Synthesis and anticancer activity of some new s-triazine derivatives

Design, Synthesis, Docking Studies and Molecular Dynamics Simulation of New 1,3,5-Triazine Derivatives as Anticancer Agents Selectively Targeting Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma (Capan-1)

On the basis of remarkable anticancer profile of s-triazine nucleus, a new series of 2-methoxy-4-(3-morpholino-5-(arylamino)phenoxy)benzaldehyde derivatives 11 a-u was prepared and evaluated for in vitro antiproliferative activity against eight diverse human cancer cell lines (Capan-1, HCT-116, LN229, NCI-H460, DND-41, HL-60, K562 and Z138). Compounds 11 o, 11 r and 11 s were the most potent anticancer agents on pancreatic adenocarcinoma (Capan-1) cell line with IC50 value of 1.4, 5.1 and 5.3 μM, respectively, while compounds 11 f, 11 g, 11 k, 11 l and 11 n displayed selective activity against the pancreatic adenocarcinoma (Capan-1) cell line with IC50 values of 7.3-11.5 μM. These results indicate that derivative 11 o may serve as a promising lead compound for the ongoing development of novel antiproliferative agents. The docking studies were conducted to predict the interactions of derivative 11 o with putative protein targets in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (Capan-1) cell line, specifically the prenyl-binding protein PDEδ. Furthermore, the analysis of the molecular dynamics simulation results demonstrated that complex 11 o promoted a higher stability to the prenyl-binding protein PDEδ.

New antiproliferative agents derived from tricyclic 3,4-dihydrobenzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a][1,3,5]triazine scaffold: Synthesis and pharmacological effects

A series of novel 3,4-dihydrobenzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a][1,3,5]triazine (BIT) derivatives were designed and synthesized. In vitro antiproliferative activity was detected toward two human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines (CaCo-2 and HT-29) and one human dermal microvascular endothelial cell line (HMVEC-d). The most active compounds, namely 2-4 and 8, were further investigated to clarify the mechanism behind their biological activity. Through immunofluorescence assay, we identified the target of these molecules to be the microtubule cytoskeleton with subsequent formation of dense microtubule accumulation, particularly at the periphery of the cancer cells, as observed in paclitaxel-treated cells. Overall, these results highlight BIT derivatives as robust and feasible candidates deserving to be further developed in the search for novel potent antiproliferative microtubule-targeting agents.

Triazine based chemical entities for anticancer activity

Triazine is a six-membered aromatic nitrogen heterocyclic moiety that was extensively investigated because of its biological properties and, in particular anticancer potentials. Kinases play a crucial role in cancer cell proliferation and metabolism. Triazine derivatives show anticancer activity by inhibiting the lipid kinases like phosphoinositide 3-kinases, mammalian target of rapamycin, receptor tyrosine kinases, like focal adhesion kinase, cyclin-dependent kinases, Rho-associated protein kinases, p21-activated kinases, carbonic anhydrases, enolase inhibitors, microtubules inhibitors, and histone deacetylases. The present chapter highlights the synthesis of triazine-based derivatives, their characterization, evaluation of anticancer properties, and their journey towards possible medicine for cancer.

Chalcone hybrids as potential anticancer agents: Current development, mechanism of action, and structure-activity relationship

The continuous emergency of drug-resistant cancers and the low specificity of anticancer agents have been the major challenges in the control and treatment of cancer, making an urgent need to develop novel anticancer agents with high efficacy. Chalcones, precursors of flavonoids and isoflavonoids, exhibit structural heterogeneity and can act on various drug targets. Chalcones which demonstrated potential in vitro and in vivo activity against both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant cancers, are useful templates for the development of novel anticancer agents. Hybridization of chalcone moiety with other anticancer pharmacophores could provide the hybrids which have the potential to overcome drug resistance and improve the specificity, so it represents a promising strategy to develop novel anticancer agents. This review emphasizes the development, the mechanisms of action as well as structure-activity relationships of chalcone hybrids with potential therapeutic application for many cancers in recent 10 years.

