Distinct novel quinazolinone exhibits selective inhibition in MGC-803 cancer cells by dictating mutant p53 function

Quinazoline sulfonamide derivatives targeting MicroRNA-34a/MDM4/p53 apoptotic axis with radiosensitizing activity

Aim: New quinazoline benzenesulfonamide hybrids 4a-n were synthesized to determine their cytotoxicity and effect on the miR-34a/MDM4/p53 apoptotic pathway. Materials & methods: Cytotoxicity against hepatic, breast, lung and colon cancer cell lines was estimated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results: Compound 4d was the most potent against HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cells, with potential apoptotic activity verified by a significant upregulation of miR-34a and p53 gene expressions. The apoptotic effect of 4d was further investigated and showed downregulation of miR-21, VEGF, STAT3 and MDM4 gene expression. Conclusion: The anticancer and apoptotic activities of 4d were enhanced post irradiation by a single dose of 8 Gy γ-radiation. Docking analysis demonstrated a valuable affinity of 4d toward VEGFR2 and MDM4 active sites.

RUNX2 Reverses p53-Induced Chemotherapy Resistance in Gastric Cancer

Objective

Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancies worldwide; however, its overall mortality has not improved significantly over the last decade. Chemoresistance plays a critical role in this issue. This study aimed to clarify the role and mechanism of runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) in platinum-based chemotherapy resistance.

Methods

First, a drug-resistant model of gastric cancer cells was established to evaluate the relative expression level of the RUNX2 as a potential biomarker of chemotherapy resistance. Next, exogenous silencing was conducted to study whether RUNX2 could reverse drug resistance and understand the underlying mechanisms. Simultaneously, the correlation between the clinical outcomes of 40 patients after chemotherapy and the RUNX2 expression levels in tumor samples was analyzed.

Results

We discovered that RUNX2 was significantly expressed in drug-resistant gastric cancer cells and tissues; it was also reversibly resistant to transformation treatment by exogenous RUNX2 silencing. It is confirmed that RUNX2 negatively regulates the apoptosis pathway of the p53 to reduce the chemotherapeutic effects of gastric cancer.

Conclusion

RUNX2 is a possible target for platinum-based chemotherapy resistance.

Synthesis of Spiroindolenine-3,3'-pyrrolo[2,1-b]quinazolinones through Gold(I)-Catalyzed Dearomative Cyclization of N-Alkynyl Quinazolinone-Tethered Indoles

A variety of functionalized spiroindolenine-3,3'-pyrrolo[2,1-b]quinazolinones were prepared in good to excellent yields through a gold(I)-catalyzed dearomative cyclization of N-alkynyl quinazolinone-tethered C2-substituted indoles. The reaction features broad substrate scope, good functional...

Current Pharmaceutical Aspects of Synthetic Quinoline Derivatives

Quinoline derivatives are considered broad-spectrum pharmacological compounds that exhibit a wide range of biological activities. Integration of quinoline moiety can improve its physical and chemical properties and also pharmacological behavior. Due to its wide range of pharmaceutical applications, it is a very popular compound to design new drugs for the treatment of multiple diseases like cancer, dengue fever, malaria, tuberculosis, fungal infections, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. In this review, our major focus is to pay attention to the biological activities of quinoline compounds in the treatment of these diseases such as anti-viral, anti-cancer, anti-malarial, antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-tubercular and anti-diabetic.

Induction of apoptosis, cytotoxicity and radiosensitization by novel 3,4-dihydroquinazolinone derivatives

