Design and molecular modeling of novel P38α MAPK inhibitors targeting breast cancer, synthesized from oxygen heterocyclic natural compounds

Identification of new 5-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-5H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-7-carboxylic acids as p38α MAPK inhibitors: Design, synthesis, antitumor evaluation, molecular docking and in silico studies

In pursuit of discovering novel scaffolds that demonstrate potential inhibitory activity against p38α MAPK and possess strong antitumor effects, we herein report the design and synthesis of new series of 17 final target 5-(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-5H-thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-7-carboxylic acids (4-20). Chemical characterization of the compounds was performed using FT-IR, NMR, elemental analyses and mass spectra of some representative examples. With many compounds showing potential inhibitory activity against p38α MAPK, two derivatives, 8 and 9, demonstrated the highest activity (>70 % inhibition) among the series. Derivative 9 displayed IC50 value nearly 2.5 folds more potent than 8. As anticipated, they both showed explicit interactions inside the kinase active site with the key binding amino acid residues. Screening both compounds for cytotoxic effects, they exhibited strong antitumor activities against lung (A549), breast (MCF-7 and MDA MB-231), colon (HCT-116) and liver (Hep-G2) cancers more potent than reference 5-FU. Their noticeable strong antitumor activity pointed out to the possibility of an augmented DNA binding mechanism of antitumor action besides their kinase inhibition. Both 8 and 9 exhibited strong ctDNA damaging effects in nanomolar range. Further mechanistic antitumor studies revealed ability of compounds 8 and 9 to arrest cell cycle in MCF-7 cells at S phase, while in HCT-116 treated cells at G0-G1 and G2/M phases. They also displayed apoptotic induction effects in both MCF-7 and HCT-116 with total cell deaths more than control untreated cells in reference to 5-FU. Finally, the compounds were tested for their anti-migratory potential utilizing wound healing assay. They induced a significant decrease in wound closure percentage after 24 h treatment in the examined cancer cells when compared to untreated control MCF-7 and HCT-116 cells better than 5-FU. In silico computation of physicochemical parameters revealed the drug-like properties of 8 and 9 with no violation to Lipinski's rule of five as well as their tolerable ADMET parameters, thus suggesting their utilization as potential future drug leads amenable for further optimization and development.

Function and inhibition of P38 MAP kinase signaling: Targeting multiple inflammation diseases

Inflammation is a natural host defense mechanism that protects the body from pathogenic microorganisms. A growing body of research suggests that inflammation is a key factor in triggering other diseases (lung injury, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.). However, there is no consensus on the complex mechanism of inflammatory response, which may include enzyme activation, mediator release, and tissue repair. In recent years, p38 MAPK, a member of the MAPKs family, has attracted much attention as a central target for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. However, many p38 MAPK inhibitors attempting to obtain marketing approval have failed at the clinical trial stage due to selectivity and/or toxicity issues. In this paper, we discuss the mechanism of p38 MAPK in regulating inflammatory response and its key role in major inflammatory diseases and summarize the synthetic or natural products targeting p38 MAPK to improve the inflammatory response in the last five years, which will provide ideas for the development of novel clinical anti-inflammatory drugs based on p38 MAPK inhibitors.

Design and Synthesis of Novel Pyridine-Based Compounds as Potential PIM-1 Kinase Inhibitors, Apoptosis, and Autophagy Inducers Targeting MCF-7 Cell Lines: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

2-((3-Cyano-4,6-dimethylpyridin-2-yl)oxy)acetohydrazide 1 was used as the precursor for the synthesis of 5-thioxo-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)methoxy)nicotinonitrile 2. The latter was alkylated with different alkylating agents to produce the S-alkylated products 3-6. Galactosylation of 5-thioxo-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)methoxy)nicotinonitrile 2 produces a mixture of S- and N-galactosides 8 and 9. The hydrazide 1 is converted to azide 10, coupled with glycine methyl ester hydrochloride and a set of amines to produce the target coupled amides 11-15. New compounds were assigned using NMR and elemental analysis. Compound 12 had potent cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 0.5 and 5.27 μM against MCF-7 and HepG2 cell lines compared with doxorubicin, which displayed the following IC50: 2.14 and 2.48 μM for the mentioned cell lines, respectively. Regarding the molecular target, compound 12 exhibited potent PIM-1 inhibition activity with 97.5% with an IC50 value of 14.3 nM compared to Staurosporine (96.8%, IC50 = 16.7 nM). Moreover, compound 12 significantly activated apoptotic cell death in MCF-7 cells, increasing the cell population by total apoptosis by 33.43% (23.18% for early apoptosis and 10.25% for late apoptosis) compared to the untreated control group (0.64%), and arresting the cell cycle at S-phase by 36.02% compared to control 29.12%. Besides, compound 12 caused tumor inhibition by 42.1% in solid tumors in the SEC-bearing mice. Results disclosed that compound 12 significantly impeded cell migration and cell proliferation by interfering with PIM-1 enzymatic activity via considerable apoptosis-induction, which made it an attractive lead compound for the development of chemotherapeutics to treat breast cancer.

