QSAR study on topically acting sulfonamides incorporating GABA moieties: A molecular connectivity approach

Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs). Structure--activity relationships: history and new QSAR perspectives

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition is a recent, clinically validated therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. HDAC inhibitors (HDACIs) block angiogenesis, arrest cell growth, and lead to differentiation and apoptosis in tumor cells. In this article, a survey of published quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) studies are presented and discussed in the hope of identifying the structural determinants for anticancer activity. Secondly a two-dimensional QSAR study was carried out on biological results derived from various types of HDACIs and from different assays using the C-QSAR program of Biobyte. The QSAR analysis presented here is an attempt to organize the knowledge on the HDACIs with the purpose of designing new chemical entities with enhanced inhibitory potencies and to study the mechanism of action of the compounds. This study revealed that lipophilicity is one of the most important determinants of activity. Additionally, steric factors such as the overall molar refractivity (CMR), molar volume (MgVol), the substituent's molar refractivity (MR) (linear or parabola), or the sterimol parameters B(1) and L are important. Electronic parameters indicated as σ(p), are found to be present only in one case.

Taxane analogues against breast cancer: a quantitative structure-activity relationship study

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States. Two taxane analogues, taxol and taxotere, are the most important antimitotic drugs currently in clinical use for the treatment of breast cancers. However, recent reports have indicated that the use of these drugs often results in various undesired side effects as well as multi-drug resistance. These limitations have led to the development of new taxane derivatives with fewer side effects, superior pharmacological properties, and improved anticancer activity to maximize the induced benefits for breast cancer patients. Herein, four series of taxane derivatives were used to correlate their inhibitory activities against breast cancer cells with their hydrophobic and steric properties in order to understand their chemical-biological interactions. The resulting QSARs show that the inhibitory activities of taxane analogues against breast cancers are mainly dependent either on their hydrophobicity or the hydrophobic/molar refractivity descriptor of their substituents. A parabolic correlation with MR(Y) is the most encouraging example, in which the optimum value of this parameter is well defined. We believe this correlation may prove to be an adequate predictive model that can help provide guidance in design and synthesis and subsequently yield highly specific compounds that may have high anti-breast-cancer activity with fewer side effects and superior pharmacological properties. On the basis of this QSAR model, five compounds are suggested as potential synthetic targets. Internal (cross-validation (LOO-q(2) and LMO-q(2)), quality factor (Q), Fischer statistics (F), and Y-randomization) and external validation tests have validated all the QSAR models.

Some QSAR studies for a group of sulfonamide Schiff base as carbonic anhydrase CA II inhibitors

In the present study, quantitative structure–activity-relationship (QSAR) study on a group of sulfonamide Schiff-base inhibitors of Carbonic Anhydrase (CA) enzyme has been carried out using Codessa Pro methodology and software. Linear regression QSAR models of the biological activity (Ki) of 38 inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase CA-II isozyme were established with 12 different molecular descriptors which were selected from more than hundreds of geometrical, topological, quantum-mechanical, and electronic types of descriptors and calculated using Codessa Pro software. Among the models presented in this study, statistically the most significant one is a five-parameter equation with correlation coefficient, R² values of ca. 0.840, and the cross-validated correlation coefficient, R² values of ca. 0.777. The obtained models allowed us to reveal some physicochemical and structural factors, which are strongly correlated with the biological activity of the compounds.

Understanding tubulin/microtubule-taxane interactions: a quantitative structure-activity relationship study

For years, the microtubule-stabilizing agents paclitaxel and docetaxel (progenitors of the family of taxanes) have been the most successful anticancer drugs currently used in clinics. However, both drugs are associated with notorious side effects, drug resistance, and cross resistance with other chemotherapeutic agents. These limitations have led to the search for new drugs with improved biological activity. In the present paper, we discuss the interaction of taxanes with the tubulin/microtubule system by the formulation of 6 QSARs. Hydrophobicity of the substituents (pi) is found to be one of the most important determinants of the activity followed by steric parameters. Parabolic correlations (eqs 3 and 7) with B5 and pi are the most encouraging examples, where the optimum values of these parameters are well defined. We believe that these two QSARs may prove to be adequate predictive models that can help to provide guidance in design/synthesis and subsequently yield very specific compounds (IV and VIII) that may have high biological activities. On the basis of these two QSARs 3 and 7, 18 compounds (IV-12- IV-22 and VIII-16- VIII-22) are suggested as potential synthetic targets. Cross-validation, quality factor (Q), Fischer statistics (F), and Y-randomization tests have validated all the QSAR models.

Investigation of DNA‐Binding Properties of Organic Molecules Using Quantitative Structure‐Activity Relationship (QSAR) Models

Due to the great potential of DNA as a receptor, many classes of synthetic and naturally occurring molecules exert their anticancer activities through DNA-binding. In the field of antitumor DNA-binding agents, a number of acridine and anthracycline derivatives are in the market as chemotherapeutic agents. However, the clinical application of such classes of compounds has encountered problems such as multi-drug resistance and secondary and/or collateral effects. Thus, there has been increasing interest in discovering and developing small molecules that are capable of DNA-binding, which will be expected to be used either in place of or in conjunction with, the existing compounds. The interest in the application of the QSAR paradigm has steadily increased in recent decades and we hope it may be useful in the design and development of DNA-binding molecules as new anticancer agents. In the present review, an attempt has been made to understand the DNA-binding properties of different compound series and discussed using 27 QSAR models, which reveal a number of interesting points. The most important determinants for the activity in these models are Hammett electronic (sigma and sigma+), hydrophobic, molar refractivity, and Sterimol width parameters.

