Design, synthesis, and evaluation of asymmetric EF24 analogues as potential anti-cancer agents for lung cancer

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of cyclic C7-bridged monocarbonyl curcumin analogs containing an o-methoxy phenyl group as potential agents against gastric cancer

The structure-activity relationship (SAR) between toxicity and the types of linking ketones of C7 bridged monocarbonyl curcumin analogs (MCAs) was not clear yet. In the pursuit of effective and less cytotoxic chemotherapeutics, we conducted a SAR analysis using various diketene skeletons of C7-bridged MCAs, synthesized cyclic C7-bridged MCAs containing the identified low-toxicity cyclopentanone scaffold and an o-methoxy phenyl group, and assessed their anti-gastric cancer activity and safety profile. Most compounds exhibited potent cytotoxic activities against gastric cancer cells. We developed a quantitative structure-activity relationship model (R2 > 0.82) by random Forest method, providing important information for optimizing structure. An optimized compound 2 exhibited in vitro and in vivo anti-gastric cancer activity partly through inhibiting the AKT and STAT3 pathways, and displayed a favorable in vivo safety profile. In summary, this paper provided a promising class of MCAs and a potential compound for the development of chemotherapeutic drugs.

Dual-targeting tumor cells hybrids derived from Pt(IV) species and NF-κB inhibitors enables cancer therapy through mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress and overcomes cisplatin resistance

To ameliorate the defects including serious side effects and drug resistance of Pt(II) drugs (e.g., cisplatin and oxaliplatin), here a novel of "dual-prodrug" by containing Pt(II) drugs and NF-κB inhibitors were synthesized and characterized. Among them, Pt(IV) complex 11 exhibited better cytotoxic activity than other Pt(IV) complexes and the corresponding Pt(II) drugs, with IC50 values ranged from 0.31 to 0.91 μM, respectively, and also displayed low toxicity toward two normal cells HL-7702 and BEAS-2B. More importantly, complex 11 significantly reversed cisplatin resistance in A549/CDDP cells, indicating that complex 11 was able to overcome multidrug resistance. Following mechanism studies demonstrated that complex 11 significantly induced DNA damage and ROS generation, arrest the cell cycle at the G2/M stage, suppressed cell migration and intrusion, and induced cell apoptosis through activated ER stress and mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in A549 cells. Moreover, complex 11 effectively suppressed the IKKβ phosphorylation, IκBα phosphorylation and NF-κB p65 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation, leading to blocked the NF-κB signal pathway in A549 cells. In vivo tests showed that the inhibitory rate in the complex 11 reached 69.2 %, which was much higher than that of oxaliplatin (55.6 %), 1a (39.7 %) and the combination of oxaliplatin/1a (65.1 %), without causing loss in the body weight.

Activation of autophagy promotes the inhibitory effect of curcumin analog EF-24 against MDA-MB-231 cancer cells

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. EF-24, an analog of curcumin, has been shown to possess promising anticancer effects. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In the present study, the inhibitory effect of EF-24 against one breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, and its anti-migration ability were assessed by MTT, wound healing, and Transwell assay. Furthermore, we found that EF-24 could induce initiation of autophagy as evidenced by fluorescence and electron microscope observation. EF-24 also induced mitochondrial apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells as detected by Hoechst 33342 staining, flow cytometry analysis, and western blot analysis. In addition, the early autophagy inhibitor 3-MA could reduce the cleavage of PARP protein and protect cells from EF-24-induced apoptosis, while the autophagy inducer (rapamycin) could enhance the anticancer effect of EF-24 in MDA-MB-231 cells, which suggest that EF-24 induces crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis, which herein participate in the antiproliferative effect of EF-24 in breast cancer cells. Moreover, removal of EF-24-activated ROS with NAC significantly reversed migration ability of MDA-MB-231 cells, indicating that EF-24 exerted an inhibitory effect through a ROS-mediating pathway. These results will help to elucidate the antitumor mechanism of curcumin analogs and to explore future potential clinical applications.

