Design, synthesis, molecular docking and antiproliferative activity of some novel benzothiazole derivatives targeting EGFR/HER2 and TS

Rational design, synthesis, biological evaluation, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics of substituted uracil derivatives as potent anti-cancer agents

An efficient synthesis of a series of uracil analogous was performed to obtain new potential anticancer agents. The cytotoxic effect of the synthesized derivatives was assessed in vitro against three cancer cell lines, namely hepatic cancer (HepG-2), colon cancer (HCT-116), and breast cancer (MCF-7). Among the tested compounds, 5, 11 and 15 stood as potent uracil derivatives with pan cytotoxicity against the 3 cell lines out-performing the reference compound 5-FU. Furthermore, selected compounds underwent thymidylate synthase (TS) enzyme inhibition assay and demonstrated effective inhibition of the enzyme's catalytic activity. Thereafter, flow cytometric apoptosis and protein expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic markers Bax, BCL-2, PI3K, and STAT1 proteins assays were performed employing the most active compound on the respective most responsive cell line and compounds demonstrated effectiveness in inducing apoptosis in the treated cell lines. Finally, in silico studies encompassing molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies were also conducted to predict the interaction mechanisms and stability of the active compounds within the active site of their biological target TS.

Benzothiazole a privileged scaffold for Cutting-Edges anticancer agents: Exploring drug design, structure-activity relationship, and docking studies

Cancer is a major societal, public health, and economic burden in the 21st century, with 9.7 million deaths in 2022 (9.96 million in 2020) and 20 million new cancer cases (19.6 million in 2020). Considering the increasing number of cancer cases and deaths, heterocyclic compounds always paved the gold mine for the development of potential anticancer drugs as these compounds have unique flexibility and dynamic cores. Benzothiazoles and their derivatives have potential anticancer properties, making them a desirable scaffold among different heterocycles. Title structures are a class of chemicals that may bind to various receptors with high affinity, particularly those engaged in oncogenic processes. The use of these compounds allows medicinal chemists to rapidly produce anticancer treatments across a large range of targets over an extended length of time. The current study presents a thorough success story of benzothiazole derivatives as anticancer agents. It discusses the current state of cancer, the profile of benzothiazole-based derivatives synthetic pathways, and its relevance as an anticancer agent on several oncogenic pathways. The structure-activity relationship was also added to offer insight into the connection of biological data with structure and the rational design of more active drugs.

Synthesis, molecular modeling simulations and anticancer activity of some new Imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole analogues as EGFR/HER2 and DHFR inhibitors

New imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole analogs were designed, synthesized, and biologically evaluated as anticancer agents. In vitro biological evaluation of the anticancer properties of the compounds was performed against different cancer cell lines. Compounds 23 and 39 showed remarkable broad -spectrum cytotoxic potency on most of the tested cell lines. Compounds 23 and 39 exhibited potent activity against the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line, with IC50 values of 1.81 and 4.95 μM, respectively, compared to DOX and SOR (IC50 values of 4.17 and 7.26 μM, respectively). An enzyme inhibition assay was carried out to clarify the possible mode of action of the tested compounds. Compounds 23 and 39 were identified as possible EGFR, HER-2, and DHFR inhibitors. Cell cycle arrest results indicated that compound 23 caused cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase in the MCF-7 cells and at the G2/M phase in the Hep G2 cells. Compound 39 induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase in Hela cells. In vivo testing of the anticancer activity of the two most promising molecules in this study was conducted, and the results indicated that they possess considerable in vivo anticancer activity in mice. Data obtained from the molecular modeling simulation study were consistent with the biological evaluation results.