Exploring the Orthogonal Chemoselectivity of 2,4,6-Trichloro-1,3,5-Triazine (TCT) as a Trifunctional Linker With Different Nucleophiles: Rules of the Game

The study involves exploring the three orthogonal sites for aromatic nucleophilic substitution in cyanuric chloride (TCT). The preferential order of incorporation of different nucleophiles (such as alcohol, thiol, and amine) was addressed both experimentally and theoretically. The preferential order for incorporating nucleophiles in TCT was found to be alcohol > thiol > amine.

Radioiodination and biological distribution of a new s-triazine derivative for tumor uptake evaluation

A newly synthesized s-triazine derivative 1,1',1″-(((1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl) tris (azanediyl)) tris (benzene-4,1-diyl))tris (ethan-1-one), (1), was synthesized as a part of an ongoing research for development of novel s-triazine-based radiopharmaceuticals. In-vitro cell viability assay against different human cancer cell lines showed very promising inhibitory activity of the synthesized compound. This finding encouraged the radioiodination of 1 to study the degree of its localization in tumor site for evaluating the possibility of its use as a tumor imaging agent. The biodistribution study showed good localization of the radioiodinated derivative 2 at tumor site following i.v. administration in solid tumor-bearing mice. Finally, in a trial to understand the mechanism of the anticancer effect exerted by 1, a target prediction study and a docking study were performed. The results of the first study showed that focal adhesion kinase is a possible target for compound 1 and the docking study confirmed successful binding of both compound 1 and its radioiodinated derivative 2 to the binding site of focal adhesion kinase. As a conclusion, the results of this study suggest that, compound 2 could be used as a potential agent for tumor imaging after preclinical trials.

IITZ-01, a novel potent lysosomotropic autophagy inhibitor, has single-agent antitumor efficacy in triple-negative breast cancer in vitro and in vivo

Autophagy is a homeostatic process that recycles damaged organelles and long-lived proteins by delivering them in double-membrane vesicles to lysosomes for degradation. Autophagy has a prominent role in survival, proliferation, and resistance of tumors in metabolic and chemotherapeutic stress conditions. Clinical trials with chloroquine-a known autophagy inhibitor-were unable to achieve complete autophagy inhibition in vivo, warranting the search for more potent autophagy inhibitors. In a process of exploring the mechanism of action of previously identified cytotoxic s-triazine analogs, we discovered that both IITZ-01 and IITZ-02 act as potent autophagy inhibitors. Treatment with these compounds resulted in the vacuolated appearance of cells due to their specific accumulation in lysosomes. In addition, these basic compounds also deacidify lysosomes as evidenced by the decrease in lysotracker red staining and inhibit maturation of lysosomal enzymes leading to lysosomal dysfunction. IITZ-01 and IITZ-02 enhance autophagosome accumulation but inhibit autophagosomal degradation by impairing lysosomal function, finally resulting in the inhibition of autophagy. Interestingly, compound IITZ-01 exhibited more than 10-fold potent autophagy inhibition along with 12- to 20-fold better cytotoxic action than CQ. IITZ-01 and IITZ-02 also abolished mitochondrial membrane potential and triggered apoptosis through the mitochondria-mediated pathway. Furthermore, IITZ-01 and IITZ-02 displayed potent antitumor action in vivo through autophagy inhibition and apoptosis induction in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer xenograft model with IITZ-01 exhibiting superior anticancer efficacy. Overall, these data demonstrate that IITZ-01 is potent autophagy inhibitor with single-agent anticancer activity and awaits further preclinical development as potential anticancer therapeutic.

Privileged s-triazines: structure and pharmacological applications

This review summarizes recent reports on s-triazine and its respective analogs from the medicinal chemistry angle. Due to its high reactivity and binding characteristic towards various enzymes, s-triazine has attracted attention. This is combined with facile synthesis and interesting pharmacology. The triazine class demonstrates wide biological applications - including antimicrobial, antituberculosis, anticancer, antiviral and antimalarial. In this article the library of s-triazine-based molecular designs has been collated with respective bioactivity. Compounds are further compared with other heterocyclic/nontriazine moieties to correlate the efficiency of privileged s-triazine. We hope this article may assist chemists in their drug design and discovery efforts.