytostatic evaluations of the novel unsaturated acyclic and epoxide nucleoside analogues

A series of the novel purine and pyrimidine nucleoside analogues were synthesised in which the sugar moiety was replaced by the 4-amino-2-butenyl (2-6 and 10-18) and oxiranyl (8 and 20) spacer. The Z- (2-6) and E-isomers (10-18) of unsaturated acyclic nucleoside analogues were synthesized by condensation of 2- and 6-substituted purine and 5-substituted uracil bases with Z- (1) or E-phthalimide (9) precursors. The oxiranyl nucleoside analogues (8 and 20) were obtained by epoxidation of 1 and 9 with m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid and subsequent coupling with adenine. The new compounds were evaluated for their antiviral and antitumor cell activities. Among the olefinic nucleoside analogues, Z-isomer of adenine containing 4-amino-2-butenyl side chain (6) exhibited the best cytostatic activities, particularly against colon carcinoma (SW 620, IC50 = 26 microM). Its E-isomer 15 did not show any antiproliferative activity against malignant tumor cell lines, except for a slight inhibition of colon carcinoma (SW 620, IC50 = 56.5 microM) cells. In general, Z-isomers showed better cytostatic activities than the corresponding E-isomers. (Z)-4-Amino-2-butenyl-adenine nucleoside analogue 6 showed albeit modest but selective activity against HIV-1 (EC50 = 4.83 microg mL(-1)).     

Design, synthesis, and biological evaluations of novel oxindoles as HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Part 2

A series of heterocycle-containing oxindoles was synthesized and their HIV antiviral activities were assessed. Some of these analogs exhibited potent inhibitory activities against both wild-type virus and a number of drug-resistant mutant viruses. In addition, oxindole 9z also showed promising pharmacokinetics.     

Phosphoramidates of 2′-β-d-arabinouridine (AraU) as phosphate prodrugs; design,synthesis, in vitro activity and metabolism

2′-β-d-Arabinouridine (AraU), the uridine analogue of the anticancer agent AraC, was synthesized and evaluated for antiviral activity and cytotoxicity. In addition, a series of AraU monophosphate prodrugs in the form of triester phosphoramidates (ProTides) were also synthesized and tested against a range of viruses, leukaemia and solid tumour cell lines. Unfortunately, neither the parent compound (AraU) nor any of its ProTides showed antiviral activity, nor potent inhibitory activity against any of the cancer cell lines. Therefore, the metabolism of AraU phosphoramidates to release AraU monophosphate was investigated. The results showed carboxypeptidase Y, hog liver esterase and crude CEM tumor cell extracts to hydrolyse the ester motif of phosphoramidates with subsequent loss of the aryl group, while molecular modelling studies suggested that the AraU l-alanine aminoacyl phosphate derivative might not be a good substrate for the phosphoramidase enzyme Hint-1. These findings are in agreement with the observed disappearance of intact prodrug and concomitant appearance of the corresponding phosphoramidate intermediate derivative in CEM cell extracts without measurable formation of araU monophosphate. These findings may explain the poor antiviral/cytostatic potential of the prodrugs.     

Discovery of a novel class of 2-aminopyrimidines as CDK1 and CDK2 inhibitors

A series of new 2-(2-aminopyrimidin-4-yl)phenol derivatives were synthesized as potential antitumor compounds. Substitution with pyrrolidine-3,4-diol at the 4-position of phenol provided potent inhibitory activity against CDK1 and CDK2. X-ray crystal structural studies were performed to account for the effect of the substituent on both the enzymatic and cell growth inhibitory activities.     

Synthesis and biological activity of stable and potent antitumor agents, aniline nitrogen mustards linked to 9-anilinoacridines via a urea linkage

To improve the chemical stability and therapeutic efficacy of N-mustard, a series of phenyl N-mustard linked to DNA-affinic 9-anilinoacridines and acridine via a urea linker were synthesized and evaluated for antitumor studies. The new N-mustard derivatives were prepared by the reaction of 4-bis(2-chloroethyl)aminophenyl isocyanate with a variety of 9-anilinoacridines or 9-aminoacridine. The antitumor studies revealed that these agents exhibited potent cytotoxicity in vitro without cross-resistance to taxol or vinblastine and showed potent antitumor therapeutic efficacy in nude mice against human tumor xenografts. It also showed that 24d was capable of inducing marked dose-dependent levels of DNA cross-linking by comet assay and has long half-life in rat plasma.     

Synthesis of 6-arylvinyl analogues of the HIV drugs SJ-3366 and Emivirine

This paper reports the synthesis and the antiviral activities of a series of 6-arylvinyl substituted analogues of SJ-3366, a highly potent agent against HIV. The objective was to investigate whether substitution of the 6-arylketone with a 6-arylvinyl group could lead to an improved antiviral activity against HIV-1. The most active compounds 1-ethoxymethyl, 1-(2-propynyloxymethyl), and 1-(2-methyl-3-phenylallyloxymethyl) substituted 6-[1-(3,5-dimethylphenyl)vinyl]-5-ethyl-1H-pyrimidine-2,4-dione (5b, 16, and 18) showed activities against HIV-1 wild type in the range of Efavirenz, and moderate activities against Y181C and Y181C+K103N mutant strains were also observed.     