20-(S)-Camptothecin Analogues as DNA Topoisomerase I Inhibitors: A QSAR Study

The interest in the application of the quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR) has steadily increased in recent decades because it has repeatedly proven itself to be a low-cost, high-return investment. Potential use of QSAR models for screening of chemical databases or virtual libraries before their synthesis appears equally attractive to chemical manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and government agencies. We hope it may also be useful in the design and development of new camptothecin derivatives as DNA topoisomerase I (topo I) inhibitors. In this paper, two series of camptothecin derivatives were undertaken to correlate DNA topo I inhibition with their hydrophobic and steric properties, to understand their chemical-biological interactions. The resulting QSAR have shown that the inhibitory activity of camptothecin analogues 4 toward DNA topo I is mainly dependent on their hydrophobic and steric descriptors, whereas the same activity of 10,11-methylenedioxy- camptothecin analogues 5 is largely dependent on their hydrophobicity at position-7. Using internal [cross-validation, quality factor (Q), Fischer statistics (F), and Y-randomization tests] and external validation tests both of these QSAR models have been validated. Both series of these camptothecin derivatives are also filtered by Lipinski's rule of five to check their oral bioavailability. On the basis of these QSAR models, five compounds (4-35, 4-36, 5-20, 5-21, and 5-22) have been predicted that may be the next synthetic target. These molecules also fulfill the conditions of Lipinski's rule of five.

Homology modeling and receptor-based 3D-QSAR study of carbonic anhydrase IX

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) IX is a very interesting subject for study due to its overexpression in cancer and its expression in very few normal tissues. There are not yet experimental 3D structures of the catalytic domain of this isozyme, and only a few computational studies have been reported. A homology model of CA IX was developed, and using Gold software 124 CA IX inhibitors were docked. The best poses of the ligands were then used as an alignment tool for the development of the first reported CA IX 3D-QSAR model. The obtained results confirm the reliability of the constructed CA IX model and the proposed computational strategy for investigating CAs.

QSAR studies on the activation of the human carbonic anhydrase cytosolic isoforms I and II and secretory isozyme VI with amino acids and amines

The first QSAR study on the activation of the human secretory isoform of the metalloenzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1), CA VI, with a series of amines and amino acids is reported. A large set of topological indices have been used to obtain several tri-/tetra-parametric models. We compared the CA VI activating QSAR models with those calculated for activation of the cytosolic human isozymes hCA I and hCA II. In addition, the effect of D- and L-amino acids as activators of hCA I, hCA II and of hCA VI as compared to those of structurally related biogenic amines was investigated for obtaining statistically significant and predictive QSAR equations. The obtained models are discussed using a variety of statistical parameters. The best models were obtained for hCA II activation, followed by hCA I, whereas the QSAR models for the activation of hCA VI were statistically weaker.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs): chemical-biological functions and (Q)SARs

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a large family of calcium-dependent zinc-containing endopeptidases, which are responsible for the tissue remodeling and degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM), including collagens, elastins, gelatin, matrix glycoproteins, and proteoglycan. They are regulated by hormones, growth factors, and cytokines, and are involved in ovarian functions. MMPs are excreted by a variety of connective tissue and pro-inflammatory cells including fibroblasts, osteoblasts, endothelial cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and lymphocytes. These enzymes are expressed as zymogens, which are subsequently processed by other proteolytic enzymes (such as serine proteases, furin, plasmin, and others) to generate the active forms. Matrix metalloproteinases are considered as promising targets for the treatment of cancer due to their strong involvement in malignant pathologies. Clinical/preclinical studies on MMP inhibition in tumor models brought positive results raising the idea that the development of strategies to inhibit MMPs may be proved to be a powerful tool to fight against cancer. However, the presence of an inherent flexibility in the MMP active-site limits dramatically the accurate modeling of MMP-inhibitor complexes. The interest in the application of quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) has steadily increased in recent decades and we hope it may be useful in elucidating the mechanisms of chemical-biological interactions for this enzyme. In the present review, an attempt has been made to explore the in-depth knowledge from the classification of this enzyme to the clinical trials of their inhibitors. A total number of 92 QSAR models (44 published and 48 new formulated QSAR models) have also been presented to understand the chemical-biological interactions. QSAR results on the inhibition of various compound series against MMP-1, -2, -3, -7, -8, -9, -12, -13, and -14 reveal a number of interesting points. The most important of these are hydrophobicity and molar refractivity, which are the most important determinants of the activity.

Understanding human rhinovirus infections in terms of QSAR

The human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are the single most important cause of common colds. The widespread nature of this affliction, the economic consequences, and the well-known impracticality of vaccine development due to the large number of HRV serotypes (>100) have justified the search for chemotherapeutic agents. The interest in the application of quantitative structure-activity relationships has steadily increased in recent decades and we hope it may be useful in the search for anti-HRV agents. In the present paper, we have discussed the inhibition of various six compound series against HRV-1A, -1B, -2, -9, -14, -21, -22, -25, -64, and -89 by the formulation of a total number of 14 QSAR. Hydrophobicity is found to be one of the most important determinants of activity. Parabolic correlation with the hydrophobic parameter (Eq. ) is an encouraging example, where the optimal hydrophobicity is well defined. We believe that this may be the predictive model to narrow the synthetic challenges in order to yield very specific HRV-2 inhibitors. On the basis of this model, we have predicted eleven compounds (I-1 to I-11) that may be the next synthetic target. The proposed molecules (I-1 to I-11) also fulfill the conditions of Lipinski's "rule of five".