Twenty new quinazolinone derivatives bearing a piperonyl moiety were designed and synthesized. The structures of the target compounds were in agreement with the microanalytical and spectral data. Compounds 4-10, 13, 14 and 17-27 were screened for their cytotoxic activity against HepG-2 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines. The target compounds showed IC₅₀ in the range of 2.46-36.85 µM and 3.87-88.93 µM for HepG-2 and MCF-7, respectively. The promising compounds 7, 19, 26 and 27 were selected to measure their EGFR inhibitory activity. The IC₅₀ values of the promising compounds were in the range of 146.9-1032.7 nM for EGFR in reference to Erlotinib (IC₅₀ = 96.6 nM). In further studies on compounds 7, 19, 26 and 27 using HepG-2 cell line, there was significant overexpression of p21 and downregulation of two members of IAPs protein family; Survivin and XIAP, relative to their controls. Annexin V-FITC and caspase-3 analyses have established a significant increase in early apoptosis. Moreover, the four selected compounds have impaired cell proliferation by cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase compared to their respective control. Considering radiotherapy as the primary treatment for many types of solid tumors, the radiosensitizing abilities of compounds 7, 19, 26 and 27 were measured against HepG-2 and MCF-7 cell lines combined with a single dose of 8 Gy gamma radiation. Measurement of the IC₅₀ of the promising compounds after irradiation revealed their ability to sensitize the cells to the lethal effect of gamma irradiation (IC₅₀ = 1.56-4.32 µM and 3.06-5.93 µM for HepG-2 and MCF-7 cells, respectively). Molecular docking was performed to gain insights into the ligand-binding interactions of 7, 19, 26 and 27 inside the EGFR binding sites and revealed their essential interactions, explaining their good activity towards EGFR.

Design, Synthesis, and Structure-Activity Relationship of Quinazolinone Derivatives as Potential Fungicides

Plant diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi reduce the yield and quality of crops. To develop novel antifungal agents, we designed and synthesized eight series of quinazolinone derivatives and evaluated their anti-phytopathogenic fungal activity. The bioassay results revealed that compounds KZL-15, KZL-22, 5b, 6b, 6c, 8e, and 8f exhibited remarkable antifungal activity in vitro. Especially, compound 6c displayed the highest bioactivity against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Pellicularia sasakii, Fusarium graminearum, and Fusarium oxysporum, displaying appreciable IC₅₀ values (50% inhibitory concentration) of 2.46, 2.94, 6.03, and 11.9 μg/mL, respectively. A further mechanism interrogation revealed abnormal mycelia, damaged organelles, and changed permeability of cell membranes in S. sclerotiorum treated with compound 6c. In addition, the in vivo bioassay indicated that compound 6c possessed comparable curative and protective effects (87.3 and 90.7%, respectively) to the positive control azoxystrobin (89.5 and 91.2%, respectively) at 100 μg/mL concentration against S. sclerotiorum. This work validated the potential of compound 6c as a new and promising fungicide candidate, contributing to the exploration of potent antifungal agents.

Targeting DNA and mutant p53 by a naphthalimide derivative, NA20, exhibits selective inhibition in gastric tumorigenesis by blocking mutant p53-EGFR signaling pathway

Mutations of p53 in cancer cells not only subvert its antiproliferative properties but can also promote various oncogenic responses through a gain-of-function activity. Pharmacological manipulation of the mutant p53 pathway by specific compounds could be an effective strategy for cancer therapy. We show here that gain-of-function p53 mutation in gastric cancer cells promotes tumorigenesis by enhancing p53-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) signaling pathway, and such process can be blocked by small molecule NA20, a naphthalimide derivative that exhibited selective inhibition in p53 mutant gastric cancer cell lines. We found that targeting DNA and blocking the mutant p53-drived carcinogenicity accounted for the primary antitumor effect of NA20 in gastric tumor models. NA20 bound to DNA and p53 identified by a combination of drug tracking, DNA relaxation assay and coimmunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry (CoIP-MS) detection, which led to the p21 activation and the suppression of EGFR signal cascading, thereby evoking cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis, finally leading to cancer cell inhibition both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, these results suggest that NA20 may be a potential candidate for gastric cancer therapy.

3-(Benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-4-aminoquinoline derivatives as novel scaffold topoisomerase I inhibitor via DNA intercalation: design, synthesis, and antitumor activities

Twenty-seven 3-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-4-aminoquinoline derivatives have been designed and synthesized as topoisomerase I inhibitors.