Benzothiazole derivatives in the design of antitumor agents

Benzothiazoles are a class of heterocycles with multiple applications as anticancer, antibiotic, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory agents. Benzothiazole is a privileged scaffold in drug discovery programs for modulating a variety of biological functions. This review focuses on the design and synthesis of new benzothiazole derivatives targeting hypoxic tumors. Cancer is a major health problem, being among the leading causes of death. Tumor-hypoxic areas promote proliferation, malignancy, and resistance to drug treatment, leading to the dysregulation of key signaling pathways that involve drug targets such as vascular endothelial growth factor, epidermal growth factor receptor, hepatocyte growth factor receptor, dual-specificity protein kinase, cyclin-dependent protein kinases, casein kinase 2, Rho-related coil formation protein kinase, tunica interna endothelial cell kinase, cyclooxygenase-2, adenosine kinase, lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferases, stearoyl-CoA desaturase, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, thioredoxin, heat shock proteins, and carbonic anhydrase IX/XII. In turn, they regulate angiogenesis, proliferation, differentiation, and cell survival, controlling the cell cycle, inflammation, the immune system, and metabolic alterations. A wide diversity of benzothiazoles were reported over the last years to interfere with various proteins involved in tumorigenesis and, more specifically, in hypoxic tumors. Many hypoxic targets are overexpressed as a result of the hypoxia-inducible factor activation cascade and may not be present in normal tissues, providing a potential strategy for selectively targeting hypoxic cancers.

Anticancer Potential of the S-Heterocyclic Ring Containing Drugs and its Bioactivation to Reactive Metabolites

Sulfur-containing heterocyclic derivatives have been disclosed for binding with a wide range of cancer-specific protein targets. Various interesting derivatives of sulfur-containing heterocyclics such as benzothiazole, thiazole, thiophene, thiazolidinedione, benzothiophene, and phenothiazine, etc have been shown to inhibit diverse signaling pathways implicated in cancer. Significant progress has also been made in molecular targeted therapy against specific enzymes such as kinase receptors due to potential binding interactions inside the ATP pocket. Sulfur-containing heterocyclic ring metal complexes i. e., benzothiazole, thiazole, thiophene, benzothiophene and phenothiazines are among the most promising active anticancer compounds. However, sulfur heteroaromatic rings, particularly thiophene, are of high structural alert due to their metabolism to reactive metabolites. The mere presence of a structural alert itself does not determine compound toxicity therefore, this review focuses on some specific findings that shed light on factors influencing the toxicity. In the current review, synthetic strategies of introducing the sulfur core ring in the synthesized derivatives are discussed with their structure-activity relationships to enhance our understanding of toxicity mechanisms and develop safer therapeutic options. The sulfur-containing marketed anticancer drugs included in this review direct the synthesis of novel compounds and will help in the development of potent, safer sulfur-based anticancer drugs in near future.

Benzothiazole-based apoptosis inducers: A comprehensive overview and future prospective

Cancer has become a major concern in healthcare globally, and over time, incidences and prevalence of cancer are increasing. To counter this, a lot of anticancer drugs are approved and are in clinical use, playing a pivotal role in its treatment. Due to drug resistance and adverse effects, a continuous demand for novel, potent, and safe candidates to treat cancer is always there. Over the last few decades, various heterocyclic ring-based derivatives have been explored and reported in the literature. In this regard, benzothiazole scaffold-based compound emerged as the versatile ring for developing novel and safe anticancer candidates. In this article, we have reported various benzothiazole heterocyclic ring-based derivatives demonstrating potent antiproliferative activity by induction of apoptosis via an intrinsic pathway in a dose-dependent manner. These compounds also displayed inhibition of different enzymes, for example, Aurora kinase, epidermal growth factor receptor, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, phosphoinositide kinases, DNA topoisomerase, and tubulin polymerases. This study focused on a comprehensive overview of antiproliferative activity, structure-activity relationship, apoptosis induction activity, and enzyme inhibition by benzothiazole-based compounds.

Current development of pyrazole-azole hybrids with anticancer potential

Chemotherapy is a critical treatment modality for cancer patients, but multidrug resistance remains one of the major challenges in cancer therapy, creating an urgent need for the development of novel potent chemical entities. Azoles, particularly pyrazole, could interact with different biological targets and exhibit diverse biological properties including anticancer activity. Many clinically used anticancer agents own an azole moiety, demonstrating that azoles are privileged and pivotal templates in the discovery of novel anticancer chemotherapeutics. The present article is an attempt to highlight the recent advances in pyrazole-azole hybrids with anticancer potential and discuss the structure-activity relationships, covering articles published from 2018 to present, to facilitate the rational design of more effective anticancer candidates.