Anticarcinogenic Potency of EF24: An Overview of Its Pharmacokinetics, Efficacy, Mechanism of Action, and Nanoformulation for Drug Delivery

EF24, a synthetic monocarbonyl analog of curcumin, shows significant potential as an anticancer agent with both chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic properties. It exhibits rapid absorption, extensive tissue distribution, and efficient metabolism, ensuring optimal bioavailability and sustained exposure of the target tissues. The ability of EF24 to penetrate biological barriers and accumulate at tumor sites makes it advantageous for effective cancer treatment. Studies have demonstrated EF24's remarkable efficacy against various cancers, including breast, lung, prostate, colon, and pancreatic cancer. The unique mechanism of action of EF24 involves modulation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathways, disrupting cancer-promoting inflammation and oxidative stress. EF24 inhibits tumor growth by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, mainly through inhibiting the NF-κB pathway and by regulating key genes by modulating microRNA (miRNA) expression or the proteasomal pathway. In summary, EF24 is a promising anticancer compound with a unique mechanism of action that makes it effective against various cancers. Its ability to enhance the effects of conventional therapies, coupled with improvements in drug delivery systems, could make it a valuable asset in cancer treatment. However, addressing its solubility and stability challenges will be crucial for its successful clinical application.

Curcumin derivative NL01 induces ferroptosis in ovarian cancer cells via HCAR1/MCT1 signaling

OBJECTIVE

Curcumin has been shown to have anti-tumor proliferative properties, but its clinical application is limited by its low bioavailability, etc. Derivatives of curcumin have been developed and tested to improve its therapeutic efficacy. Derivative NL01 could induce ferroptosis through the HCAR1/MCT1 pathway.

METHOD

CCK-8 was used to detect curcumin and derivative IC₅₀, crystalline violet staining was used to detect the proliferation inhibition effect of NL01 in ovarian cancer, western blot and qPCR were used to detect downstream related molecular expression changes, Transwell and survival curve assays were used to detect malignant phenotypic.

RESULTS

NL01 inhibited cell growth of Anglne and HO8910PM ovarian cancer cells by 13 times more potent than curcumin and induced ferroptosis of these two cells. we found that NL01 was able to reduce the expression of HCAR1/MCT1 and activate the AMPK signaling pathway, which in turn induced cellular ferroptosis via SREBP1 pathway. Knock-down HCAR1 expression revealed similar phenotype and pathway alterations to NL01 treatment. HCAR1 overexpression promoted a malignant phenotype and resistance to cisplatin in both cancer cells, whereas knockdown of HCAR1 showed the opposite phenotype. Subcutaneous transplantation tumor experiments in nude mice also showed that NL01 induced iron death and inhibited ovarian cancer proliferation. Further study showed that NL01 promoted the downregulation of GPX4 expression, which is related to ferroptosis, and that addition of ferrostatin-1 partially reversed NL01-mediated inhibition of the growth of two cell lines.

CONCLUSION

NL01 exhibits better anti-tumor growth properties than curcumin, and NL01 induces ferroptosis in ovarian cancer cells.

Novel Vulgarin Derivatives: Chemical Transformation, In Silico and In Vitro Studies

Vulgarin, an eudesmanolide sesquiterpene isolated from Artemisia judaica, was refluxed with iodine to produce two derivatives (1 and 2), which were purified and spectroscopically identified as naproxen methyl ester analogs. The reaction mechanism by which 1 and 2 were formed is explained using a sigmatropic reaction with a 1,3 shift. The scaffold hopping via lactone ring opening enabled the new derivatives of vulgarin (1 and 2) to fit well inside the COX-2 active site with ΔG of -7.73 and -7.58 kcal/mol, respectively, which was better than that of naproxen (ΔG of -7.04 kcal/mol). Moreover, molecular dynamic simulations showed that 1 was able to achieve a faster steady-state equilibrium than naproxen. The novel derivative 1 showed promising cytotoxic activities against HepG-2, HCT-116, MCF-7, and A-549 cancer cell lines compared to those of vulgarin and naproxen.