EGFR and PI3K/m-TOR inhibitors: design, microwave assisted synthesis and anticancer activity of thiazole-coumarin hybrids

A series of thiazoline and thiazolidinone-based 4-hydroxycoumarin derivatives were synthesized using both conventional synthesis procedures and microwave-assisted techniques. The new compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic effect against three human cancer cell lines; MCF-7, HCT-116 and HepG2 and one normal human cell line (BJ-1). The promising anti-proliferative compounds 2a, 2b, 6a and 6b were assessed for inhibiting EGFR and PI3K/mTOR. Compound 6a showed the highest inhibition activity towards the signaling pathway. The apoptotic effect and cell cycle arrest potential of derivative 6a were examined. Moreover, the molecular docking, physicochemical properties and pharmacokinetic parameters of the promising compound were investigated, as well.

Anticancer therapeutic potential of benzofuran scaffolds

Benzofuran moiety is the main component of many biologically active natural and synthetic heterocycles. These heterocycles have unique therapeutic potentials and are involved in various clinical drugs. The reported results confirmed the extraordinary inhibitory potency of such benzofurans against a panel of human cancer cell lines compared with a wide array of reference anticancer drugs. Several publications about the anticancer potencies of benzofuran-based heterocycles were encountered. The recent developments of anticancer activities of both natural and synthetic benzofuran scaffolds during 2019-2022 are thoroughly covered. Many of the described benzofurans are promising candidates for development as anticancer agents based on their outstanding inhibitory potency against a panel of human cancer cells compared with reference anticancer drugs. These findings encourage medicinal chemists to explore new areas to improve human health and reduce suffering.

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.

Exploring Synthesis and Chemotherapeutic Potential of Thiosemicarbazide Analogs

BACKGROUND

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. Researchers are continually finding new and more effective medications to battle the diseases.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to identify the emerging role of Thiosemicarbazide analogs for different types of cancer targets with a glance at different novel synthetic routes reported for their synthesis.

METHODS

A systematic literature review was conducted from various sources over the last 15 years with the inclusion of published research and review articles that involves the synthesis and use of thiosemicarbazide analogs for different targets of cancer. Data from the literature review for synthesis and anticancer potential for specific targets for cancer studies of thiosemicarbazide analogs are summarized in the paper.

RESULTS

There are several emerging studies for new synthetic routes of thiosemicarbazide derivatives with their role in various types of cancers. The main limitation is the lack of clinical trial of the key findings for the emergence of new anticancer medication with thiosemicarbazide moiety.

CONCLUSION

Emerging therapies exist for use of a limited number of medications for the treatment of cancer; results of the ongoing studies will provide more robust evidence in the future.

Antitumor and multikinase inhibition activities of some synthesized coumarin and benzofuran derivatives

Two new series of coumarin and benzofuran derivatives were designed, synthesized, and assessed for their in vitro and in vivo antitumor activities against breast cancer. Compounds 8, 9, 14, 15, and 17 exhibited the best antiproliferative activities (IC₅₀ : 0.07-2.94 μM) against the MCF-7 cell line, compared with lapatinib (IC₅₀ : 4.69 μM). Compound 14, with the most potent cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cells, was capable of enhancing preG1 apoptosis and triggering cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. The kinase inhibitory activity of compound 14 against a panel of 22 kinases was examined to reveal multikinase inhibition within -39% to -97%. Furthermore, compound 14 exhibited potent in vivo Ehrlich (mammary adenocarcinoma) tumor regression, positive caspase-3, and negative EGFR immunoreaction, and was capable of elevating the catalase level. The physicochemical properties and pharmacokinetic parameters of compound 14 were investigated in silico for its druglikeness.

Inhibitors and Activators of the p38 Mitogen- Activated MAP Kinase (MAPK) Family as Drugs to Treat Cancer and Inflammation

The p38 MAP kinases are a sub-family of the broad group of mitogen-activated serine-threonine protein kinases. The best-characterised, most widely expressed, and most targeted by drugs is p38α MAP kinase. This review briefly summarises the place of p38α MAP kinase in cellular signalling and discusses the structures and activity profiles of representative examples of the major classes of inhibitors and activators (both synthetic compounds and natural products) of this enzyme. Primary screening was primarily direct in vitro inhibition of isolated p38α enzyme.

