Synthesis of Novel Ethyl (substituted)phenyl-4-oxothiazolidin-3-yl)-1-ethyl-4-oxo-1,4-dihydroquinoline-3-Carboxylates as Potential Anticancer Agents

Quinoline-based thiazolidinone derivatives as potent cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing agents through EGFR inhibition

Quinoline-based thiazolidinone heterocycles exhibited potent activity in the field of cancer therapy. Hence, ten quinoline-based thiazolidinone derivatives were evaluated for their anticancer activity through cytotoxic activity, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibition pathway, apoptosis investigation through flow cytometric analyses, RT-PCR gene expression, in vivo solid-Ehrlich carcinoma model, and finally in silico approach for highlighting the interaction pose. Results revealed that compound 7 exhibited cytotoxic activity against HCT-116 cells with an IC₅₀ value of 7.43 µM compared to 5-FU (IC₅₀  = 11.36 µM) with moderate cytotoxic activity against the FHC (IC₅₀  = 35.27 µM), and it exhibited remarkable inhibition activity of EGFR with IC₅₀ value of 96.43 nM compared to Erlotinib (IC₅₀  = 78.65 nM). Moreover, it significantly stimulated apoptotic colon cancer cell death with 171.58-fold arresting cell cycle at G2 and S-phases. Additionally, it ameliorated both biochemical and histochemical structures near normal with tumor inhibition ratio of 52.92% compared to 5-FU of 57.16%, with immunohistochemical examinations of EGFR inhibition in the treated group compared to control. Finally, molecular docking study highlighted its good binding affinity through good interactive binding pose inside the EGFR protein. In conclusion, the potent EGFR inhibitory activity of compound 7 was investigated using three integrated approaches in vitro, in vivo, and in silico, so it worth be validated and developed as a chemotherapeutic anticancer agent.

Selective AMPK activator leads to unfolded protein response downregulation and induces breast cancer cell death and autophagy

AIMS

AMPK plays a critical role regulating cell metabolism, growth and survival. Interfering with this enzyme activity has been extensively studied as putative mechanism for cancer therapy. The present work aims to identify a specific AMPK activator for cancer cells among a series of novel heterocyclic compounds.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A series of novel hybrid heterocyclic compounds, namely naphtoquinone-4-oxoquinoline and isoquinoline-5,8-quinone-4-oxoquinoline derivatives, were synthesized via Michael reaction and their structures confirmed by spectral data: infrared; ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy (COSY, HSQC, HMBC); and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The novel compounds were screened and tested for antitumoral activity and have part of their mechanism of action scrutinized.

KEY FINDINGS

Here, we identified a selective AMPK activator among the new hybrid heterocyclic compounds. This new compound presents selective cytotoxicity on breast cancer cells but not on non-cancer counterparts. We identified that by specifically activating AMPK in cancer cells, the drug downregulates unfolded protein response pathway, as well as inhibits mTOR signaling.

SIGNIFICANCE

These effects, that are selective for cancer cells, lead to activation of autophagy and, ultimately, to cancer cells death. Taken together, our data support the promising anticancer activity of this novel compound which is a strong modulator of metabolism.

Research Progress of Axl Inhibitors

Axl, a Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (RTK) belonging to the TAM (Axl, Mer, Tyro3) family, participates in many signal transduction cascades after mostly being stimulated by Growth arrestspecific 6(Gas6). Axl is widely expressed in many organs, such as macrophages, endothelial cells, heart, liver and skeletal muscle. Over-expression and activation of Axl are associated with promoting chemotherapy resistance, cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis in many human cancers, such as breast, lung, and pancreatic cancers. Therefore, the research and development of Axl inhibitors is of great significance to strengthen the means of cancer treatment, especially to solve the problem of drug resistance. Axl inhibitors have attracted more and more researchers' attention in recent years. This review discusses the research progress of Axl inhibitors in recent years.

An ortho-Iminoquinone Compound Reacts with Lysine Inhibiting Aggregation while Remodeling Mature Amyloid Fibrils

Protein aggregation is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. It has been shown that lysine residues play a key role in the formation of these aggregates. Thus, the ability to disrupt aggregate formation by covalently modifying lysine residues could lead to the discovery of therapeutically relevant antiamyloidogenesis compounds. Herein, we demonstrate that an ortho-iminoquinone (IQ) can be utilized to inhibit amyloid aggregation. Using alpha-synuclein and Aβ_1-40 as model amyloidogenic proteins, we observed that IQ was able to react with lysine residues and reduce amyloid aggregation. We also observed that IQ reacted with free amines within the amyloid fibrils preventing their dissociation and seeding capacity.

N-(2-(arylmethylimino)ethyl)-7-chloroquinolin-4-amine derivatives, synthesized by thermal and ultrasonic means, are endowed with anti-Zika virus activity

Zika virus (ZIKV), an emerging Flavivirus, was recently associated with severe neurological complications and congenital diseases. Therefore, development of antiviral agents capable of inhibiting ZIKV replication is urgent. Chloroquine is a molecule with a confirmed safety history for use with pregnant women, and has been found to exhibit anti-ZIKV activity at concentrations around 10 μM. This suggests that modifications to the chloroquine structure could be promising for obtaining more effective anti-ZIKV agents. Here, we report the ability of a series of N-(2-(arylmethylimino)ethyl)-7-chloroquinolin-4-amine derivatives to inhibit ZIKV replication in vitro. We have found that the quinoline derivative, N-(2-((5-nitrofuran-2-yl)methylimino)ethyl)-7-chloroquinolin-4-amine, 40, was the most potent compound within this series, reducing ZIKV replication by 72% at 10 μM. Compound 40 exhibits an EC₅₀ value of 0.8 ± 0.07 μM, compared to that of chloroquine of 12 ± 3.2 μM. Good activities were also obtained for other compounds, including those with aryl groups = phenyl, 4-fluorophenyl, 4-nitrophenyl, 2,6-dimethoxyphenyl, 3-pyridinyl and 5-nitrothien-2-yl. Syntheses of these quinoline derivatives have been obtained both by thermal and ultrasonic means. The ultrasonic method produced comparable yields to the thermal (reflux) method in very much shorter times 30-180 s compared to 30-180 min reactions times. These results indicate that this group of compounds is a good follow-up point for the potential discovery of new drugs against the Zika disease.