Targeting Signaling Pathway by Curcumin in Osteosarcoma

The most prevalent primary bone malignancy among children and adolescents is osteosarcoma. The high mortality rate of osteosarcoma is due to lung metastasis. Despite the development of multi-agent chemotherapy and surgical resection, patients with osteosarcoma have a high metastasis rate and poor prognosis. Thus, it is necessary to identify novel therapeutic agents to improve the 5-year survival rate of these patients. Curcumin, a phytochemical compound derived from Curcuma longa, has been employed in treating several types of cancers through various mechanisms. Also, in vitro studies have demonstrated that curcumin could inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells. Development in identifying signaling pathways involved in the pathogenesis of osteosarcoma has provided insight into finding new therapeutic targets for the treatment of this cancer. Targeting MAPK/ERK, PI3k/AKT, Wnt/β-catenin, Notch, and MircoRNA by curcumin has been evaluated to improve outcomes in patients with osteosarcoma. Although curcumin is a potent anti-cancer compound, it has rarely been studied in clinical settings due to its congenital properties such as hydrophobicity and poor bioavailability. In this review, we recapitulate and describe the effect of curcumin in regulating signaling pathways involved in osteosarcoma.

Rational design, synthesis, and pharmacological characterisation of dicarbonyl curcuminoid analogues with improved stability against lung cancer via ROS and ER stress mediated cell apoptosis and pyroptosis

Curcumin is a natural medicine with a wide range of anti-tumour activities. However, due to β-diketone moiety, curcumin exhibits poor stability and pharmacokinetics which significantly limits its clinical applications. In this article, two types of dicarbonyl curcumin analogues with improved stability were designed through the calculation of molecular stability by density functional theory. Twenty compounds were synthesised, and their anti-tumour activity was screened. A plurality of analogues had significantly stronger activity than curcumin. In particular, compound B2 ((2E,2'E)-3,3'-(1,4-phenylene)bis(1-(2-chlorophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one)) exhibited excellent anti-lung cancer activity in vivo and in vitro. In addition, B2 could upregulate the level of reactive oxygen species in lung cancer cells, which in turn activated the endoplasmic reticulum stress and led to cell apoptosis and pyroptosis. Taken together, curcumin analogue B2 is expected to be a novel candidate for lung cancer treatment with improved chemical and biological characteristics.

Targeted Pyroptosis Is a Potential Therapeutic Strategy for Cancer

As a type of regulated cell death (RCD) mode, pyroptosis plays an important role in several kinds of cancers. Pyroptosis is induced by different stimuli, whose pathways are divided into the canonical pathway and the noncanonical pathway depending on the formation of the inflammasomes. The canonical pathway is triggered by the assembly of inflammasomes, and the activation of caspase-1 and then the cleavage of effector protein gasdermin D (GSDMD) are promoted. While in the noncanonical pathway, the caspase-4/5/11 (caspase 4/5 in humans and caspase 11 in mice) directly cleave GSDMD without the assembly of inflammasomes. Pyroptosis is involved in various cancers, such as lung cancer, gastric cancer, hepatic carcinoma, breast cancer, and colorectal carcinoma. Pyroptosis in gastric cancer, hepatic carcinoma, breast cancer, and colorectal carcinoma is related to the canonical pathway, while both the canonical and noncanonical pathway participate in lung cancer. Moreover, simvastatin, metformin, and curcumin have effect on these cancers and simultaneously promote the pyroptosis of cancer cells. Accordingly, pyroptosis may be an important therapeutic target for cancer.

A novel synthetic chalcone derivative, 2,4,6-trimethoxy-4'-nitrochalcone (Ch-19), exerted anti-tumor effects through stimulating ROS accumulation and inducing apoptosis in esophageal cancer cells

Esophageal cancer has always been associated with poor prognosis and a low five-year survival rate. Chalcone, a flavonoid family member, has shown anti-tumor property in several types of cancer. However, few studies reported the potency and mechanisms of action of synthetic Chalcone derivatives against esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of novel chalcone analogs and Ch-19 was selected for its superior anti-tumor potency. Results indicated that Ch-19 shows a dose- and time-dependent anti-tumor activity in both KYSE-450 and Eca-109 esophageal cancer cells. Moreover, treatment of Ch-19 resulted in the regression of KYSE-450 tumor xenografts in nude mice. Furthermore, we investigated the potential mechanism involved in the effective anti-tumor effects of Ch-19. As a result, we observed that Ch-19 treatment promoted ROS accumulation and caused G2/M phase arrest in both Eca-109 and KYSE-450 cancer cell lines, thereby resulting in cell apoptosis. Taken together, our study provided a novel synthetic chalcone derivative as a potential anti-tumor therapeutic candidate for treating esophageal cancer.

