Modular synthesis of new C-aryl-nucleosides and their anti-CML activity

The Progress of Small Molecule Targeting BCR-ABL in the Treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a malignant myeloproliferative disease. According to the American Cancer Society's 2021 cancer data report, new cases of CML account for about 15% of all leukemias. CML is generally divided into three stages: chronic phase, accelerated phase, and blast phase. Nearly 90% of patients are diagnosed as a chronic phase. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation and chemotherapeutic drugs, such as interferon IFN-α were used as the earliest treatments for CML. However, they could generate obvious side effects, and scientists had to seek new treatments for CML. A new era of targeted therapy for CML began with the introduction of imatinib, the first-generation BCR-ABL kinase inhibitor. However, the ensuing drug resistance and mutant strains led by T315I limited the further use of imatinib. With the continuous advancement of research, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) and BCR-ABL protein degraders with novel structures and therapeutic mechanisms have been discovered. From biological macromolecules to classical target protein inhibitors, a growing number of compounds are being developed to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia. In this review, we focus on summarizing the current situation of a series of candidate small-molecule drugs in CML therapy, including TKIs and BCR-ABL protein degrader. The examples provided herein describe the pharmacology activity of small-molecule drugs. These drugs will provide new enlightenment for future treatment directions.

Ultrasound-assisted one-pot three-component synthesis of new isoxazolines bearing sulfonamides and their evaluation against hematological malignancies

In the present study, following a one-pot two-step protocol, we have synthesized novel sulfonamides-isoxazolines hybrids (3a-r) via a highly regioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. The present methodology capitalized on trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA) as a safe and ecological oxidant and chlorinating agent for the in-situ conversion of aldehydes to nitrile oxides in the presence of hydroxylamine hydrochloride, under ultrasound activation. These nitrile oxides could be engaged in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions with various alkene to afford the targeted sulfonamides-isoxazolines hybrids (3a-r). The latter were assessed for their antineoplastic activity against model leukemia cell lines (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, K562 and Promyelocytic Leukemia, HL-60).

Vitamin E TPGS 1000 Induces Apoptosis in the K562 Cell Line: Implications for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a hematologic malignancy derived from the myeloid lineage molecularly characterized by t(9;22)(q34;q11) resulting in BCR-ABL1 gene fusion, which is known as Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome. Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have restored and maintained the quality of life of patients with CML, an important minority of patients become resistant to first-and-second-generation TKIs and require an alternative treatment. The K562 cell (Ph+, p53-/-) line was treated with Vit E TPGS 1000 (20-80 μM) only or with other products of interest (e.g., antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC), specific JNK and caspase-3 inhibitor SP600125, and NSCSI, respectively) for 24 h at 37°C. Cells were analyzed by fluorescence microscopy (FM), flow cytometry (FC), and Western blotting (WB) techniques. We show that TPGS induces apoptosis in K562 cells through H₂O₂ signaling mechanism comprising the activation of a minimal molecular cascade: the kinase JNK>the transcription factor c-JUN>the activation of BCL-only BH3 proapoptotic protein PUMA>loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ _m)>activation of caspase-3>chromatin condensation>fragmentation of DNA. Additionally, TPGS oxidizes the stress sensor protein DJ-1-Cys106-SH into DJ-1-Cys106-SO₃ and arrested the cell cycle in the S phase. Remarkably, NAC, SP600125, and NSCSI blocked TPGS-induced OS and apoptosis in K562. Since TPGS is safe in mice and humans, it is especially promising for preclinical and clinical CML leukemia research. Our findings support the view that oxidation therapy offers an important opportunity to eliminate CML.

An efficient synthesis tetrazole and oxadiazole analogues of novel 2'-deoxy-C-nucleosides and their antitumor activity

Various tetrazole and oxadiazole C-nucleoside analogues were synthesized starting from pure α- or β-glycosyl-cyanide. The synthesis of glycosyl-cyanide as key precursor was optimized on gram-scale to furnish crystalline starting material for the assembly of C-nucleosides. Oxadizole C-nucleosides were synthesized via two independent routes. First,  the glycosyl-cyanide was converted into an amidoxime which upon ring closure offered an alternative pathway for the assembly of 1,2,4-oxadizoles in an efficient manner. Second, both anomers of glycosyl-cyanide were transformed into tetrazole nucleosides followed by acylative rearrangement to furnish 1,3,4-oxadiazoles in high yields. These protocols offer an easy access to otherwise difficult to synthesize C-nucleosides in good yield and protecting group compatibility. These C-nucleosides were evaluated for their antitumor activity. This work paves a path for facile assembly of library of new chemical entities useful for drug discovery.

Synthesis, 3D-structure and stability analyses of NRPa-308, a new promising anti-cancer agent

We report herein the synthesis of a newly described anti-cancer agent, NRPa-308. This compound antagonizes Neuropilin-1, a multi-partners transmembrane receptor overexpressed in numerous tumors, and thereby validated as promising target in oncology. The preparation of NRPa-308 proved challenging because of the orthogonality of the amide and sulphonamide bonds formation. Nevertheless, we succeeded a gram scale synthesis, according to an expeditious three steps route, without intermediate purification. This latter point is of utmost interest in reducing the ecologic impact and production costs in the perspective of further scale-up processes. The purity of NRPa-308 has been attested by means of conventional structural analyses and its crystallisation allowed a structural assessment by X-Ray diffraction. We also reported the remarkable chemical stability of this molecule in acidic, neutral and basic aqueous media. Eventually, we observed for the first time the accumulation of NRPa-308 in two types of human breast cancer cells MDA-MB231 and BT549.