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Wróbel A, Drozdowska D. Recent Design and Structure-Activity Relationship Studies on the Modifications of DHFR Inhibitors as Anticancer Agents. Curr Med Chem 2021; 28:910-939. [PMID: 31622199 DOI: 10.2174/0929867326666191016151018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2019] [Revised: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) has been known for decades as a molecular target for antibacterial, antifungal and anti-malarial treatments. This enzyme is becoming increasingly important in the design of new anticancer drugs, which is confirmed by numerous studies including modelling, synthesis and in vitro biological research. This review aims to present and discuss some remarkable recent advances in the research of new DHFR inhibitors with potential anticancer activity. METHODS The scientific literature of the last decade on the different types of DHFR inhibitors has been searched. The studies on design, synthesis and investigation structure-activity relationships were summarized and divided into several subsections depending on the leading molecule and its structural modification. Various methods of synthesis, potential anticancer activity and possible practical applications as DHFR inhibitors of new chemical compounds were described and discussed. RESULTS This review presents the current state of knowledge on the modification of known DHFR inhibitors and the structures and searches for about eighty new molecules, designed as potential anticancer drugs. In addition, DHFR inhibitors acting on thymidylate synthase (TS), carbon anhydrase (CA) and even DNA-binding are presented in this paper. CONCLUSION Thorough physicochemical characterization and biological investigations highlight the structure-activity relationship of DHFR inhibitors. This will enable even better design and synthesis of active compounds, which would have the expected mechanism of action and the desired activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Wróbel
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University, Białystok, Poland
| | - Danuta Drozdowska
- Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University, Białystok, Poland
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Investigations of antiproliferative and antioxidant activity of β-lactam morpholino-1,3,5-triazine hybrids. Bioorg Med Chem 2020; 28:115408. [PMID: 32165076 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2020.115408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Revised: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
This article reports for the first time the synthesis of some novel β-lactam morpholino-1,3,5-triazine hybrids by a [2+2]-cycloaddition reaction of imines 7a-c, 9a-c and 11 with ketenes derived from substituted acetic acids. The reaction was totally diastereoselective, leading exclusively to the formation of cis-β-lactams 8a-l, 10a-f and 12a-c. The synthesized compounds were tested for activity towards SW1116, MCF-7 and HepG2 cancer cell lines and non-cancerous HEK-293 cell line by MTT assay. None of the compounds exert an observable effect on HepG2, MCF-7 and HEK-293 cells, but compounds 7b, 8f, 8g, 8l, 10c, and 10e exhibited excellent growth inhibitory activity (IC50 < 5 µM) against SW 1116 cells, comparable to that of doxorubicin (IC50 = 6.9 µM). An evaluation of the antioxidant potential of each of the compounds, performed by diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, indicated that 7b, 9a, 9b and 9c have strong free radical scavenging activity. UV absorption titration studies reveal that 7b, 8l, 8g and 8f interact strongly with calf-thymus DNA (CT-DNA) in the order of 8l > 7b > 8f > 8g. Collectively, the in vitro capabilities of some of these morpholino-triazine imines and β-lactams suggest possible applications to development of new antioxidants and DNA binding therapeutics.
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Abstract
Background:
This review presents the exhaustive exploration of 1,3,5-triazine scaffold
for development of analogs of anticancer drugs, over the last century. In the recent years, striazine
moiety has been one of the most studied moiety, showing broad-spectrum pharmacological
activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, analgesic, anti-HIV, antileishmanial, antitrypanosomal,
antimalarial and antiviral. Nowadays, many boffins are have become interested in novel
synthesis of s-triazine derivatives because of low cost and ease of availability.
Methods:
This scaffold has been extensively investigated mainly in the past decade. Many products
have been synthesized from different starting materials and these synthetic products possess
anticancer potential against various cell lines.
Results:
Many 1,3,5-triazine analogs exhibited significant anticancer activity in various models
and cell lines exhibiting different mechanisms. Some analogs have also shown good pharmacokinetic
parameters with less IC50 values.
Conclusion:
Various 1,3,5-triazine analogs have shown potent activities and may be regarded as
clinical candidates for future anticancer formulations. This review may be helpful to those researchers
seeking required information with regard to the drug design and medicinal properties of
1,3,5-triazine derivatives for selected targets. This review may also offer help to find and improve
clinically viable anticancer molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajeev Kumar
- Devsthali Vidyapeeth College of Pharmacy, Lalpur, Rudrapur (U.S. Nagar)-263148, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Neeraj Kumar
- Devsthali Vidyapeeth College of Pharmacy, Lalpur, Rudrapur (U.S. Nagar)-263148, Uttarakhand, India
| | | | - Anita Singh
- Department of Pharmacy, Kumaun University, Bhimtal, Nainital-263136, Uttarakhand, India
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Novel dual-targeting anti-proliferative dihydrotriazine-chalcone derivatives display suppression of cancer cell invasion and inflammation by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. Food Chem Toxicol 2018; 116:238-248. [PMID: 29630947 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2018.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2017] [Revised: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/03/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Chalcones present in edible plants possess anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, with the Michael acceptor moiety reported to be responsible for their biological activities. In this study, two novel dihydrotriazine-chalcone compounds previously identified to exert anti-proliferative effects through dual-targeting of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), were evaluated for their anti-invasive and anti-inflammatory abilities. At non-lethal concentrations, the compounds suppressed in vitro migration of MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma cells, which was correlated with a dose-dependent downregulation of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) expression and secretion. At similar concentrations, these chalcone-based compounds suppressed expression of inflammatory mediators inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-stimulated murine macrophage-like RAW 264.7 cells, as well as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in LPS-stimulated human monocytes isolated from healthy donors. Mechanistically, inhibition of cancer cell invasion and inflammation by the compounds were mediated through suppression of the nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) signaling pathway, which corroborated with the reported mechanism of action of chalcones. Their abilities to target multiple biological mediators relevant to multi-step carcinogenesis and with bioactivities stronger than those of the parent chalcone scaffold have warranted dihydrotriazine-chalcone compounds as promising candidates for use in pharmacological intervention of aggressive cancers.