Molecular Mechanism of Ferroptosis in Orthopedic Diseases

Ferroptosis is a new iron-dependent programmed cell death process that is directly mediated by the accumulation of lipid peroxides and reactive oxygen species. Numerous studies have shown that ferroptosis is important in regulating the occurrence and development of bone-related diseases, but the underlying mechanisms are not completely clear. Herein, we review the progress of the mechanism of ferroptosis in bone marrow injury, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and osteosarcoma and attempt to deeply understand the regulatory targets of ferroptosis, which will open up a new way for the prevention and treatment of orthopedic diseases.

Updates on Receptors Targeted by Heterocyclic Scaffolds: New Horizon in Anticancer Drug Development

Anticancer is a high priority research area for scientists as cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally. It is pertinent to mention here that conventional anticancer drugs such as methotrexate, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, doxorubicin, cisplatin, etc. are not much efficient for the treatment of different types of cancer; also these suffer from serious side effects leading to therapy failure. A large variety of cancerrelated receptors such as carbonic anhydrase, tyrosine kinase, topoisomerase, protein kinase, histone deacetylase, etc. have been identified which can be targeted by anticancer drugs. Heterocycles like oxadiazole, thiazole, thiadiazole, indole, pyridine, pyrimidine, benzimidazole, etc. play a pivotal role in modern medicinal chemistry because they have a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities including prominent anticancer activity. Therefore, it was considered significant to explore heterocyclic compounds reported in recent most literature which can bind effectively with the cancer-related receptors. This will not only provide a targeted approach to deal with cancer but also the safety profile of the drugs can be further improved. The information provided in this manuscript may be found useful for the design and development of anticancer drugs.

EF24 induces ferroptosis in osteosarcoma cells through HMOX1

PURPOSE

EF24, a synthetic analogue of curcumin, was developed as an anti-tumor compound to induce apoptosis, inhibit proliferation and metastasis in various cancers. However, whether EF24 induces ferroptosis in osteosarcoma cells or not, and its underlying mechanism remains largely elusive.

METHODS

After EF24 combining with or without other compounds treatments, mRNA expression profiles were proceeded by RNA sequencing. Cytotoxicity was measured by cell counting kit-8 assay. Cell death was quantified by flow cytometer. Gene expression was quantified by real-time PCR. Protein level was detected by western blot. Malonydialdehyde (MDA) level was measured by lipid peroxidation MDA assay kit. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was measured by ROS Assay Kit. Ferric ion was measured by Iron Assay kit.

RESULTS

EF24 significantly induced cell death in osteosarcoma cell lines, and this effect was significantly reversed by ferrostatin-1, but not Z-VAD(Ome)-FMK, MRT68921 or necrosulfonamide. EF24 significantly increased MDA level, ROS level and intracellular ferric ion level, these effects were significantly attenuated by ferrostatin-1. EF24 upregulated HMOX1 expression in a dose dependent manner, overexpression of HMOX1 facilitated EF24 to induce ferroptosis in osteosarcoma cell lines. HMOX1 knockdown attenuated EF24-induced cytotoxicity and attenuated EF24-induced inhibition of Glutathione Peroxidase 4 (GPX4) expression.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that EF24 upregulated HMOX1 to suppress GPX4 expression to induce ferroptosis by increasing MDA level, ROS level and intracellular ferric ion level. Thus, EF24 might serve as a potential agent for the treatment of HMOX1-positive osteosarcoma patients.

