Discovery of multi-target receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors as novel anti-angiogenesis agents

Beyond traditional medications: exploring novel and potential inhibitors of trypanothione reductase (LmTr) of Leishmania parasites

The trypanothione reductase enzyme, which neutralizes the reactive oxygen species produced inside the macrophages to kill the parasites, is one of the evasion strategies Leishmania uses to survive inside the cells. The vitality of the parasite depends on Leishmania major trypanothione reductase (LmTr), a NADPH-dependent flavoprotein oxidoreductase essential for thiol metabolism. Since this enzyme is distinct and lacking in humans, we focused on it in our study to screen for new inhibitors to combat leishmaniasis. Using the I-TASSER server, a three-dimensional model of LmTr was generated. The Autodock vina program was used in high-throughput virtual screening of the ZINC database. The top seven molecules were ranked according to their binding affinity. The compounds with the highest binding affinities and the right number of hydrogen bonds were chosen. These compounds may be effective at inhibiting the target enzyme's (LmTr) activity, making them new leishmaniasis treatments. These compounds may serve as a useful starting point for a hit-to-lead approach in the quest for new anti-Leishmania drugs that are more efficient and less cytotoxic. The average node degree is 5.09, the average local clustering coefficient is 0.868, and the PPI enrichment p-value is 8.9e-06, indicating that it is sufficiently connected to regulate the network. TRYR (LmTr protein) also interacts physically with ten additional proteins in the pathogenesis network. The findings of the study indicated that successfully suppressing the LmTr protein in vitro and in vivo may finally result in regulating the L. major pathogenesis.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Research and development of N,N'-diarylureas as anti-tumor agents

Tumor neovascularization provides abundant nutrients for the occurrence and development of tumors, and is also an important factor in tumor invasion and metastasis, which has attracted extensive attention in anti-tumor therapy. Sorafenib is a clinically approved multi-targeted anti-tumor drug that targets vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) and inhibits the formation of tumor angiogenesis, thereby achieving the purpose of suppressing tumor growth. Since the approval of sorafenib, N,N'-diarylureas have received extensive attention as the key pharmacophore in its chemical structure. And a series of N,N'-diarylureas were designed and synthesized to screen a new generation of anti-tumor drug candidates through chemical modification and structural optimization. Moreover, the rational design of targeted drugs is beneficial to reduce toxic side effects and drug resistance and improve the curative effect. Here, this article reviews the research progress in the design, classification, structure-activity relationship (SAR) and biological activity of N,N'-diarylureas, in order to provide some prospective routes for the development of clinically effective anti-tumor drugs.

Bioinformatics analysis reveals the potential target of rosiglitazone as an antiangiogenic agent for breast cancer therapy

Background

Several studies have demonstrated the antitumor activity of rosiglitazone (RGZ) in cancer cells, including breast cancer cells. However, the molecular targets of RGZ in the inhibition of angiogenesis in breast cancer cells remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the potential targets of RGZ in inhibiting breast cancer angiogenesis using bioinformatics-based analysis.

Results

Venn diagram analysis revealed 29 TR proteins. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that TR regulated the adipocytokine, AMPK, and PPAR signaling pathways. Oncoprint analysis showed genetic alterations in FABP4 (14%), ADIPOQ (2.9%), PPARG (2.8%), PPARGC1A (1.5%), CD36 (1.7%), and CREBBP (11%) in patients with breast cancer in a TCGA study. The mRNA levels of FABP4, ADIPOQ, PPARG, CD36, and PPARGC1A were significantly lower in patients with breast cancer than in those without breast cancer. Analysis of gene expression using bc-GenExMiner showed that the mRNA levels of FABP, ADIPOQ, PPARG, CD36, PPARGC1A, and CREBBP were significantly lower in basal-like and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells than in non-basal-like and non-TNBC cells. In general, the protein levels of these genes were low, except for that of CREBBP. Patients with breast cancer who had low mRNA levels of FABP4, ADIPOQ, PPARG, and PPARGC1A had lower overall survival rates than those with high mRNA levels, which was supported by the overall survival related to DNA methylation. Correlation analysis of immune cell infiltration with TR showed a correlation between TR and immune cell infiltration, highlighting the potential of RGZ for immunotherapy.

