Synthesis, molecular docking and biological evaluation of 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives as potential immunosuppressive agents

A series of novel 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives (5a-5s) have been designed, synthesized and evaluated for their immunosuppressive activity. Most of these synthesized compounds were proved to have potent immunosuppressive activity and low toxicity. Among them, compounds (5m-5r) showed the most potent biological activity against lymph node cells. The results of flow cytometry (FCM) and western blotting demonstrated that compound 5q induce cell apoptosis by the inhibition of PI3K/AKT pathway. Molecular docking was performed to position compound 5q into PI3Kγ binding site in order to explore the potential target.