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of mono-carbonyl analogues of curcumin (MCACs) as potential antioxidants against periodontitis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The application of curcumin is limited by its instability. Mono-carbonyl analogues of curcumin (MCACs) are structurally stable, yet the intermediate bridging ketones in their skeletons account for increased toxicity. This study aimed to synthesize and screen MCACs that exhibit low cytotoxicity and high antioxidant ability, and the effects of MCACs on experimental periodontitis were also investigated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The cytotoxicity of MCACs on MC3 T3-E1 was determined by MTT assay. The antioxidant capacity was investigated by the cell viability against H₂ O₂ -induced damage and the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA). The localization and protein expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) was detected by immunofluorescence and western blot, respectively. In addition, MCAC was intragastrically administrated in rats with ligature-induced experimental periodontitis. The effects were assessed by bone resorption, as well as the immunohistology staining of inflammatory and oxidative stress markers.

RESULTS

MCACs with cyclopentanone and containing pyrone showed lower toxicity than natural curcumin were synthesized (1A-10A, 1H-10H), among which, 1A exhibited the most potent cytoprotective effect against H₂ O₂ -induced damage. Such effects could be explained by the reduced MDA and ROS level, possibly through the nucleus translocation of Nrf2 and the induction of HO-1. Micro-CT results further indicated that 1A significantly reduced bone loss, along with an increased level of Nrf2 and HO-1, and decreased TNF-α and IL-1β.

CONCLUSION

The present study has synthesized a novel antioxidant MCAC 1A with good biosafety and stability. MCAC 1A could serve as a host response modulator with preventive and protective effects on periodontitis.

Design and Synthesis of Novel Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid (NDGA) Analogues as Potential FGFR1 Kinase Inhibitors With Anti-Gastric Activity and Chemosensitizing Effect

Aberrant fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR1), a key driver promoting gastric cancer (GC) progression and chemo-resistance, has been increasingly recognized as a potential therapeutic target in GC. Hereon, we designed and synthesized a series of asymmetric analogues using Af23 and NDGA as lead compounds by retaining the basic structural framework (bisaryl-1,4-dien-3-one) and the unilateral active functional groups (3,4-dihydroxyl). Thereinto, Y14 showed considerable inhibitory activity against FGFR1. Next, pharmacological experiments showed that Y14 could significantly inhibit the phosphorylation of FGFR1 and its downstream kinase AKT and ERK, thus inhibiting the growth, survival, and migration of gastric cancer cells. Furthermore, compared with 5-FU treatment alone, the combination of Y14 and 5-FU significantly reduced the phosphorylation level of FGFR1, and enhanced the anti-cancer effect by inhibiting the viability and colony formation in two gastric cancer cell lines. These results confirmed that Y14 exerted anti-gastric activity and chemosensitizing effect by inhibiting FGFR1 phosphorylation and its downstream signaling pathway in vitro. This work also provides evidence that Y14, an effective FGFR1 inhibitor, could be used alone or in combination with chemotherapy to treat gastric cancer in the future.

Diarylpentanoids with antitumor activity: A critical review of structure-activity relationship studies

Diarypentanoids are commonly considered as monocarbonyl analogues of curcumin. Since the discovery of this compound in 1962, twenty one diarylpentanoids have been isolated and almost 600 synthetic analogues with antitumor activity have been synthesized. This review reports the exploitation of diarylpentanoids to develop curcumin analogues with improved antitumor activity over the last two decades. The mechanism of action and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies are also highlighted. More importantly, structural features for the antitumor activity that may guide the design of new and more effective diarylpentanoids are also proposed.

A Review of the Structure-Activity Relationship of Natural and Synthetic Antimetastatic Compounds

There are innumerable anticancer compounds derived from either natural or synthetic origins. Many of these compounds have been further developed through structural modifications to not only inhibit cancer cell growth but also to exert an antimetastatic effect. This is achieved by attaching different substituents to generate different structure—activity relationships. This review highlights the effectiveness of different functional groups known to have antimigration and antiproliferation activities, such as fluoro, methoxy, methyl, amino, hydroxy, nitro, bromo, chloro, methylamino, ethoxy, carbonyl, iodo, and trifluoromethyl groups. Additionally, the positioning of these functional groups plays an important role in their anticancer activities, which was evident in one of our studies comparing analogues of a natural compound. Thus, this review suggests future recommendations for the design and development of improved anticancer drugs with higher efficacy.

