Synthesis and anticancer activity of ethyl 5-amino-1-N-substituted-imidazole-4-carboxylate building blocks

Discovery of a novel pyrido[1,2-a]thiazolo[5,4-d]pyrimidinone derivatives with excellent potency against acetylcholinesterase

As mimetic compounds of the natural alkaloid mackinazolinone, forty pyrido[1,2-a]thiazolo[5,4-d] pyrimidinone were designed and synthesized from a bioisosterism approach. The structure of these compounds was confirmed through analysis using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HRMS techniques. All the compounds were evaluated for their anticholinesterase activities and cytotoxicity on normal cells (293 T) by the Ellman method and methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method in vitro. and the structure-activity relationships (SARs) were summarized. The results showed that most of the compounds effectively inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the micromolar range with weak cytotoxicity. Compound 7o exhibited the best inhibitory activity against AChE, displaying an IC50 values of 1.67 ± 0.09 µM and an inhibitory constant Ki of 11.31 µM as a competitive inhibitor to AChE. Molecular docking indicated that compound 7o may bind to AChE via hydrogen bond and π-π stacking. Further molecular dynamics (MD) simulations indicated a relatively low binding free energy (- 27.91 kJ·mol-1) of compound 7o with AChE. In summary, the collective findings suggested that 7o was promising as a potential novel drug candidate worthy of further investigation for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Platelet Membrane Coated Cu9S8-SNAP for Targeting NIR-II Mild Photothermal Enhanced Chemodynamic/Gas Therapy of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive and uncommon subtype of breast cancer with a poor prognosis. It is crucial to prioritise the creation of a nanotherapeutic method that is highly selective and actively targeting TNBC. This study explores a new nanosystem, Cu9S8-SNAP@PM (C-S@P), composed of Cu9S8-SNAP coated with a platelet membrane (PM). The purpose of this nanosystem is to cure TNBC using multimodal therapy. The utilisation of PM-coated nanoparticles (NPs) enables active targeting, leading to the efficient accumulation of C-S@P within the tumour. The Cu9S8 component within these NPs serves the potential to exert photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemodynamic therapy (CDT). Simultaneously, the S-Nitroso-N-Acetylvanicillamine (SNAP) component enables nitric oxide (NO) gas therapy (GT). Furthermore, when exposed to NIR-II laser light, Cu9S8 not only increases the temperature of the tumour area for PTT, but also boosts CDT and stimulates the release of NO through thermal reactions to improve the effectiveness of GT. Both in vitro and in vivo experimental results validate that C-S@P exhibits minimal side effects and represents a multifunctional nano-drug targeted at tumors for efficient treatment. This approach promises significant potential for TNBC therapy and broader applications in oncology.

Discovery of novel (E)-1-methyl-9-(3-methylbenzylidene)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydropyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-4(1H)-one as DDR2 kinase inhibitor: Synthesis, molecular docking, and anticancer properties

We report the synthesis, molecular docking and anticancer properties of the novel compound (E)-1-methyl-9-(3-methylbenzylidene)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydropyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-4(1H)-one (PP562). PP562 was screened against sixteen human cancer cell lines and exhibited excellent antiproliferative activity with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.016 to 5.667 μM. Experiments were carried out using the target PP562 at a single dose of 1.0 μM against a kinase panel comprising 100 different enzymes. A plausible binding mechanism for PP562 inhibition of DDR2 was determined using molecular dynamic analysis. The effect of PP562 on cell proliferation was also examined in cancer cell models with both high and low expression of the DDR2 gene; PP562 inhibition of high-expressing cells was more prominent than that for low expressing cells. PP562 also exhibits excellent anticancer potency toward the HGC-27 gastric cancer cell line. In addition, PP562 inhibits colony formation, cell migration, and adhesion, induces cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase, and affects ROS generation and cell apoptosis. After DDR2 gene knockdown, the antitumor effects of PP562 on tumor cells were significantly impaired. These results suggested that PP562 might exert its inhibitory effect on HCG-27 proliferation through the DDR2 target.

Furo[2,3-d]pyrimidines as Mackinazolinone/Isaindigotone Analogs: Synthesis, Modification, Antitumor Activity, and Molecular Docking Study

The chemical transformation of the tricyclic furo[2,3-d]pyrimidines was performed under isosteric and scaffold-hopping strategies focusing on the synthesis of its arylidene and imine-containing derivatives. Naturally-occurring alkaloids mackinazolinone and isaindigotone were as templates of target heterocycles. Synthesized compounds evaluated for their antitumor activity on human cancer cervical HeLa, breast MCF-7, and colon HT-29 cell lines. Four compounds: 8c, 8e, 10b, and 10c demonstrated potency against HeLa and HT-29 cell lines, and IC₅₀ values were between 7.37-13.72 μM, respectively. The molecular docking results showed that compounds 8c and 10b had good binding and high matching with the target EGFR protein.

Nitrogen Containing Heterocycles as Anticancer Agents: A Medicinal Chemistry Perspective

Cancer is one of the major healthcare challenges across the globe. Several anticancer drugs are available on the market but they either lack specificity or have poor safety, severe side effects, and suffer from resistance. So, there is a dire need to develop safer and target-specific anticancer drugs. More than 85% of all physiologically active pharmaceuticals are heterocycles or contain at least one heteroatom. Nitrogen heterocycles constituting the most common heterocyclic framework. In this study, we have compiled the FDA approved heterocyclic drugs with nitrogen atoms and their pharmacological properties. Moreover, we have reported nitrogen containing heterocycles, including pyrimidine, quinolone, carbazole, pyridine, imidazole, benzimidazole, triazole, β-lactam, indole, pyrazole, quinazoline, quinoxaline, isatin, pyrrolo-benzodiazepines, and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines, which are used in the treatment of different types of cancer, concurrently covering the biochemical mechanisms of action and cellular targets.