2-Aminobenzothiazoles in anticancer drug design and discovery

Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Substantial research efforts have been made to develop new chemical entities with improved anticancer efficacy. 2-Aminobenzothiazole is an important class of heterocycles containing one sulfur and two nitrogen atoms, which is associated with a broad spectrum of medical and pharmacological activities, including antitumor, antibacterial, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral activities. In recent years, an extraordinary collection of potent and low-toxicity 2-aminobenzothiazole compounds have been discovered as new anticancer agents. Herein, we provide a comprehensive review of this class of compounds based on their activities against tumor-related proteins, including tyrosine kinases (CSF1R, EGFR, VEGFR-2, FAK, and MET), serine/threonine kinases (Aurora, CDK, CK, RAF, and DYRK2), PI3K kinase, BCL-XL, HSP90, mutant p53 protein, DNA topoisomerase, HDAC, NSD1, LSD1, FTO, mPGES-1, SCD, hCA IX/XII, and CXCR. In addition, the anticancer potentials of 2-aminobenzothiazole-derived chelators and metal complexes are also described here. Moreover, the design strategies, mechanism of actions, structure-activity relationships (SAR) and more advanced stages of pre-clinical development of 2-aminobenzothiazoles as new anticancer agents are extensively reviewed in this article. Finally, the examples that 2-aminobenzothiazoles showcase an advantage over other heterocyclic systems are also highlighted.

Spectroscopic Characterization, Cyclic Voltammetry, Biological Investigations, MOE, and Gaussian Calculations of VO(II), Cu(II), and Cd(II) Heteroleptic Complexes

A novel hydrazone ligand (o-H₂BMP) N-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-3-oxo-3-(2-(1-(pyridin-2-yl)ethylidene)hydrazinyl)propanamide alongside its Cu(II), Cd(II), and VO(II) complexes were prepared and structurally characterized via various spectroscopic analyses (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, ¹H/¹³C NMR spectroscopy, liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy) as well as by elemental analysis, thermal gravimetry analysis/differential thermal analysis, and magnetic moment measurements. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis was also performed for the free ligand and its metal complexes to determine the crystallographic structures and atomic spacing. It also provided information on unit cell dimensions and the average crystallite size. Furthermore, geometric optimization and computational studies were carried out by applying Gaussian (09) software based on density-functional theory coupled with the B3LYP functional and LANL2DZ/6-31+G(d,p) mixed basis set to evaluate some distinct features such as molecular electrostatic potential, E _HOMO, and E _LUMO. Moreover, electrochemical measurements were performed for Cu(II) in the absence/presence of the chelating agent to predict the effect of complexation interaction in the solution state study. As part of the biological examination, antioxidant and antimicrobial assays were conducted for each compound individually, in addition to cytotoxicity evaluations via MTT assays for all isolated complexes compared to the corresponding metal salts. The MOE (molecular operating environment) approach was also applied to model the interface between the isolated compounds and proteins that were expressed in breast cancer at the atomic level.

Development of certain aminoquinazoline scaffolds as potential multitarget anticancer agents with apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects: Design, synthesis and biological evaluation

Newly designed 4 - aminoquinazoline derivatives (5a-f, 6a, b, 7, 8, 9, 10a-c, 11a, b, 12a, b and 13a, b) have been synthesized and evaluated for their potential multitarget anticancer activities, apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects. Thereupon, in vitro cytotoxic activities of all the synthesized compounds were screened against NCI 60 human cancer cell lines (nine subpanels) at NCI, USA. Successfully, 2-morpholino-N-(quinazolin-4-yl) acetohydrazide 5e was granted an NSC code, owing to its significant potency and broad spectrum of activity against various cancer cell lines; leukemia K-562, non-small cell lung cancer NCI-H522 cells, colon cancer SW-620, melanoma LOX IMVI, MALME-3M, renal cancer RXF 393, ACHN and breast cancer MDA-MB231/ATCC (GI% = 99.6, 161, 126.03, 90.22, 174.47, 139.7, 191 and 97, respectively). Compound 5e showed the best inhibitory activity (GI₅₀ = 1.3 µM) against melanoma LOX IMVI, when tested at five doses against NCI 60 cell lines. Furthermore, compound 5e showed comparable EGFR and CDK2 inhibitory activity results (IC₅₀ = 0.093 ± 0.006 μM and 0.143 ± 0.008 μM, respectively) to those of lapatinib and ribociclib (IC₅₀ = 0.03 ± 0.002 μM and 0.067 ± 0.004 μM, respectively). Western blotting analysis of compound 5e against melanoma LOX IMVI marked out significant reduced EGFR and CDK2 protein expression percentages, up to 32.97% and 34.09%, respectively, if compared to lapatinib (31.18%) and ribociclib (29.66%). Moreover, compound 5e caused clear cell cycle arrests at S phase of renal UO-31 cells and at G1 phase of both breast cancer MCF7 and ovarian cancer IGROV1, associated with remarkable increase of DNA content of the controls. In accordance, it demonstrated promising anti- proliferative and apoptotic activities, showing a significant increase in total apoptotic percentages of renal cancer UO-31, breast cancer MCF7 and ovarian IGROV1 cancer cell lines, if compared to the control untreated cells (from 1.79% to 46.72%, 2.19% to 39.02% and 1.66 to 42.51%, respectively). Molecular modelling and dynamic simulation study results supported the main objectives of the present work.