Design and Green Synthesis of Piperlongumine Analogs and Their Antioxidant Activity against Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

The supplementation of exogenous antioxidants to scavenge excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) is an effective treatment for cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) in stroke. Piperlongumine (PL), a natural alkaloid, has a great potential as a neuroprotective agent, but it also has obvious toxicity. Moreover, its neuroprotective effects remain to be improved. In this study, we designed a series of novel PL analogs by hybridizing the screened low-toxicity diketene skeleton with antioxidant effect and the 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl group, which may increase the antioxidant activity of PL. The intermediate was synthesized by a novel green synthesis method, and 34 compounds were obtained. The compounds without obvious cytotoxicity have remarkable antioxidant effects, especially compared with diketene skeletons and PL. The cytoprotection of the active compound decreased significantly by reduction of the carbon-carbon double bonds of the Michael acceptor in the diketene skeleton. More importantly, further study revealed that compound A9, which has the best activity, can confer protection for cells against oxidative stress and attenuate brain injury in vivo. Overall, this study provided a promising drug candidate for the treatment of CIRI and guided the further development of drug research in oxidative stress-mediated diseases.

DNA binding, photocleavage, antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties of Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes containing BOPIP ligand, (BOPIP = {2-(4-(benzyloxy) phenyl)-1H-imidazo [4,5-f] [1,2]phenanthroline})

A novel ligand BOPIP (BOPIP = {2-(4-(benzyloxy)phenyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline}) and its mononuclear Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes [Ru(phen)₂ BOPIP]²⁺(1) (phen = 1,10-Phenanthrolene), [Ru(bpy)₂ BOPIP]²⁺(2) (bpy = 2,2' bipyridyl), [Ru(dmb)₂ BOPIP]²⁺(3) (dmb = 4, 4' -dimethyl 2, 2' -bipyridine), [Ru(Hdpa)₂ BOPIP]²⁺(4) (Hdpa = 2,2'dipyridylamine) have been synthesized successfully and characterized by elemental analysis, UV-vis, IR, ¹H, ¹³ C-NMR, and ESI-MS Spectroscopy. The interaction of these complexes with CT-DNA was studied using absorption, emission techniques, viscosity measurements and molecular docking studies. The docking study also supports the binding ability of complexes obtained through the absorption and emission techniques. These studies reveal that the Four Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes bind to DNA predominantly by intercalation. The Antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of these complexes are also reported.

Bioactivities of EF24, a Novel Curcumin Analog: A Review

Curcumin is an attractive agent due to its multiple bioactivities. However, the low oral bioavailability and efficacy profile hinders its clinical application. To improve the bioavailability, many analogs of curcumin have been developed, among which EF24 is an excellent representative. EF24 has enhanced bioavailability over curcumin and shows more potent bioactivity, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial. EF24 inhibits tumor growth by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, mainly through its inhibitory effect on the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) pathway and by regulating key genes through microRNA (miRNA) or the proteosomal pathway. Based on the current structure, more potent EF24 analogs have been designed and synthesized. However, some roles of EF24 remain unclear, such as whether it induces or inhibits reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and whether it stimulates or inhibits the mitogen activated kinase-like protein (MAPK) pathway. This review summarizes the known biological and pharmacological activities and mechanisms of action of EF24.