Conclusion

This study explored the potential targets of RGZ as antiangiogenic agents in breast cancer therapy and highlighted FABP4, ADIPOQ, PPARG, PPARGC1A, CD36, and CREBBP as potential targets of RGZ. These findings require further validation to explore the potential of RGZ as an antiangiogenic agent.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12863-022-01086-2.

Recent studies have focused on the development of indirect angiogenesis inhibitors.

Bioinformatics-based identification of potential rosiglitazone target genes to inhibit breast cancer angiogenesis.

FABP4, ADIPOQ, PPARG, PPARGC1A, CD36, and CREBBP are potential targets of rosiglitazone.

Synthetic and Naturally Occurring Heterocyclic Anticancer Compounds with Multiple Biological Targets

Cancer is a complex group of diseases initiated by abnormal cell division with the potential of spreading to other parts of the body. The advancement in the discoveries of omics and bio- and cheminformatics has led to the identification of drugs inhibiting putative targets including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family receptors, fibroblast growth factors (FGF), platelet derived growth factors (PDGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), thymidine phosphorylase (TP), and neuropeptide Y4 (NY4), amongst others. Drug resistance, systemic toxicity, and drug ineffectiveness for various cancer chemo-treatments are widespread. Due to this, efficient therapeutic agents targeting two or more of the putative targets in different cancer cells are proposed as cutting edge treatments. Heterocyclic compounds, both synthetic and natural products, have, however, contributed immensely to chemotherapeutics for treatments of various diseases, but little is known about such compounds and their multimodal anticancer properties. A compendium of heterocyclic synthetic and natural product multitarget anticancer compounds, their IC50, and biological targets of inhibition are therefore presented in this review.

Self-Assembled Micelles of Amphiphilic PEGylated Drugs for Cancer Treatment

Generally, poor solubility and imprecise delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs can compromise their efficacies for clinical cancer treatment. In order to address such concerns, poor water-soluble drugs are conjugated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to obtain PEGylated drugs, which have improved water solubility and can also self-assemble in an aqueous solution to form micelles (PEGylated drug micelles). The surface PEG layer enhances the micelles' colloidal stability and reduces the interaction with physiological surroundings. Meanwhile, PEGylated drug micelles are tumor- targeting via the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect to improve antitumor efficacy in comparison with free drugs. PEGylated drug micelles employ drugs as parts of the carrier medium, which increases the micelles' drug loading capacity relatively. The development of stimuli- responsive PEGylated drug micelles facilitates the drug release to be smart and controllable. Moreover, the PEGylated drug micelles show great potentials in overcoming the challenges of cancer therapy, such as multidrug resistance (MDR), angiogenesis, immunosuppression, and so on. In this review, we highlight the research progresses of PEGylated drug micelles, including the structures and properties, smart stimuli-responsive PEGylated drug micelles, and the challenges that have been overcome by PEGylated drug micelles.

Construction of an AuHQ nano-sensitizer for enhanced radiotherapy efficacy through remolding tumor vasculature

As a radiotherapy sensitizer, gold-based nanomaterials can significantly enhance radiotherapy efficacy. However, the severe hypoxia and the low accumulation of nanomedicine at the tumor site caused by poor perfusion have seriously affected the effect of radiotherapy. Tumor vascular normalization has emerged as a new strategy for increasing the efficacy of radiotherapy due to its ability to relieve hypoxia and increase perfusion. However, a commonly used approach of blocking a single growth factor to induce vascular normalization is limited by the compensation effect of evasive drug resistance. In this work, we developed a strategy to simultaneously reduce the expression of multi-angiogenic growth factors by suppressing the oxidative stress effects in tumor. Herein, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were modified with 8-hydroxyquinoline (HQ) to obtain AuHQ. This system has a simple structure and could inhibit the production of reactive oxygen species in tumor cells by chelating iron ions, and attenuating the expression of angiopoietin-2, vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In vivo, AuHQ treatment increased pericyte coverage, modulated tumor leakage while alleviating tumor hypoxia and increased blood perfusion, thereby inducing tumor vascular normalization. Consequently, Au accumulation of the AuHQ group increased by 1.94 fold compared to that in the control group. Furthermore, the antitumor efficacy of radiotherapy was increased by 38% compared to the Au NPs-treated group. Therefore, AuHQ may be a promising nanomedicine for future cancer treatment.