Synthesis, Molecular Docking, and Biological Evaluation of a New Series of Benzothiazinones and Their Benzothiazinyl Acetate Derivatives as Anticancer Agents against MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells and as Anti-Inflammatory Agents

Six 1,4-benzothiazin-3-ones (2a-f) and four benzothiazinyl acetate derivatives (3a-d) were synthesized and characterized by various spectroscopic methods, namely, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, IR, MS, and elemental analysis. The cytotoxic effects of the compounds were assessed against MCF-7, a human breast cancer cell line, along with their anti-inflammatory activity. Molecular docking studies performed against the VEGFR2 kinase receptor displayed a common binding orientation of the compounds in the catalytic binding pocket of the receptor. The generalized Born surface area (GBSA) studies of compound 2c with the highest docking score also proved its stability in binding to the kinase receptor. Compounds 2c and 2b showed better results against VEGFR2 kinase with IC₅₀ values of 0.0528 and 0.0593 μM, respectively, compared to sorafenib. All of the compounds (2a-f and 3a-d) showed effective growth inhibition having (IC₅₀) values of 2.26, 1.37, 1.29, 2.30, 4.98, 3.7, 5.19, 4.50, 4.39, and 3.31 μM, respectively, against the MCF-7 cell line compared to standard 5-fluorouracil (IC₅₀ = 7.79 μM). However, compound 2c displayed remarkable cytotoxic activity (IC₅₀ = 1.29 μM), suggesting it as a lead compound in the cytotoxic assay. Additionally, compounds 2c and 2b showed better results against VEGFR2 kinase with IC50 values of 0.0528 and 0.0593 μM, respectively, compared to sorafenib. It also inhibited hemolysis by stabilizing the membrane comparable to that of diclofenac sodium, a standard used in the human red blood cell membrane stabilization assay and hence can act as a template for designing novel anticancer and anti-inflammatory agents.

Privileged Scaffolds in Drug Discovery against Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 for Cancer Treatment

HER2 is the membrane receptor tyrosine kinase showing overexpression in several human malignancies, particularly breast cancer. HER2 overexpression causes the activation of Ras- MAPK and PI3K/Akt/ NF-κB cellular signal transduction pathways that lead to cancer development and progression. HER2 is, therefore, presumed as one of the key targets for the development of tumor-specific therapies. Several preclinical have been developed that function by inhibiting the HER2 tyrosine kinase activity through the prevention of the dimerization process. Most HER2 inhibitors act as ATP competitors and prevent the process of phosphorylation, and abort the cell cycle progression and proliferation. In this review, the clinical drug candidates and potent pre-clinical newly developed molecules are described, and the core chemical scaffolds typically responsible for anti-HER2 activity are deciphered. In addition, the monoclonal antibodies that are either used in monotherapy or in combination therapy against HER2-positive cancer are briefly described. The identified key moieties in this study could result in the discovery of more effective HER2-targeted anticancer drug molecules and circumvent the development of resistance by HER2-specific chemotherapeutics in the future.