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of chalcone analogues incorporate α,β-Unsaturated ketone functionality as anti-lung cancer agents via evoking ROS to induce pyroptosis

Chalcone, a natural structure, demonstrates many pharmacological activities including anticancer, and one promising mechanism is to modulate the generation of ROS. It has been known that pyroptosis is associated with anticancer effects, whereas there is fewer researches about ROS-mediated pyroptosis triggered by chemotherapy drugs. Moreover, incorporation of a α,β-unsaturated ketone unit into chalcone may be an effective strategy for development of chemotherapy drugs. Hence, a number of chalcone analogues bearing a α,β-unsaturated ketone were synthesized from chalcone analogues 1 with modest anticancer activities as the lead compound. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies confirmed the function of α,β-unsaturated ketone to improve anticancer activity. Notably, compound 8, bearing a α,β-unsaturated ketone, is the most potent inhibitor of cancer, with IC₅₀ values on NCI-H460, A549 and H1975 cells of 2.3 ± 0.3, 3.2 ± 0.0 and 5.7 ± 1.4 μM, respectively. Besides, 8 showed antiproliferative ability against NCI-H460 cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner through modulating ROS to induce caspase-3-mediated pyroptosis, and displayed a better safety profile in vivo. Overall, these results demonstrated that compound 8 is a candidate agent and a potential lead compound for development of chemotherapy drugs, and can be used as a probe to further examine the mechanism of ROS-dependent pyroptosis.

Synthesis, Molecular Docking and Anticancer Activity of Diflunisal Derivatives as Cyclooxygenase Enzyme Inhibitors

Cyclooxygenase enzymes play a vital role in inflammatory pathways in the human body. Apart from their relation with inflammation, the additional involvement of COX-2 enzyme with cancer activity was recently discovered. In some cancer types the level of COX-2 enzyme is increased indicating that this enzyme could be a suitable target for cancer therapy. Based on these findings, we have synthesized some new diflunisal thiosemicarbazides and 1,2,4-triazoles and tested them against androgen-independent prostate adenocarcinoma (PC-3), colon carcinoma (HCT-116), human breast cancer (T47D), breast carcinoma (MCF7) and human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell lines. Specifically, the diflunisal and thiosemicarbazide functionality are combined during the synthesis of original compounds anticipating a potency enhancement. Compounds 6, 10, 15 and 16 did not show cytotoxic effects for the HEK293 cell line. Among them, compounds 15 and 16 demonstrated anticancer activity for the breast cancer cell line T47D, whereas compounds 6 and 10 which are thiosemicarbazide derivatives displayed anti-tumourigenic activity against the PC-3 cell line, consistent with the literature. However, no activity was observed for the HCT-116 cancer cell line with the tested thiosemicarbazide derivatives. Only compound 16 displayed activity against the HCT-116 cell line. Therefore, it was speculated that the diflunisal and thiosemicarbazide functionalities potentiate anticancer activity on prostate cancer and the thiosemicarbazide functionality decreases the anticancer activity of diflunisal on colon cancer cell lines. In order to gain insight into the anticancer activity and COX-2 inhibition, molecular docking studies were carried out for COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes utilizing the newly synthesized compounds 15, and 16. Both 15 and 16 showed high selectivity and affinity toward COX-2 isozyme over COX-1, which is in agreement with the experimental results.

EF24 (a Curcumin Analog) and ZSTK474 Emphasize the Effect of Cabozantinib in Medullary Thyroid Cancer

XL184 is a small-molecule kinase inhibitor recently included in first-line systemic therapy for patients with advanced, progressive medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). EF24 is a curcumin analog with a high bioavailability, and ZSTK474 is an inhibitor of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathway. We investigated the effect of these compounds, alone and in combination, in two rearranged during transfection (RET)-mutated TT and MZ-CRC-1 MTC cell lines and in six mostly RET wild-type human MTC primary cultures. Low IC50 values demonstrated the efficacy of the drugs, whereas the combination index revealed an important synergistic effect of combinations of XL184 + ZSTK474 and XL184 + EF24. Cell-cycle changes and the induction of apoptosis or necrosis were modulated by single compounds or combinations thereof. Both XL184 and EF24, alone or combined, were effective in reducing calcitonin secretion. Western blot and in-cell Western analysis showed that the compounds prompted a decrease in general reactivity to phosphorylated antibodies. Our data confirm XL184 alone as the reference drug for RET-mutated MTC, but we also demonstrated that EF24 alone is effective in inhibiting MTC cell viability. We tested the combinations XL184 + ZSTK474 and XL184 + EF24 too, finding that they act synergistically, irrespective of RET mutation status.