KinomeRun: An interactive utility for kinome target screening and interaction fingerprint analysis towards holistic visualization on kinome tree

Kinases are key targets for many of the pathological conditions. Inverse screening of ligands serves as an essential mode to identify potential kinase targets in modern drug discovery research. Hence, we intend to develop KinomeRun, a robust pipeline for inverse screening and kinome tree visualization through the seamless integration of kinome structures, docking and kinome-drug interaction fingerprint analysis. In this pipeline, the hurdle of residue numbering in kinome is also resolved by creating a common index file with the conserved kinase pocket residues for comparative interaction analysis. KinomeRun can be used to screen the ligands of interest docked against multiple kinase structures in parallel around the kinase binding site and also to filter out the targets with unique interaction patterns. This automation is essential for prioritization of kinase targets that show specificity for a given drug and will also serve as a crucial tool kit for holistic approaches in kinase drug discovery. KinomeRun is developed using python and bash programming language and is distributed freely under the GNU GPL licence-3.0 and can be downloaded at https://github.com/inpacdb/KinomeRun. The tutorial videos for installation, target screening and customized filtration are available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuIaEFtMVgQ7v__WigQH9ilGVxrfI1LKs and also be downloaded for offline viewing from the github link.

Design and synthesis of novel pyridazinoquinazoline derivatives as potent VEGFR-2 inhibitors: In vitro and in vivo study

Worldwide, Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) endures to be a prominent cause of cancer death. Treatment of HCC follows multiple therapies which are not entirely applicable for treatment of all patients. HCC usually arises contextual to chronic liver diseases and is often discovered at later stages which makes treatment options more complex. The present study aimed at design, synthesis & evaluation of new pyridazinoquinazoline derivatives as potential nontoxic anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) agents, through inhibition of Vascular endothelial growth factor -2 (VEGFR-2). Novel Pyridazino[3, 4, 5-de]quinazoline derivatives (2-6) were designed & synthesized. Their structures were confirmed via spectral and microanalytical data. They were tested for their in vitro VEGFR-2 inhibition & anticancer activity against human liver cancer cell line (HEPG-2). Molecular docking was investigated into VEGFR-2 site. In vivo studies of VEGRF-2 inhibition and the anti-apoptotic effect of the new compounds were determined in liver of irradiated rats. Toxicity of synthesized compounds was also assessed. The results showed that compounds 3-6 have significant antitumor activity and proved to be non-toxic. The ethoxy aniline derivative 6, exhibited the highest activity both in vitro and in vivo compared to the reference drug used, sorafenib. Compound 6 could be considered a promising nontoxic anti HCC agent and this could be partially attributed to its VEGFR-2 inhibition. Future preclinical investigation would be carried out to confirm the specific and exact mechanism of action of these derivatives especially compound 6 as an effective pharmaceutical agent after full toxicological and pharmacological assessment.

Discovery of chalcone-modified estradiol analogs as antitumour agents that Inhibit tumour angiogenesis and epithelial to mesenchymal transition

Angiogenesis plays an essential role in tumourigenesis and tumour progression, and anti-angiogenesis therapies have shown promising antitumour effects in solid tumours. 2-Methoxyestradiol (2ME2), an endogenous metabolite of estradiol, has been regarded as a potential antitumour agent mainly targeting angiogenesis. Here we synthesized a novel series of chalcones based on 2-methoxyestradiol and evaluated their potential activities against tumours. Compound 11e was demonstrated to have potent antiangiogenic activity. Further studies showed that 11e suppressed tumour growth in human breast cancer (MCF-7) xenograft models without obvious side effects. Evaluation of the mechanism revealed that 11e targeted the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in MCF-7 cells and inhibited HUVEC migration and then contributed to hindrance of angiogenesis. Thus, 11e may be a promising antitumour agent with excellent efficacy and low toxicity.