New thiazole-based derivatives as EGFR/HER2 and DHFR inhibitors: Synthesis, molecular modeling simulations and anticancer activity

New series of thiazole and imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole derivatives were synthesized and tested for their in vitro anticancer activity. Compounds 27, 34, 39 and 42-44 showed the best anticancer activity against the tested cancer cell lines with high safety profile and selectivity indices, especially MCF-7 breast cancer, compared to sorafenib. As an attempt to reveal their mode of cytotoxicity, EGFR, HER2 kinase and DHFR inhibition assays were performed. Compounds 39 and 43 were the most potent dual EGFR/HER2 kinase inhibitors, with IC₅₀ values of 0.153 (EGFR), 0.108 (HER2) and 0.122 (EGFR), 0.078 (HER2) μM, respectively. 39 and 42 were the best DHFR inhibitors showing IC₅₀ 0.291 and 0.123 μM, respectively. 39 and 43 induced their cytotoxicity via cell cycle arrest at G1/S and G1 phases, respectively, and apoptosis rather than necrosis in the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. In vivo anti-breast cancer assay of 39 and 43 showed significant tumor volume reduction with recovered caspase-3 immunoexpression. Modeling study results proved the importance of the 5-(4-substituted phenyl)-imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole moiety and the hydrazide side chain for the anticancer activity. The most potent compounds showed good drug-likeness features and could be used as prototypes for further optimization. 39 could be an example of a multi-targeting anticancer agent that acts by inhibiting EGFR/HER2 kinase, DHFR enzymes and cellular apoptosis.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new series of quinazoline derivatives as EGFR/HER2 dual-target inhibitors

It is generally believed that EGFR/HER2 dual-target inhibitors may overcome the resistance of EGFR TKIs caused by HER2 overexpression. The structure-based synthesis and biological evaluation of quinazoline derivatives as EGFR/HER2 dual-target inhibitors has been studied in this paper. II-1, II-2, III-3, III-4 displayed comparable inhibitory potency against EGFR and HER2 and II-1 showed remarkable antiproliferative activities against NCI-H358/PC-9/Calu-3/NCI-H1781 (EGFR IC₅₀ = 0.30 nM, HER2 IC₅₀ = 6.07 nM, NCI-H358 GI₅₀ = 23.30 nM, PC-9 GI₅₀ = 1.95 nM, Calu-3 GI₅₀ = 23.13 nM NCI-H1781 GI₅₀ = 41.61 nM).

Thiazole and Related Heterocyclic Systems as Anticancer Agents: A Review on Synthetic Strategies, Mechanisms of Action and SAR Studies

Background:

Cancer is the second leading cause of death throughout the world. Many anticancer drugs are commercially available, but lack of selectivity, target specificity, cytotoxicity and development of resistance lead to serious side effects. There have been several experiments going on to develop compounds with minor or no side effects.

Objective:

This review mainly emphasizes synthetic strategies, SAR studies, and mechanism of action for thiazole, benzothiazole, and imidazothiazole containing compounds as anticancer agents.

Methods:

Recent literature related to thiazole and thiazole-related derivatives endowed with encouraging anticancer potential is reviewed. This review emphasizes contemporary strategies used for the synthesis of thiazole and related derivatives, mechanistic targets, and comprehensive structural activity relationship studies to provide perspective into the rational design of high-efficiency thiazole-based anticancer drug candidates.

Results:

Exhaustive literature survey indicated that thiazole derivatives are associated with properties of inducing apoptosis and disturbing tubulin assembly. Thiazoles are also associated with the inhibition of NFkB/mTOR/PI3K/AkT and regulation of estrogen-mediated activity. Furthermore, thiazole derivatives have been found to modulate critical targets such as topoisomerase and HDAC.

Conclusion:

Thiazole derivatives seem to be quite competent and act through various mechanisms. Some of the thiazole derivatives, such as compounds 29, 40, 62, and 74a with IC50 values of 0.05 μM, 0.00042 μM, 0.18 μM, and 0.67 μM, respectively not only have anticancer activity but they also have lower toxicity and better absorption. Therefore, some other similar compounds could be investigated to aid in the development of anticancer pharmacophores.

A medicinal chemist's perspective towards structure activity relationship of heterocycle based anti-cancer agents

AIM

To describe structure activity relationship of heterocyclic derivatives with multi-targeted anticancer activity.

OBJECTIVES

With the following goals in mind, this review tries to describe significant recent advances in the medicinal chemistry of heterocycle-based compounds: (1) To shed light on recent literature focused on heterocyclic derivatives' anticancer potential; (2) To discuss recent advances in the medicinal chemistry of heterocyclic derivatives, as well as their biological implications for cancer eradication; (3) To summarise the comprehensive correlation of structure activity relationship (SAR) with pharmacological outcomes in cancer therapy.

