Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of cinnamamide-quinazoline derivatives as potential EGFR inhibitors to reverse T790M mutation

Approaches for the discovery of cinnamic acid derivatives with anticancer potential

INTRODUCTION

Cinnamic acid is a privileged scaffold for the design of biologically active compounds with putative anticancer potential, following different synthetic methodologies and procedures. Since there is a need for the production of potent anticancer, cinnamate moiety can significantly contribute in the design of new and more active anticancer agents.

AREAS COVERED

In this review, the authors provide a review on the synthetic approaches for the discovery of cinnamic acid derivatives with anticancer potential. Results from molecular simulations, hybridization, and chemical derivatization along with biological experiments in vitro and structural activity relationships are given, described, and discussed by the authors. Information for the mechanism of action is taken from original literature sources.

EXPERT OPINION

The authors suggest that (i) numerous areas of biology-pharmacology need to be considered: selectivity, in vivo studies, toxicity and drug-likeness, the mechanism of action in animals and humans, development of more efficient assays for various cancer types; (ii) hybridization techniques outbalance in the discovery and production of compounds with higher activity and greater selectivity; (iii) repositioning offers new anticancer cinnamic agents.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Newly Synthesized Cinnamide-Fluorinated Containing Compounds as Bioactive Anticancer Agents

A new series of cinnamide-fluorinated derivatives has been synthesized and characterized by using different spectroscopic and elemental microanalyses methods. All of the prepared p-fluorocinnamide derivatives were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against the HepG2 liver cancerous cell line. The imidazolone derivative 6, which bears N-(N-pyrimidin-2-ylbenzenesulphamoyl) moiety, displayed antiproliferative activity against HepG2 liver cancerous cells with an IC50 value of 4.23 μM as compared to staurosporin (STU) (IC50 = 5.59 μM). In addition, compound 6 experienced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitory activity comparable to palatinib. The cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry indicated that compound 6 arrested the cellular cycle of HepG2 cells at the G1 phase. Additionally, as demonstrated by the fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) technique, compound 6 increased both early and late apoptotic ratios compared to control untreated HepG2 cells. Moreover, imidazolone compound 6 induced apoptosis via the intrinsic apoptotic pathway by decreasing the level of mitochondrial membrane polarization (MMP) compared to untreated HepG2 cells. Therefore, the new N-(N-pyrimidin-2-ylbenzenesulphamoyl)imidazolone derivative 6 could be considered a potential platform for further optimizing an antitumor agent against hepatocellular carcinoma.

Design, synthesis and cytotoxic activity of molecular hybrids based on quinolin-8-yloxy and cinnamide hybrids and their apoptosis inducing property

The present work aims at design and synthesis of a congeneric series of small hybrids 5 and 6a-i featuring the privileged quinoline scaffold tethered with 2-(arylamido)cinnamide moiety as potential anticancer tubulin polymerization inhibitors. Most of the synthesized hybrids 5 and 6a-i significantly inhibited the growth of the HepG2 cell line, with IC50 ranged from 2.46 to 41.31 μM. In particular, 2-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzamido)-4-methoxycinnamide-quinoline hybrid 6e displayed potent IC50 value toward the examined cell line, and hence chosen for further mechanistic investigations. It is noteworthy that the antiproliferative action of compound 6e highly correlated well with its ability to inhibit tubulin polymerization. In addition, the most potent hybrid 6e demonstrated a significant modification in the cellular cycle distribution, in addition to provoke of apoptotic death within the tested HepG2 cell line. Furthermore, the mechanistic approach was confirmed by a substantial upregulation in the quantity of active caspase 9 by 5.81-fold relative to untreated control cells.

Late-stage modification of complex drug: Base-controlled Pd-catalyzed regioselective synthesis and bioactivity of arylated osimertinibs

Achieving regioselective synthesis in complex molecules with multiple reactive sites remains a tremendous challenge in synthetic chemistry. Regiodivergent palladium-catalyzed C─H arylation of complex antitumor drug osimertinib with various aryl bromides via the late-stage functionalization strategy was demonstrated here. This reaction displayed a switch in regioselectivity under complete base control. Potassium carbonate (K2CO3) promoted the arylation of acrylamide terminal C(sp2)-H, affording 34 derivatives. Conversely, sodium tert-butoxide (t-BuONa) mediated the aryl C(sp2)-H arylation of the indole C2 position, providing 27 derivatives. The derivative 3r containing a 3-fluorophenyl group at the indole C2 position demonstrated similar inhibition of EGFRT790M/L858R and superior antiproliferative activity in H1975 cells compared to osimertinib, as well as similar antiproliferative activity in A549 cells and antitumor efficacy in xenograft mouse model bearing H1975 cells. This approach provides a "one substrate-multi reactions-multiple products" strategy for the structural modification of complex drug molecules, creating more opportunities for the fast screening of pharmaceutical molecules.

