Discovery of novel benzothiophene derivatives as potent and narrow spectrum inhibitors of DYRK1A and DYRK1B

Identification of novel ureido benzothiophenes as dual VEGFR-2/EGFR anticancer agents

Presently, dual-targeting by a single small molecule stands out as a fruitful cancer-fighting strategy. Joining the global effort to fight cancer, a leading cause of death worldwide, we report in this study a novel set for benzothiophene-based aryl urea derivatives as potential anti-proliferative candidates endowed with dual VEGFR-2/EGFR inhibitory activities. The prepared ureido benzothiophenes 6a-r have been evaluated for their anticancer action on a panel of tumor cell lines, namely PanC-1, MCF-7, and HepG2 cells. Most newly synthesized benzo[b]thiophene ureas disclosed effective cytotoxic activities against the examined cancer cell lines. In particular, compound 6q, with an appended 4-trifluoromethoxy group on the terminal phenyl ring, exhibited the most significant cytotoxic activity in MCF-7 with IC50 3.86 ± 0.72 ug/mL; IC50 of 3.65 ± 0.18 ug/ml in PanC-1 cell line and an IC50 of 4.78 ± 0.06 ug/ml in HepG2. After that, derivatives that exhibited the most potent cytotoxic activities (6g, 6j, 6q, and 6r) were further evaluated as VEGFR-2 and EGFR inhibitors. Fortunately, they displayed low nanomolar IC50 values against both enzymes, where compound 6q emerged to possess superior inhibitory effects towards both EGFR and VEGFR-2 with IC50 46.6 nM and 11.3 nM simultaneously compared to the reference medications Erlotinib and Sorafenib, respectively. The docked structure of 6q within the catalytic region of VEGFR-2 and EGFR kinases was acquired and studied so that we could investigate potential binding mechanisms for the target ureido benzothiophenes. Hence, the benzothiophene-based aryl urea scaffold has great potential for advancing the development of highly effective dual inhibitors targeting both EGFR and VEGFR-2, which can serve as effective candidates for anticancer therapy.

Function and Inhibition of DYRK1A: emerging roles of treating multiple human diseases

Dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) is an evolutionarily conserved protein kinase and the most studied member of the Dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase (DYRK) family. It has been shown that it participates in the development of plenty of diseases, and both the low or high expression of DYRK1A protein could lead to disorder. Thus, DYRK1A is recognized as a key target for the therapy for these diseases, and the studies on natural or synthetic DYRK1A inhibitors have become more and more popular. Here, we provide a comprehensive review for DYRK1A from the structure and function of DYRK1A, the roles of DYRK1A in various types of diseases, including diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative diseases, and kinds of cancers, and the studies of its natural and synthetic inhibitors.

Isothiourea-catalysed enantioselective annulation of 2-aminobenzothiophenes with α,β-unsaturated anhydrides

An isothiourea-catalysed asymmetric Michael/lactamization cascade reaction of 2-aminobenzothiophenes and α,β-unsaturated anhydrides for the enantioselective synthesis of benzothienopiperidones with high stereoselectivities was developed.