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Ng HL, Ma X, Chew EH, Chui WK. Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Coupled Bioactive Scaffolds as Potential Anticancer Agents for Dual Targeting of Dihydrofolate Reductase and Thioredoxin Reductase. J Med Chem 2017; 60:1734-1745. [PMID: 28177228 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.6b01253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) enzymes are involved in the process of tumor cell growth and survival. The 4,6-diamino-1,2-dihydro-1,3,5-triazine scaffold is well-established as a useful scaffold for DHFR inhibition, while chalcones have been reported to be inhibitors of TrxR. In this study, 15 novel compounds designed by the structural combination of the 4,6-diamino-1,2-dihydro-1,3,5-triazine and chalcone scaffolds via a diether linker were successfully synthesized and characterized. All of the compounds demonstrated dual inhibition against DHFR and TrxR when they were assessed by in vitro enzyme assays. The compounds also exhibited antiproliferative activity against the MCF-7 and HCT116 cells. The more potent analogs 14 and 15 were found to inhibit cellular DHFR and TrxR activities in HCT116 cells. Therefore, this study provided compelling evidence that 14 and 15 could exert their anticancer property via multitarget inhibition at the cellular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Li Ng
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore , 18 Science Drive 4, 117543, Singapore
| | - Xiang Ma
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology , Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Eng-Hui Chew
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore , 18 Science Drive 4, 117543, Singapore
| | - Wai-Keung Chui
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore , 18 Science Drive 4, 117543, Singapore
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Design, synthesis, docking studies and biological evaluation of novel dihydro-1,3,5-triazines as human DHFR inhibitors. Eur J Med Chem 2016; 125:1279-1288. [PMID: 27886545 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2016.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2016] [Revised: 11/04/2016] [Accepted: 11/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
A novel series of dihydro-1,3,5-triazine derivatives bearing a heteroatom spiro-ring were designed and synthesized on the basis of molecular flexible docking work, and their biological activities were evaluated. Compounds A2, A5, B1 and B3 showed potent human dihydrofolate reductase (hDHFR) inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 7.46 nM, 3.72 nM, 6.46 nM, 4.08 nM, versus reference drug methotrexate (MTX). From the molecular docking result we concluded that the conformation space generated by deformation of the flexible residue Phe31 is favorable for the binding of the spiro-ring, and inserting heteroatom into spiro ring might increase the binding affinity. There were 24 compounds with broadspectrum antiproliferative activity against several tumor cell lines (HCT116, A549, HL-60, HepG2 and MDA-MB-231) with IC50 values ranging from 0.79 to 0.001 μM. The antitumor activity in vivo of compound A2 was determined in a human alveolar basal epithelial cell line A549 xenograft model. This study offered novel anticancer agents with high inhibitory activity that target hDHFR and have a binding mode of the novel molecular scaffold with hDHFR. This provides potent support for further development of novel hDHFR inhibitors.
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Ng HL, Chen S, Chew EH, Chui WK. Applying the designed multiple ligands approach to inhibit dihydrofolate reductase and thioredoxin reductase for anti-proliferative activity. Eur J Med Chem 2016; 115:63-74. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2016.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2015] [Revised: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Ma X, Xiang G, Yap CW, Chui WK. 3D-QSAR Study on dihydro-1,3,5-triazines and their spiro derivatives as DHFR inhibitors by comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA). Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2012; 22:3194-7. [PMID: 22483391 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2012.03.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2011] [Revised: 03/08/2012] [Accepted: 03/09/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
A 3D-QSAR/CoMFA was performed for a series of triazine and its spiro derivative based DHFR inhibitors displaying IC(50) values ranging from 0.002 to 58.8 μM. Analyses resulted in a reliable computational model with the parameters of n=46, r(2)=0.986, q(2)=0.724, SE=0.164, F=275.889. It is shown that the steric and electrostatic properties predicted by CoMFA contours can be related to the DHFR inhibitory activity. The predictive ability of the resultant model was evaluated using a test set comprised of 18 molecules and the results show that the CoMFA model is able to correctly predict the poor inhibitory activities of the compounds in the testing set. This model is a significant guide to trace the features that really matter especially with respect to the design of novel compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Ma
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan 430030, Hubei, China.
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