Structural Perspectives in the Development of Novel EGFR Inhibitors for the Treatment of NSCLC

Non-small cell Lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer, which is caused by high consumption of tobacco and smoking. It is an epithelial lung cancer that affects about 2.2 million people across the globe, according to International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Non-small cell lung cancer is a malignant tumor caused by EGFR mutation that occurs in the in-frame deletion of exon 19 and L858R point mutation in exon 21. Presently, clinically available inhibitors of EGFR (including erlotinib, lapatinib, gefitinib, selumetinib, etc.) are not specific and responsible for undesirable adverse effects. Moreover, to solve this problem search for newer EGFR inhibitors is the utmost need for the treatment and/or management of increasing lung cancer burden. The discovery of therapeutic agents that inhibit the specific target in tumorous cells, such as EGFR, is one of the successful strategies in treating many cancer therapies, including lung cancer. The exhaustive literature survey (2018-2023) has shown the importance of medicinally privileged pyrimidine derivatives together, fused and/or clubbed with other heterocyclic rings to design and develop novel EGFR inhibitors. Pyrimidine derivatives substituted with phenylamine, indole, pyrrole, piperazine, pyrazole, thiophene, pyridine and quinazoline derivatives substituted with phenylamine, pyrimidine, morpholine, pyrrole, dioxane, acrylamide, indole, pyridine, furan, pyrimidine, pyrazole etc. are privileged heterocyclic rings shown promising activity by inhibiting EGFR and TKIs. The present review summarizes the structure-activity relationship (SAR) and enzyme inhibitory activity, including IC50 values, percentage inhibition, and kinetic studies of potential compounds from various literature. The review also includes various aspects of molecular docking studies with compounds under clinical trials and patents filed on pyrimidine-based EGFR inhibitors in treating non-small cell lung cancer. The present review may benefit the medicinal chemist for developing novel compounds such as EGFR inhibitors.

Molecular modeling, dynamic simulation, and metabolic reactivity studies of quinazoline derivatives to investigate their anti-angiogenic potential by targeting wild EGFRwt and mutant EGFRT790M receptor tyrosine kinases

Non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, glioblastoma, and various other cancer types often demonstrate persistent elevation in EGFR tyrosine kinase activity due to acquired mutations in its kinase domain. Any alteration in the EGFR is responsible for triggering the upregulation of tumor angiogenic pathways, such as the PI3k-AKT-mTOR pathway, MAPK-ERK pathway and PLC-Ƴ pathway, which are critically involved in promoting tumor angiogenesis in cancer cells. The emergence of frequently occurring EGFR kinase domain mutations (L858R/T790M/C797S) that confer resistance to approved therapeutic agents has presented a significant challenge for researchers aiming to develop effective and well-tolerated treatments against tumor angiogenesis. In this study, we directed our efforts towards the rational design and development of novel quinazoline derivatives with the potential to act as antagonists against both wild-type and mutant EGFR. Our approach encompasing the application of advanced drug design strategies, including structure-based virtual screening, molecular docking, molecular dynamics, metabolic reactivity and cardiotoxicity prediction studies led to the identification of two prominent lead compounds: QU648, for EGFRwt inhibition and QU351, for EGFRmt antagonism. The computed binding energies of selected leads and their molecular dynamics simulations exhibited enhanced conformational stability of QU648 and QU351 when compared to standard drugs Erlotinib and Afatinib. Notably, the lead compounds also demonstrated promising pharmacokinetic properties, metabolic reactivity, and cardiotoxicity profiles. Collectively, the outcomes of our study provide compelling evidence supporting the potential of QU648 and QU351 as prominent anti-angiogenic agents, effectively inhibiting EGFR activity across various cancer types harboring diverse EGFR mutations.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Structure-Activity Relationship Studies Based on Quinazoline Derivatives as EGFR Kinase Inhibitors (2017-Present)

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays a critical role in the tumorigenesis of various forms of cancer. Targeting the mutant forms of EGFR has been identified as an attractive therapeutic approach and led to the approval of three generations of inhibitors. The quinazoline core has emerged as a favorable scaffold for the development of novel EGFR inhibitors due to increased affinity for the active site of EGFR kinase. Currently, there are five first-generation (gefitinib, erlotinib, lapatinib, vandetanib, and icotinib) and two second-generation (afatinib and dacomitinib) quinazoline-based EGFR inhibitors approved for the treatment of various types of cancers. The aim of this review is to outline the structural modulations favorable for the inhibitory activity toward both common mutant (del19 and L858R) and resistance-conferring mutant (T790M and C797S) EGFR forms, and provide an overview of the newly synthesized quinazoline derivatives as potentially competitive, covalent or allosteric inhibitors of EGFR.

Designing, Synthesis, and Anti-Breast Cancer Activity of a Series of New Quinazolin-4(1H)-one Derivatives

The inhibition of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA) protein could be a promising treatment for breast cancer. In this regard, docking studies were accomplished on various functionalized organic molecules. Among them, several derivatives of quinazolin-4(1H)-one exhibited anti-breast cancer activity and satisfied the drug likeliness properties. Further, the in vitro inhibitory studies by a series of 2-(2-phenoxyquinolin-3-yl)-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-one molecules showed strong anti-cancer activity than the currently available drug, wortmannin. The MTT cytotoxicity assay was used to predict the anti-proliferative activity of these drugs against MCF-7 cancer cells by inhibiting the PIK3CA protein. The dose-dependent analysis showed a striking decrease in cancer cell viability at 24 h with inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀ ) of 3b, 3c, 3d, 3f and 3m are 15±1, 17±1, 8±1, 10±1 and 60±1 (nanomoles), respectively. This is the first report in the literature on the inhibition of PIK3CA protein by quinazolinone derivatives that can be used in the treatment of cancer. Quinazolinone analogs have the potential to be safe and economically feasible scaffolds if they are produced using a chemical technique that is both straightforward and amenable to modification. From the cancer research perspective, this study can eventually offer better care for cancer patients.