Design, synthesis and preliminary biological evaluation of 5,8-dihydropteridine-6,7-diones that induce apoptosis and suppress cell migration

Novel 4-Aryl-4H-chromene derivative displayed excellent in vivo anti-glioblastoma efficacy as the microtubule-targeting agent

In this study, a series of novel 4-Aryl-4H-chromene derivatives (D1-D31) were designed and synthesized by integrating quinoline heterocycle to crolibulin template molecule based on the strategy of molecular hybridization. One of these compounds D19 displayed positive antiproliferative activity against U87 cancer cell line (IC50 = 0.90 ± 0.03 μM). Compound D19 was verified as the microtubule-targeting agent through downregulating tubulin related genes of U87 cells, destroying the cytoskeleton of tubulins and interacting with the colchicine-binding site to inhibit the polymerization of tubulins by transcriptome analysis, immune-fluorescence staining, microtubule dynamics and EBI competition assays as well as molecular docking simulations. Moreover, compound D19 induced G2/M phase arrest, resulted in cell apoptosis and inhibited the migration of U87 cells by flow cytometry analysis and wound healing assays. Significantly, compound D19 dose-dependently inhibited the tumor growth of orthotopic glioma xenografts model (GL261-Luc) and effectively prolonged the survival time of mice, which were extremely better than those of positive drug temozolomide (TMZ). Compound D19 exhibited potent in vivo antivascular activity as well as no observable toxicity. Furthermore, the results of in silico simulation studies and P-gp transwell assays verified the positive correlation between compound D19's Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) permeability and its in vivo anti-GBM activity. Overall, compound D19 can be used as a promising anti-GBM lead compound for the treatment of glioblastoma.

Тhio-containing pteridines: Synthesis, modification, and biological activity

The present article is devoted to searching for biologically active agents among novel thio-containing pteridines. Synthetic protocols based on the condensation of 5,6-diamino-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydropyrimidin-4(1H)-ones with dicarbonyl compounds were elaborated and used for the synthesis of target products. The directions for further modification of the obtained thio-containing pteridines were substantiated and realized. The spectral properties of the obtained compounds were studied and described. The results of the in silico study revealed that the predicted affinity of the obtained compounds to the dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) active site is comparable with the affinity of methotrexate, despite the differences in the nature of the ligand-enzyme interactions. The in vitro study of DHFR-inhibiting activity revealed that the most active compounds 3.9 and 4.2 have lg IC₅₀ values of -5.889 and -5.233, respectively, significantly inferior to methotrexate (lg IC₅₀  = -7.605). Additionally, the synthesized compounds were studied for their antiradical activity as a possible mechanism of pharmacological effects. Among the obtained pteridines, compounds 5.1 (lg EC₅₀  = -4.82) and 5.3 (lg EC₅₀ = -4.92) have antiradical activity higher than the reference compound ascorbic acid (lg EC₅₀ = -4.81). The conducted structure-activity relationship analysis provided valuable data for the further search for biologically active agents among thio-containing pteridines and related compounds.

Piperazine skeleton in the structural modification of natural products: a review

Piperazine moiety is a cyclic molecule containing two nitrogen atoms in positions 1 and 4, as well as four carbon atoms. Piperazine is one of the most sought heterocyclics for the development of new drug candidates with a wide range of applications. Over 100 molecules with a broad range of bioactivities, including antitumor, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and other activities, were reviewed. This article reviewed investigations regarding piperazine groups for the modification of natural product derivatives in the last decade, highlighting parameters that affect their biological activity.

FB-15 inhibits MGC-803 cells growth by regulating energy metabolism

In this study, we scrutinized the anticancer effects of FB-15 on human gastric carcinoma MGC-803 cells in vitro and vivo, and its preliminary effect on tubulin and HIF-1α. We confirmed that FB-15 not only inhibited the proliferation of a large number of cells in a concentration and time-dependent manner but also inhibited proliferation of a single cell to form clones. FB-15 manifested little cytotoxicity for normal stomach cells GES-1. The flow cytometry analysis displayed that FB-15 induced apoptosis MGC-803 cells and mainly arrested cells in the S phase in a concentration-dependent manner. The results of the wound healing assay indicated that FB-15 suppressed cell migration. Furthermore, the western blotting showed that FB-15 down-regulated the expression of β3-tubulin and HIF-1α, consistent with Immunohistochemical assay. The binding modes of FB-15 with tubulin were clarified by molecular docking. FB-15 significantly suppressed the growth of MGC-803 gastric cancer tumors. The inhibitory effect of FB-15 on tumor growth was superior to 5-Fu. Taken together, these results provided evidence for FB-15 to be used as an effective anticancer drug candidate for gastric cancer.

Essential Oil from Pinus Koraiensis Pinecones Inhibits Gastric Cancer Cells via the HIPPO/YAP Signaling Pathway

Pinecone is a traditional folk herb, which has been used in China for many years. In this paper, the essential oil from Pinus koraiensis pinecones (PEO) was obtained by hydrodistillation and 41 compounds were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), mainly including α-Pinene (40.91%), Limonene (24.82%), and β-Pinene (7.04%). The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-tumor activity of PEO on MGC-803 cells and its mechanism. Anti-tumor experiments in vitro showed PEO could significantly inhibit the proliferation and migration of MGC-803 cells, and it also could arrest the cell cycle in the G2/M phase, decrease the mitochondrial membrane potential, and induce apoptosis. Finally, the effects of PEO on genes expression on MGC-803 cells were analyzed by RNA sequencing, and results showed that after treatment with PEO, 100 genes were up-regulated, and 57 genes were down-regulated. According to the KEGG pathway and GSEA, FAT4, STK3, LATS2, YAP1, and AJUBA were down-regulated, which were related to HIPPO signaling pathway. Real-time PCR and western blot further confirmed the results of RNA sequencing. These results indicated that PEO may exert anti-tumor activity via the HIPPO/YAP signaling pathway. The anti-tumor mechanism of this oil can be further studied, which is important for the development of anti-tumor drugs.