Silver(i)-catalyzed selective hydroalkoxylation of C2-alkynyl quinazolinones to synthesize quinazolinone-fused eight-membered N,O-heterocycles

A silver-catalyzed selective 8-endo-dig cyclization of C2-alkynyl quinazolinones was developed to prepare a series of novel quinazolinone-fused eight-membered N,O-heterocycles in good-to-excellent yields under mild reaction conditions.

Downregulation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3b inhibited proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3) plays an important role in the regulation of mRNA translation, cell growth and cancer development. eIF3b is the main scaffolding subunit in the eIF3 complex and has been demonstrated to contribute to the development of several cancers. First, our study found that the downregulation of eIF3b could inhibit the proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer cells by regulating the expression of cancer-related genes. In addition, the expression of eIF3b correlated with the stage and progression of gastric cancer and was shown to be upregulated in human chronic gastritis and in gastric cancer tissues compared with the expression of eIF3b in normal gastric tissues. Moreover, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection could upregulate the expression of eIF3b in gastric cancer cells, suggesting that eIF3b might be involved in the carcinogenic process of H. pylori. The above findings identified the oncogenic role of eIF3b in gastric cancer development, and this may contribute to the exploration and discovery of novel therapeutic targets for gastric cancer treatment.

Styryl quinazolinones and its ethynyl derivatives induce myeloid differentiation

The tumor suppressor transcription factor CCAAT enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) expression is downregulated in myeloid leukemias and enhancement of C/EBPα expression induces granulocytic differentiation in leukemic cells. Previously we reported that Styryl quinazolinones induce myeloid differentiation in HL-60 cells by upregulating C/EBPα expression. To identify more potent molecule that can induce leukemic cell differentiation we synthesized and evaluated new series of styryl quinazolinones, ethynyl styryl quinazolinones, styryl quinolinones and thienopyrimidinones. Thienopyrimidinones were found toxic and styryl quinolinones were found inactive. Ethynyl styryl quinazolinone 39 and styryl quinazolinone 5 were found active on par with the earlier reported analogues 1 and 2 suggesting that the 5-nitro furan-2-yl styryl quinazolinones find a real promise in leukemic cell differentiation. The improved potency of 5 suggested that further modifications in the 5-nitro furan-2-yl styryl quinazolinones can be at the phenyl substitution at the 3-position of the quinazolinone ring apart from the 5-position of the heteroaryl ring.

Palbociclib triggers apoptosis in bladder cancer cells by Cdk2-induced Rad9-mediated reorganization of the Bak.Bcl-xl complex

Palbociclib is a Cdk4/6 inhibitor approved for metastatic estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. The drug is also under clinical evaluation for metastatic urothelial cancer and other solid tumors. Preclinical studies from multiple tumor types suggest that other factors also affect the sensitivity of individual tumors to Cdk4/6 inhibitor. We show here that Cdk2 has an essential role in palbociclib antitumor effect against bladder cancers. We found that palbociclib induced apoptosis instead of cell cycle arrest to exhibit its anticancer activity in T24 cells, as was evidenced by membrane blebbing, caspase-3 activation and AIF release from mitochondria. Cdk2 activation was important to palbociclib-induced apoptotic triggering activity, since depletion of Cdk2 significantly inhibited caspase-3 activation and cell apoptosis. Cdk2 activation caused p-Rad9 translocation to the mitochondria and subsequently interaction with Bcl-xl, leading to conformational activation of Bak and cell apoptosis. The anticancer activity and Cdk2 activation of palbociclib-treated mice were finally validated in a T24 xenograft model. Collectively, these results together demonstrate that palbociclib exerts its anticancer effect in T24 cells mainly through Cdk2 activation. Our findings provide new insights into the molecular interactions and anticancer mechanisms of Cdk4/6 inhibitors.

Catalyst-controlled selective mono-/dialkylation of 2-aryl-4(3H)-quinazolinones

Catalyst-controlled selective mono-/dialkylation of 2-aryl-4(3H)-quinazolinones with α-diazotized Meldrum's acid has been achieved successfully via a metal carbene migratory insertion process.

Synthesis and anticancer activity of novel quinazolinone-based rhodanines

Background

Rhodanines and quinazolinones have been reported to possess various pharmacological activities.