Design, Synthesis and Molecular Modeling of Coumarin Derivatives as MDM2 Inhibitors Targeting Breast Cancer

The coumarin ring was used as a central scaffold that was substituted with a variety of bioactive functional groups, for designing and synthesizing novel MDM2 inhibitors targeting breast cancer. The synthesized derivatives, 3c, 3d, 3g, 7b, 7c and 8 with IC_50s ranging from 9.4 to 9.9 µM were evaluated for their safety on MCF10a normal breast cell line. The compounds showed selectivity indices of 2.15, 3.85, 2.75, 1.38, 3.72 and 5.20 respectively. 7c was selected for further investigation, the compound was capable of down-regulating MDM2 and the anti-apoptosis proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, up-regulating the level of p53 and the pro-apoptosis protein BAX, causing cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase and activating Caspase-9 to induce apoptosis. Molecular docking study revealed the capability of derivative 7c to interact with the key amino acids in p53 binding pocket of MDM2 protein. Moreover, the physicochemical properties of compound 7c were studied in silico.

Design, Synthesis and Molecular Modeling of Quinoline Based Derivatives as Anti-Breast Cancer Agents Targeting EGFR/AKT Signaling Pathway

Two series of quinoline-thiazole and quinoline-thiazolidinone hybrids were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antitumor activity on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. In comparison to lapatinib (IC₅₀ =4.69 µM), compounds 4b and 6b exhibited the best antiproliferative activity with IC₅₀ values of 33.19 and 5.35 µM, respectively. Although compound 6b showed higher cytotoxicity, compound 4b exhibited better inhibitory activity towards the EGFR pathway than compound 6b as represented by the significant reduction in the EGFR kinase activity and the levels of phosho-EGFR and phosho-AKT when compared to lapatinib as a reference standard. Moreover, compound 4b was capable of down-regulating the anti-apoptotic genes Bcl-2 and survivin and up-regulating the level of the pro-apoptotic gene BAX. Molecular modeling study was carried out to predict the binding interactions of both compounds into the target kinase. Finally, the physicochemical properties were investigated in silico as well.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of halogenated phenoxychalcones and their corresponding pyrazolines as cytotoxic agents in human breast cancer

Novel halogenated phenoxychalcones 2a–f and their corresponding N-acetylpyrazolines 3a–f were synthesised and evaluated for their anticancer activities against breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and normal breast cell line (MCF-10a), compared with staurosporine. All compounds showed moderate to good cytotoxic activity when compared to control. Compound 2c was the most active, with IC₅₀ = 1.52 µM and selectivity index = 15.24. Also, chalcone 2f showed significant cytotoxic activity with IC₅₀ = 1.87 µM and selectivity index = 11.03. Compound 2c decreased both total mitogen activated protein kinase (p38α MAPK) and phosphorylated enzyme in MCF-7 cells, suggesting its ability to decrease cell proliferation and survival. It also showed the ability to induce ROS in MCF-7 treated cells. Compound 2c exhibited apoptotic behaviour in MCF-7 cells due to cell accumulation in G2/M phase and elevation in late apoptosis 57.78-fold more than control. Docking studies showed that compounds 2c and 2f interact with p38alpha MAPK active sites.

Recent developments in mitogen activated protein kinase inhibitors as potential anticancer agents

The mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) belongs to group of kinase that links the extracellular stimuli to intracellular response. The MAPK signalling pathway (RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK) involved in different pathological conditions like cancer, caused due to genetic or any other factor such as physical or environmental. Many studies have been conducted on the pathological view of MAPK cascade and its associated element like RAS, RAF, MEK, ERK or its isoforms, and still the research is going on particularly with respect to its activation, regulation and inhibition. The MAPK signalling pathway has become the area of research to identify new target for the management of cancer. A number of heterocyclics are key to fight with the cancer associated with these enzymes thus give some hope in the management of cancer by inhibiting MAPK cascade. In the present article, we have focussed on MAPK signalling pathway and role of different heterocyclic scaffolds bearing nitrogen, sulphur and oxygen and about their potential to block MAPK signalling pathway. The heterocyclics are gaining importance due to high potency and selectivity with less off-target effects against different targets involved in the MAPK signalling pathway. We have tried to cover recent advancements in the MAPK signalling pathway inhibitors with an aim to get better understanding of the mechanism of action of the compounds. Several compounds in the preclinical and clinical studies have been thoroughly dealt with. In addition to the synthetic compounds, a significant number of natural products containing heterocyclic moieties as MAPK signalling pathway inhibitors have been put together. The structure activity relationship along with docking studies have been discussed to apprehend the mechanistic studies of various compounds that will ultimately help to design and develop more MAPK signalling pathway inhibitors.