BACKGROUND

Cancer remains one of the major serious health issues devastating the world today. Cancer is a complex disease in which improperly altered cells proliferate at an uncontrolled, rapid, and severe rate. Variables such as poor dietary habits, high stress, age, and smoking, can all contribute to the development of cancer. Cancer can affect almost any organ or tissue, although the brain, breast, liver, and colon are the most frequently affected organs. From several years, surgical operations and irradiation are in use along with chemotherapy as a primary treatment of cancer but still effective treatment of cancer remains a huge challenge. Chemotherapy is now one of the most effective strategies to eradicate cancer, although it has been shown to have a number of cytotoxic and unfavourable effects on normal cells. Despite all of these cancer treatments, there are several other targets for anticancer drugs. Cancer can be effectively eradicated by focusing on these targets, which include both cell-specific and receptor-specific targets such as tyrosine kinase receptors (TKIs). Heterocyclic scaffolds also have a variety of applications in drug development and are a common moiety in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and textile industries.

METHODS

The association between structural activity relationship data of many powerful compounds and their anticancer potential in vitro and in vivo has been studied. SAR of powerful heterocyclic compounds can also be generated using molecular docking simulations, as reported vastly in literature.

CONCLUSIONS

Heterocycles have a wide range of applications, from natural compounds to synthesised derivatives with powerful anticancer properties. To avoid cytotoxicity or unfavourable effects on normal mammalian cells due to a lack of selectivity towards the target site, as well as to reduce the occurrence of drug resistance, safer anticancer lead compounds with higher potency and lower cytotoxicity are needed. This review emphasizes on design and development of heterocyclic lead compounds with promising anticancer potential.

Design, synthesis, anticancer activity and molecular docking studies of new benzimidazole derivatives bearing 1,3,4-oxadiazole moieties as potential thymidylate synthase inhibitors

Compounds 10 and 14 arrest the cell cycle at the G1 phase and induce apoptosis without any necrosis in MDA-MB-231 cells.

Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors as potential anticancer agents: An update of recent progress

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a vital intermediate in cell signaling pathway including cell proliferation, angiogenesis, apoptosis, and metastatic spread and also having four divergent members with similar structural features, such as EGFR (HER1/ErbB1), ErbB2 (HER2/neu), ErbB3 (HER3), and ErbB4 (HER4). Despite this, clinically exploited inhibitors of EGFR (including erlotinib, lapatinib, gefitinib, selumetinib, etc.) are not specific thus provoking unenviable adverse effects. Some of the paramount obstacles to generate and develop new lead molecules of EGFR inhibitors are drug resistance, mutation, and also selectivity which inspire medicinal chemists to generate novel chemotypes. The discovery of therapeutic agents that inhibit the precise stage in tumorous cells such as EGFR is one of the chief successful targets in many cancer therapies, including lung and breast cancers. This review aims to compile the various recent progressions (2016-2021) in the discovery and development of diverse epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors belonging to distinct structural classes like pyrazoline, pyrazole, imidazole, pyrimidine, coumarin, benzothiazole, etc. We have summarized preclinical and clinical data, structure-activity relationships (SAR) containing mechanistic and in silico studies to provide proposals for the design and invention of new EGFR inhibitors with therapeutic significance. The detailed progress of the work in the field will provide inexorable scope for the development of novel drug candidates with greater selectivity and efficacy.

Advances in 2-substituted benzothiazole scaffold-based chemotherapeutic agents

Targeted therapy plays a pivotal role in cancer therapeutics by countering the drawbacks of conventional treatment like adverse events and drug resistance. Over the last decade, heterocyclic derivatives have received considerable attention as cytotoxic agents by modulating various signaling pathways. Benzothiazole is an important heterocyclic scaffold that has been explored for its therapeutic potential. Benzothiazole-based derivatives have emerged as potent inhibitors of enzymes such as EGFR, VEGFR, PI3K, topoisomerases, and thymidylate kinases. Several researchers have designed, synthesized, and evaluated benzothiazole scaffold-based enzyme inhibitors. Of these, several inhibitors have entered various phases of clinical trials. This review describes the recent advances and developments of benzothiazole architecture-based derivatives as potent anticancer agents.