Comparing biologicals and small molecule drug therapies for chronic respiratory diseases: An EAACI Taskforce on Immunopharmacology position paper

Chronic airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), together with their comorbidities, bear a significant burden on public health. Increased appreciation of molecular networks underlying inflammatory airway disease needs to be translated into new therapies for distinct phenotypes not controlled by current treatment regimens. On the other hand, development of new safe and effective therapies for such respiratory diseases is an arduous and expensive process. Antibody-based (biological) therapies are successful in treating certain respiratory conditions not controlled by standard therapies such as severe allergic and refractory eosinophilic severe asthma, while in other inflammatory respiratory diseases, such as COPD, biologicals are having a more limited impact. Small molecule drug (SMD)-based therapies represent an active field in pharmaceutical research and development. SMDs expand biologicals' therapeutic targets by reaching the intracellular compartment by delivery as either an oral or topically based formulation, offering both convenience and lower costs. Aim of this review was to compare and contrast the distinct pharmacological properties and clinical applications of SMDs- and antibody-based treatment strategies, their limitations and challenges, in order to highlight how they should be integrated for their optimal utilization and to fill the critical gaps in current treatment for these chronic inflammatory respiratory diseases.

HMQ-T-F5 (1-(4-(2-aminoquinazolin-7-yl)phenyl)-3-(2‑bromo‑5- (trifluoromethoxy)phenyl) thiourea) suppress proliferation and migration of human cervical HeLa cells via inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

Drug therapy plays an important role in the treatment of cervical cancer, which is one of the most common solid tumors in women. Therefore, it is important to seek more effective and less toxic therapies.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to investigate the therapeutic potential of HMQ-T-F5 (1-(4-(2-aminoquinazolin-7-yl)phenyl)-3-(2‑bromo‑5-(trifluoromethoxy) phenyl)thiourea) (F5) for cervical cancer and explore the related mechanism.

METHODS

By performing MTT assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, wound-healing assay, transwell assay, immunofluorescent staining and siRNA assay, we study the effect of F5 on human cervical HeLa cells. The mechanism of F5 was also investigated.

RESULTS

We found that F5 significantly inhibited HeLa cell proliferation, led to accumulation of cells in the S phase, and induced apoptosis and inhibited migration. Mechanistically, F5 inhibited HeLa cell growth and migration through repressing the expression and nuclear translocation of β-catenin, enhancing Axin expression, inhibiting the phosphorylation of LRP5/6 and GSK3β, as well as downregulating the Wnt downstream targeted proteins. Knockdown of a checkpoint β-catenin by siRNA significantly attenuated HeLa cell proliferation. Furthermore, XAV939, an inhibitor of β-catenin, was used to treat HeLa cells and the results demonstrated that F5 inhibited proliferation and migration via the inhibition of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrated that F5 can target β-catenin potentially and is useful in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Discovery of novel anti-angiogenesis agents. Part 8: Diaryl thiourea bearing 1H-indazole-3-amine as multi-target RTKs inhibitors

VEGFR-2, TIE-2, and EphB4 are essential for both angiogenesis and tumorigenesis. Herein, we designed and prepared three classes of multi-target inhibitors based on the extensive sequence homology along the kinase domain of angiogenic RTKs. Biological evaluation indicated that these multi-target inhibitors exhibited considerable potential as novel anti-angiogeneic and anticancer agents. Among them, a diaryl thiourea bearing 1H-indazole-3-amine (16a) displayed the most potent RTK inhibition and excellent selectivity. It also showed inhibition on viability of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and anti-proliferation against a broad spectrum of cancer cells. Therefore, 1H-indazole-3-amine could serve as a promising hinge binding group for multi-target inhibitors of VEGFR-2, Tie-2, and EphB4.