Development of novel chromeno[4,3-c]pyrazol-4(2H)-one derivates containing piperazine as inhibitors of PI3Kα

A comprehensive review on phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and its inhibitors bearing pyrazole or indazole core for cancer therapy

Cancer is a complex and multifaceted group of diseases with a high mortality rate characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal cells. Dysregulation of normal signalling pathways in cancer contributes to the different hallmarks of this disease. The signalling pathway of which phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is a part is not an exception. In fact, dysregulated activation of PI3K signalling pathways can result in unbridled cellular proliferation and enhanced cell survival, thereby fostering the onset and advancement of cancer. Therefore, there is substantial interest in developing targeted therapies specifically aimed at inhibiting the PI3K enzyme and its associated pathways. Also, the therapeutic interest on pyrazoles and indazoles has been growing due to their various medicinal properties, namely, anticancer activity. Derivatives of these compounds have been studied as PI3K inhibitors, and they showed promising results. There are already some PI3K inhibitors approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), such as Idelalisib (Zydelig®) and Alpelisib (Piqray®). In this context, this review aims to address the importance of PI3K in cellular processes and its role in cancer. Additionally, it aims to report a comprehensive literature review of PI3K inhibitors, containing the pyrazole and indazole scaffolds, published in the last fifteen years, focusing on structure-activity relationship aspects, thus providing important insights for the design of novel and more effective PI3K inhibitors.

Development of New Thiophene-Containing Triaryl Pyrazoline Derivatives as PI3Kγ Inhibitors

A series of new thiophene-containing triaryl pyrazoline derivatives, 3a–3t, were synthesized and evaluated regarding PI3K inhibition activity and anti-tumor potency based on a trial of introducing significant moieties, including pyrazoline and thiophene, and simplifying the parallel ring structures. Most of the tested compounds indicated potent PI3K inhibitory potency, with this series of compounds showing more potency for PI3Kγ than PI3Kα. The top hit 3s seemed more potent than the positive control LY294002 on inhibiting PI3Kγ (IC₅₀ values: 0.066 μM versus 0.777 μM) and more selective from PI3Kα (Index values: 645 versus 1.74). It could be inferred that the combination of para- and meta-, as well as the modification of the electron-donating moieties, led to the improvement in potency. The anti-proliferation inhibitory activity and the enzymatic inhibition potency indicated consistent tendencies. The top hit 3s could inhibit the phosphorylation of Akt by inhibiting PI3K through the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway. The molecular docking simulation indicated that the binding pattern of 3s into PI3Kγ was preferable than that of PI3Kα, with more hydrogen bond, more π-involved interactions, and fewer π-sulfur interactions. The information in this work is referable for the further development of selective inhibitors for specific isoforms of PI3K.

Unexpected ring opening of pyrazolines with activated alkynes: synthesis of 1H-pyrazole-4,5-dicarboxylates and chromenopyrazolecarboxylates

1H-Pyrazole-4,5-dicarboxylates and chromenopyrazole carboxylates were prepared by reacting pyrazolines with activated alkynes under neat conditions without a catalyst. The products were formed via unexpected ring opening of pyrazolines with the elimination of styrene/ethylene. These types of transformations are unknown and the products formed were confirmed using their spectral/analytical data. In addition, the structures of compounds 5e and 5n were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis. Control experiments were conducted to support the proposed reaction mechanism.

Direct Access for the Regio- and Stereoselective Synthesis of N-Alkenylpyrazoles and Chromenopyrazoles

A highly regio- and stereoselective method was developed for the preparation of N-alkenylpyrazoles and chromenopyrazoles by the reaction of N-tosylhydrazones and salicyl N-tosylhydrazones with alkynes under neat conditions in the presence of La(OTf)₃. The present study was found to be efficient and convenient for direct access to N-alkenylpyrazoles and chromenopyrazoles through C-C, C-N, and C-O bond forming reactions. Structure assignment of N-alkenylpyrazole compound 5c was confirmed by X-ray analysis.

Microwave-assisted Synthesis of Novel Pyrazole Derivatives and their Biological Evaluation as Anti-Bacterial Agents

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

Microwave-assisted condensation of acetophenone 1 and aromatic aldehydes 2 gave chalcone analogs 3, which were cyclized to pyrazole derivatives 6a-f via the reaction with hydrazine hydrate and oxalic acid in the presence of the catalytic amount of acetic acid in ethanol.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The structural features of the synthesized compounds were characterized by melting point, FT-IR, ¹H, ¹³C NMR and elemental analysis.

RESULTS

The antibacterial activities of the synthesized pyrazoles were evaluated against three gram-positive bacteria, such as Enterococcus durans, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and two gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium.

CONCLUSION

All the synthesized pyrazoles showed relatively high antibacterial activity against S. aureus strain, and none of them demonstrated antibacterial activity against E. coli.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of benzofuran-based 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzamide derivatives as novel tubulin polymerization inhibitors

A new series of derivatives characterized by the presence of the 3,4,5-trimethoxylbenzamide substituted benzofurans were synthesized and evaluated for antiproliferative activity against four cancer cell lines and one normal human cell line. Among them, derivative 6g with greatest cytotoxicity significantly inhibited the growth of MDA-MB-231, HCT-116, HT-29 and HeLa cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 3.01, 5.20, 9.13, and 11.09 μM, respectively. Importantly, 6g possessed excellent selectivity over non-tumoral cell lines HEK-293 (IC₅₀ > 30 μM). Moreover, mechanistic studies revealed that 6g induced HeLa cells arrested in G2/M phase in a concentration-dependent manner, and inhibited polymerization of tubulin via a consistent way with CA-4. In general, these observations suggest that 6g is a promising anti-cancer lead and is worth further investigation to generate potential antitumor agents.

Synthesis and anticancer evaluation of novel 1H-benzo[d]imidazole derivatives of dehydroabietic acid as PI3Kα inhibitors

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is one of the most attractive therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. In this study, a series of new 2-arylthio- and 2-arylamino-1H-benzo[d]imidazole derivatives of dehydroabietic acid were designed, synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR and MS spectra analyses. In the in vitro anticancer assay, some title compounds showed significant inhibitory activities against four cancer cell lines (HCT-116, MCF-7, HeLa and HepG2). Among them, compound 9g exhibited the most potent activity with IC₅₀ values of 0.18 ± 0.03, 0.43 ± 0.05, 0.71 ± 0.08 and 0.63 ± 0.09 μM against four cancer cell lines, and considerably lower cytotoxicity to human gastric mucosal cell line Ges-1 (IC₅₀: 21.95 ± 0.73 μM). Besides, compound 9g displayed a certain selective activity to PI3Kα (IC₅₀ = 0.012 ± 0.002 μM) over PI3Kβ, γ and δ, and meanwhile, it can remarkably decrease the expression level of p-Akt (Ser473). In addition, compound 9g could increase intracellular reactive oxygen species level, decrease mitochondrial membrane potential, upregulate Bax and cleaved caspase-3/9 levels, downregulate Bcl-2 level and thus induce the apoptosis of HCT-116 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The results suggested that compound 9g could be considered as a promising PI3Kα inhibitor.