Results

A novel series of twenty quinazolinone-based rhodanines were synthesized via Knoevenagel condensation between 4-[3-(substitutedphenyl)-3,4-dihydro-4-oxoquinazolin-2-yl)methoxy]substituted-benzaldehydes and rhodanine. Elemental and spectral analysis were used to confirm structures of the newly synthesized compounds. The newly synthesized compounds were biologically evaluated for in vitro cytotoxic activity against the human fibrosarcoma cell line HT-1080 as a preliminary screen using the MTT assay.

Conclusions

All the target compounds were active, displaying IC₅₀ values roughly in the range of 10–60 µM. Structure–activity relationship study revealed that bulky, hydrophobic, and electron withdrawing substituents at the para-position of the quinazolinone 3-phenyl ring as well as methoxy substitution on the central benzene ring, enhance cytotoxic activity. The four most cytotoxic compounds namely, 45, 43, 47, and 37 were further tested against two human leukemia cell lines namely, HL-60 and K-562 and showed cytotoxic activity in the low micromolar range with compound 45 being the most active, having IC₅₀ values of 1.2 and 1.5 μM, respectively. Interestingly, all four compounds were devoid of cytotoxicity against normal human fibroblasts strain AG01523, indicating that the synthesized rhodanines may be selectively toxic against cancer cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that the most cytotoxic target compounds exhibit pro-apoptotic activity and trigger oxidative stress in cancer cells.

Does rarity mean imparity? Biological characteristics of osteosarcoma cells originating from the spine

PURPOSE

Osteosarcoma is one of the most common malignancies in bones and is often found in limbs. Until now, it is not clear why osteosarcoma is rare in the spine. On the other hand, previous biological characteristics study about osteosarcoma of spine was also rare because of its low incidence. To explore the biology of spinal osteosarcoma, a stable osteosarcoma cell line derived from spine is necessary.

METHODS

A novel osteosarcoma cell line named NEO217 was established from spinal osteosarcoma tissues obtained from a Chinese male patient. We performed a series of experiments to investigate the biological properties of NEO217, including cell morphology, the kinetics of cell growth, biomarkers and tumorigenicity.

RESULTS

The cell line NEO217 was passaged in vitro for more than 50 generations. Ultramicroscopic structural features of these cells were consistent with the pleomorphism characteristic of cancer cells. The average cell doubling time was 26 h. The chromosomal morphology was that of a human karyotype, with the number of chromosomes more than 80. NEO217 cells and available osteosarcoma cell lines such as MG-63 and MNNG/HOS were all CD29⁺CD59⁺ phenotype as detected by flow cytometry. Inoculation of NEO217 cells to immunodeficient mice led to tumor formation. The biological and molecular properties of NEO217 cell line are not exactly the same as some human osteosarcoma cell lines derived from the extremities.

CONCLUSION

We have established a novel osteosarcoma cell line NEO217 derived from the spine, which will provide a useful model for biological or therapeutical studies of spinal osteosarcoma.

Efficient Synthesis of a Series of Novel Octahydroquinazoline-5-ones via a Simple on-Water Urea-Catalyzed Chemoselective Five-Component Reaction

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) have become a powerful tool for drug discovery and development owing to their advantages of fast and efficient construction of a large library of products with complexity and diversity. However, conventional MCRs usually proceed in environmentally unfriendly organic solvents rather than in water, a green solvent used by nature for biological chemistry. Herein, a simple and efficient on-water urea-catalyzed chemoselective five-component reaction (5CR) has been developed for the synthesis of a series of novel octahydroquinazoline-5-ones (6), the derivatives of quinazolinones possessing diverse biological activities. The molecular structure of 6{1,1,12} has been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The 5CR can proceed at room temperature under normal atmospheric pressure in good yields and afford a large library of octahydroquinazoline-5-ones with various aromatic and aliphatic substituents at N-1, C-2, and N-3. In addition, a green method has been developed for the synthesis of enaminones, important intermediates in the 5CR and in synthetic chemistry.