Immunopontentiating and antitumor activities of the purified polysaccharides from Phellodendron chinese SCHNEID

The polysaccharide fractions were isolated and purified from Phellodendron chinese SCHNEID, and antitumor activities were examined at dosages of 2, 5 and 10 mg/100 g. F-7 and F-8 showed the highest tumor inhibitory activities (inhibition ratio 96.4 and 98.2% in 2 mg/100 g), and in dose of 5 mg/100 g, the inhibitory ratios were 95.3 and 97.5%, respectively. Furthermore, 10 mg/100 g of intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection gave 97.3 and 98.7% of inhibition. In oral administration, the inhibitory activities were not markedly observed, indicating that the polysaccharides are directly acting to immune system. Also the polysaccharides increased the number of circulating blood leukocytes and total peritoneal exudate cells. Although implantation of tumor cells greatly decreased the productivity of antibody (antibody-mediated) and T lymphocyte reactivity (delayed-type) as 6.3 from 9.3 and 5.9 from 7.7, represented by the increase of footpad thickness, respectively. The polysaccharides elevated the reactivity of T lymphocyte in tumor-bearing mice, which were rapidly recovered by discontinuance of sample treatments. Especially, F-2, F-5, F-7 and F-8 remarkably recovered the decreased sensitivity. When the effects on thymidylate synthase (TS) and thymidine kinase (TK) activities were determined, TS activities in the F-2 and F-7-treated mice were markedly suppressed to 73.7% and 79.5% of that in the control (p < 0.01), while there was little difference in TK activity with a slight decrease in F-2 only. However, in i.p. injection, TS activities in the F-2, F-5, F-7 and F-8-treated mice were markedly suppressed to 83% to 85% of that in the control (p < 0.01). Furthermore, there were also significant differences in TK activities in F-2, F-5, F-7 and F-8-treated mice (p < 0.05). These results clearly indicated that the i.p. injection is much effective to suppress tumor growth than oral administration.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 7-O-modified oroxylin A derivatives

Oroxylin A (5,7-dihydroxy-6-methoxyflavone) is a naturally occurring monoflavonoid isolated from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, and exhibits potent anticancer activities in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we synthesized three series of oroxylin derivatives by connecting a nitrogen-containing hydrophilic, heterocyclic ring to the C7-OH via a varying length of carbon chain. All the derivatives were screened for anti-proliferative activities against three tumor cell lines. Some of the derivatives displayed higher activities compared to oroxylin A. The most potent antitumor compound, 5f, also induced apoptosis in HepG2 cell. The difference of 5f between the inhibiting rates of cell proliferation and the apoptotic rates indicated that 5f was more likely to be a necrosis-inducing agent or both apoptosis/necrosis inducer.     

2'-Nor-cGMP: a seco-cyclic nucleotide with powerful anti-DNA-viral activity

As part of our study of antiherpetic acyclonucleosides, we synthesized a cyclic GMP analog, 9-[(2-hydroxy-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinan-5-yl)oxymethyl]guanine P-oxide, sodium salt (2'-nor-cGMP), and discovered its potent and broad spectrum anti-DNA-viral activities. 2'-Nor-cGMP inhibits the replication of many DNA viruses, including herpes simplex virus, human cytomegalovirus, vaccinia, SV40, and adenovirus, but does not inhibit RNA viruses. In plaque reduction studies this potent antiviral agent is also approximately 10-fold more potent than 9-(1,3-dihydroxy-2-propoxymethyl)guanine (2'NDG) against varicella-zoster virus and inhibits cell transformation by bovine papilloma virus. Unlike 2'NDG, the potent activity of 2'-nor-cGMP against herpes virus is not dependent upon the action of virus-specified thymidine kinase. Intercellular metabolism of 2'-nor-cGMP produced small amounts of 2'NDG triphosphate which were insufficient to account for the antiviral activity observed, implying that this potent anti-DNA-viral agent operates by a mechanism different from that of known acyclonucleosides.     

Design and synthesis of chromone-nitrogen mustard derivatives and evaluation of anti-breast cancer activity

Chromone has emerged as one of the most important synthetic scaffolds for antitumor activity, which promotes the development of candidate drugs with better activity. In this study, a series of nitrogen mustard derivatives of chromone were designed and synthesised, in order to discover promising anti-breast tumour candidates. Almost all target derivatives showed antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. In particular, methyl (S)-3-(4-(bis(2-chloroethyl)amino)phenyl)-2-(5-(((6-methoxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)methyl)amino)-5-oxopentanamido)propanoate showed the most potent antiproliferative activity with IC₅₀ values of 1.83 and 1.90 μM, respectively, and it also exhibited certain selectivity between tumour cells and normal cells. Further mechanism exploration against MDA-MB-231 cells showed that it possibly induced G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis by generating intracellular ROS and activating DNA damage. In addition, it also inhibited MDA-MB-231 cells metastasis, invasion and adhesion. Overall, methyl (S)-3-(4-(bis(2-chloroethyl)amino)phenyl)-2-(5-(((6-methoxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)methyl)amino)-5-oxopentanamido)propanoate showed potent antitumor activities and relatively low side effects, and deserved further investigation.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 4β-(1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-amino)-podophyllotoxin derivatives

A series of new 4β-(1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-amino)-podophyllotoxin derivatives were designed and synthesized. Their cytotoxicity in vitro against six tumor cell lines (DU-145, SGC-7901, A549, SH-SY5Y, HepG2 and HeLa) were evaluated by standard MTT assay. The pharmacological results showed that most of the newly synthesized podophyllotoxin derivatives displayed potent cytotoxicity against at least one of the tested tumor cells; and among the new derivatives, 11b was more potent than podophyllotoxin against HepG2 and Hela cell lines. Furthermore, 11b exhibited much better selectivity toward the normal cell lines L929 and Vero than etoposide, 5-Fu and podophyllotoxin. The possible antitumor mechanism of 11b is to inhibit the activity of DNA topoisomerase II, result in the S-phase arrest, and then cause apoptotic cell death.