Design, synthesis and mechanistic study of new 1,2,4-triazole derivatives as antimicrobial agents

Novel 5-amino-1,2,4-triazole derivatives and their cyclized 1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine analogues were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their antimicrobial activities. They were tested against five bacterial strains (Methicillin Resistant S. aureus (MRSA), E. coli, K. pneumoniae, A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa) using ciprofloxacin as a positive control and against two fungal strains (C. albicans and C. neoformans) using fluconazole and amphotericin B as positive controls. Compounds 9, 13a and 13b showed high to moderate antifungal activities against candida albicans (MIC values = 4-32 µg/ml), with considerable safety profiles; where no cytotoxicity against human embryonic kidney or red blood cells were detected at concentrations up to 32 µg/mL. Furthermore, compound 9 showed significant inhibitory activity against lansterol 14α-demethylase (IC₅₀ = 0.27 µM), compared to the reference drug fluconazole (IC₅₀ = 0.25 µM). Molecular docking of compound 9 into the active site of the cytochrome P450 enzyme revealed comparable binding modes and docking scores to those of fluconazole. Finally, in silico ADME studies prediction and drug-like properties of these compounds revealed favorable oral bioavailability results.

Molecular docking, synthesis and anticancer activity of thiosemicarbazone derivatives against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to synthesize and evaluate anticancer activity of 2-hydroxy benzaldehyde and 4-hydroxy benzaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (2-HBTSc and 4-HBTSc) against MCF-7 breast cancer cell line.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The ligands were prepared and characterized by UV vis, IR and NMR. MTT assay was used to assess viability of cells. RNA isolation, extraction and cDNA synthesis were done. Then all groups were subjected to RT-qPCR using Gene expression specific primers. Also, western blot protein expression and molecular docking were done. Two-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc test was employed to test the significance using GraphPad Prism.

RESULTS

The IC₅₀ values were 3.36μg/ml and 3.60μg/ml for 2-HBTSc and 4-HBTSc treated MCF-7 tumor cells respectively. Tumor cell growth inhibition ranged from 38 to 49.27% in 4-HBTSc treated cells, and 19 to 25% in 2-HBTSc treated cells with increase in doses 5 μg/ml to 20 μg/ml. The protein and gene expression result showed a significant upregulation in tumor suppressor and apoptosis inducing genes while, oncogene activity was significantly downregulated. Specifically, BRCA2 and pRB gene showed the highest expression in 4-HBTSc and 2-HBTSc treated cells respectively. Conversely, RAS oncogene was downregulated significantly. Docking result showed that both 2-HBTSc and 4-HBTSc have the potential to inhibit Estrogen Receptor Alpha Ligand Binding Domain, Human 17-Beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 mutant protein and Human Topoisomerase II alpha that are expressed more during Breast Cancer.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study imply that the test compound has potential for further study.

Novel thiazoline–coumarin hybrid compounds containing sugar moieties: synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular docking study as antiproliferative agents

1,3-Thiadiazoline–coumarin hybrid compounds containing d-glucose and d-galactose moieties have the cytotoxicity against MCF-7, HepG2, HeLa, SK-Mel-2, and LU-1 cells and also EGFR and HER2 kinases. Molecular docking showed key roles in enhancing potency against both enzymes.

Current advances in the synthetic strategies of 2-arylbenzothiazole

Benzothiazole is a privileged scaffold in the field of synthetic and medicinal chemistry. Its derivatives and metal complexes possess a gamut of pharmacological properties and high degree of structural diversity that has proven it vital for the investigation for novel therapeutics. The 2nd position of benzothiazole is the most active site that makes 2-arylbenzothiazole as felicitous scaffolds in pharmaceutical chemistry. The extensive significance of benzo-fused heterocyclic moieties formation has led to broad and valuable different approaches for their synthesis. This review deals with the synthetic approaches developed so far for the synthesis of 2-arylbenzothiazoles. Moreover, this article abridges the publications devoted to the synthesis of this moiety over the last 6 years. This study gives a current precis of research on the fabrication of 2-arylbenzothiazoles through different synthetic pathways and shall be helpful for researchers and scientists who are working in this field to make more potent biologically active benzothiazole-based drugs.