Synthesis of novel 17-triazolyl-androst-5-en-3-ol epimers via Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition and their inhibitory effect on 17α-hydroxylase/C17,20-lyase

Halo-1,2,3-triazoles: Valuable Compounds to Access Biologically Relevant Molecules

1,2,3-triazole is an important building block in organic chemistry. It is now well known as a bioisostere for various functions, such as the amide or the ester bond, positioning it as a key pharmacophore in medicinal chemistry and it has found applications in various fields including life sciences. Attention was first focused on the synthesis of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazole molecules however 1,4,5-trisubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles have now emerged as valuable molecules due to the possibility to expand the structural modularity. In the last decade, methods mainly derived from the copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction have been developed to access halo-triazole compounds and have been applied to nucleosides, carbohydrates, peptides and proteins. In addition, late-stage modification of halo-triazole derivatives by metal-mediated cross-coupling or halo-exchange reactions offer the possibility to access highly functionalized molecules that can be used as tools for chemical biology. This review summarizes the synthesis, the functionalization, and the applications of 1,4,5-trisubstituted halo-1,2,3-triazoles in biologically relevant molecules.

Oxazolinyl derivatives of androst-16-ene as inhibitors of CYP17A1 activity and prostate carcinoma cells proliferation: Effects of substituents in oxazolinyl moiety

Steroid derivatives modified with nitrogen containing heterocycles are known to inhibit activity of steroidogenic enzymes, decrease proliferation of cancer cells and attract attention as promising anticancer agents. Specifically, 2'-(3β-hydroxyandrosta-5,16-dien-17-yl)-4',5'-dihydro-1',3'-oxazole 1a potently inhibited proliferation of prostate carcinoma cells. In this study we synthesized and investigated five new derivatives of 3β-hydroxyandrosta-5,16-diene comprising 4'-methyl or 4'-phenyl substituted oxazolinyl cycle 1 (b-f). Docking of compounds 1 (a-f) to CYP17A1 active site revealed that the presence of substitutents at C4' atom in oxazoline cycle, as well as C4' atom configuration, significantly affect docking poses of compounds in the complexes with enzyme. Testing of compounds 1 (a-f) as CYP17A1 inhibitors revealed that the only compound 1a, comprising unsubstituted oxazolinyl moiety, demonstrated strong inhibitory activity, while other compounds 1 (b-f) were slightly active or non active. Compounds 1 (a-f) efficiently decreased growth and proliferation of prostate carcinoma LNCaP and PC-3 cells at 96 h incubation; the effect of compound 1a was the most powerful. Compound 1a efficiently stimulated apoptosis and caused PC-3 cells death, that was demonstrated by a direct comparison of pro-apoptotic effects of compound 1a and abiraterone.

“Click” assembly of novel dual inhibitors of AChE and MAO-B from pyridoxine derivatives for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

This study fast synthesizes numerous functionalized pyridoxines using click chemistry and assayed in vitro as inhibitors of the acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase, and two monoamine oxidase (MAO) isoforms, MAO-A and MAO-B. Most of the obtained compounds demonstrate good AChE and selective MAO-B inhibitory activities in the micromolar range, especially one compound, called 4k5, exhibits excellent inhibitory performance against AChE (IC50 = 0.0816 ± 0.075 μM) and MAO-B (IC50 = 0.039 ± 0.003 μM). Finally, a docking study is carried out, demonstrating potential binding orientations and interactions of the compounds in terms of the AChE and MAO-B active sites.