Angiokinase inhibition of VEGFR-2, PDGFR and FGFR and cell growth inhibition in lung cancer: Design, synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular docking of novel azaheterocyclic coumarin derivatives

The present work represents the design and synthesis of some azaheterocyclic coumarin derivatives which are evaluated as anti-lung cancer agents. Ten out of the twenty azaheterocyclic compounds showed superior activity than the standard drug staurosporine against non-small cell lung cancer (A549). Representing the four different azaheterocyclic series, compounds 4a, 5d, 6e, and 7d, which demonstrated IC_50s of 2.38, 2.39, 1.05 and 3.98 µM, respectively, each exhibiting the best cytotoxicity in its group, were selected for further assessment of their toxicity on normal lung cells (WI-38). Compound 4a was selected for further investigations because it remarkably revealed less cytotoxicity (IC₅₀ = 53.76 µM) than 7d (IC₅₀ = 19.95 µM) on (WI-38) compared to staurosporine (IC₅₀ = 24.41 µM). 4a was assessed for its ability to inhibit the angiokinases VEGFR-2, PDGFR, FGFR and the growth factor EGFR, remarkably it showed better VEGFR-2, PDGFR, FGFR inhibition than the reference drugs used and exhibited as well noticeable EGFR inhibition. Going further, 4a was capable of arresting the cell cycle at pre-G1 phase and S phase and inducing apoptosis. Moreover, the capability of the target 4a to interact with the key amino acids of VEGFR-2 binding site was detected by molecular docking. Finally, the in silico physicochemical properties of 4a were studied.

Off-target toxicity is a common mechanism of action of cancer drugs undergoing clinical trials

Ninety-seven percent of drug-indication pairs that are tested in clinical trials in oncology never advance to receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. While lack of efficacy and dose-limiting toxicities are the most common causes of trial failure, the reason(s) why so many new drugs encounter these problems is not well understood. Using CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis, we investigated a set of cancer drugs and drug targets in various stages of clinical testing. We show that-contrary to previous reports obtained predominantly with RNA interference and small-molecule inhibitors-the proteins ostensibly targeted by these drugs are nonessential for cancer cell proliferation. Moreover, the efficacy of each drug that we tested was unaffected by the loss of its putative target, indicating that these compounds kill cells via off-target effects. By applying a genetic target-deconvolution strategy, we found that the mischaracterized anticancer agent OTS964 is actually a potent inhibitor of the cyclin-dependent kinase CDK11 and that multiple cancer types are addicted to CDK11 expression. We suggest that stringent genetic validation of the mechanism of action of cancer drugs in the preclinical setting may decrease the number of therapies tested in human patients that fail to provide any clinical benefit.

Prostaglandins Isolated from the Octocoral Plexaura homomalla: In Silico and In Vitro Studies Against Different Enzymes of Cancer

Prostaglandin A₂-AcMe (1) and Prostaglandin A₂ (2) were isolated from the octocoral Plexaurahomomalla and three semisynthetic derivatives (3–5) were then obtained using a reduction protocol. All compounds were identified through one- and two-dimensional (1D and 2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Additionally, evaluation of in vitro cytotoxic activity against the breast (MDA-MB-213) and lung (A549) cancer cell lines, in combination with enzymatic activity and molecular docking studies with the enzymes p38α-kinase, Src-kinase, and topoisomerase IIα, were carried out for compounds 1–5 in order to explore their potential as inhibitors of cancer-related molecular targets. Results showed that prostaglandin A₂ (2) was the most potent compound with an IC₅₀ of 16.46 and 25.20 μg/mL against MDA-MB-213 and A549 cell lines, respectively. In addition, this compound also inhibited p38α-kinase in 49% and Src-kinase in 59% at 2.5 μM, whereas topoisomerase IIα was inhibited in 64% at 10 μM. Enzymatic activity was found to be consistent with molecular docking simulations, since compound 2 also showed the lowest docking scores against the topoisomerase IIα and Src-kinase (−8.7 and −8.9 kcal/mol, respectively). Thus, molecular docking led to establish some insights into the predicted binding modes. Results suggest that prostaglandin 2 can be considered as a potential lead for development inhibitors against some enzymes present in cancer processes.