Design, synthesis, antineoplastic activity of new pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives as dual CDK2/GSK3β kinase inhibitors; molecular docking study, and ADME prediction

In the current study, novel pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives 5a-h were designed and synthesized as targeted anti-cancer agents through dual CDK2/GSK-3β inhibition. The designed compounds demonstrated moderate to potent activity on the evaluated cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and T-47D). Compounds 5c and 5 g showed the most promising cytotoxic activity against the tested cell lines surpassing that of the used reference standard; staurosporine. On the other hand, both compounds showed good safety and tolerability on normal fibroblast cell line (MCR5). The final compounds 5c and 5 g showed a promising dual CDK2/GSK-3β inhibitory activity with IC50 of 0.244 and 0.128 μM, respectively, against CDK2, and IC50 of 0.317 and 0.160 μM, respectively, against GSK-3β. Investigating the effect of compounds 5c and 5 g on CDK2 and GSK-3β downstream cascades showed that they reduced the relative cellular content of phosphorylated RB1 and β-catenin compared to that in the untreated MCF-7 cells. Moreover, compounds 5c and 5 g showed a reasonable selective inhibition against the target kinases CDK2/GSK-3β in comparison to a set of seven off-target kinases. Furthermore, the most potent compound 5 g caused cell cycle arrest at the S phase in MCF-7 cells preventing the cells' progression to G2/M phase inducing cell apoptosis. Molecular docking studies showed that the final pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives have analogous binding modes in the target kinases interacting with the hinge region key amino acids. Molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the predicted binding mode by molecular docking. Moreover, in silico predictions indicated their favorable physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties in addition to their promising cytotoxic activity.

In(OTf)3-catalyzed formal (4 + 3) cycloaddition reactions of 3-benzylideneindoline-2-thiones with 2-indolylmethanols

We report the In(OTf)3-catalyzed formal (4 + 3) cycloaddition of 3-benzylideneindoline-2-thiones with 2-indolylmethanols. This reaction not only broadens the synthetic utility of 3-benzylideneindoline-2-thiones as scarce indole-based sulfur-containing four-atom building blocks, but also provides a rapid and facile access to synthesize diindole-annulated tetrahydrothiepines.

Novel guanidine derivatives targeting leukemia as selective Src/Abl dual inhibitors: Design, synthesis and anti-proliferative activity

A new series of benzene-sulfonamide derivatives 3a-i was designed and synthesized via the reaction of N-(pyrimidin-2-yl)cyanamides 1a-i with sulfamethazine sodium salt 2 as dual Src/Abl inhibitors. Spectral data IR, 1H-, 13C- NMR and elemental analyses were used to confirm the structures of all the newly synthesized compounds 3a-i and 4a-i. Crucially, we screened all the synthesized compounds 3a-i against NCI 60 cancer cell lines. Among all, compound 3b was the most potent, with IC50 of 0.018 μM for normoxia, and 0.001 μM for hypoxia, compared to staurosporine against HL-60 leukemia cell line. To verify the selectivity of this derivative, it was assessed against a panel of tyrosine kinase EGFR, VEGFR-2, B-raf, ERK, CK1, p38-MAPK, Src and Abl enzymes. Results revealed that compound 3b can effectively and selectively inhibit Src/Abl with IC500.25 μM and Abl inhibitory activity with IC500.08 μM, respectively, and was found to be more potent on these enzymes than other kinases that showed the following results: EGFR IC500.31 μM, VEGFR-2 IC500.68 μM, B-raf IC500.33 μM, ERK IC501.41 μM, CK1 IC500.29 μM and p38-MAPK IC500.38 μM. Moreover, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis performed to compound 3b against HL-60 suggesting its antiproliferative activity through Src/Abl inhibition. Finally, molecular docking studies and physicochemical properties prediction for compounds 3b, 3c, and 3 h were carried out to investigate their biological activities and clarify their bioavailability.

Synthesis of tetrahydrocarbazoles through a radical cation [4+2] cycloaddition reaction of 2-vinylindoles

A redox umpolung strategy for the synthesis of complex tetrahydrocarbazoles is reported. The reaction involves a visible light promoted radical cation [4+2] cycloaddition between 2-vinylindoles and conjugated alkenes that proceeds with good yields and diastereoselectivity.

Asymmetric Friedel-Crafts-Type Reaction of 2-Vinylindoles to N-Boc Imines Using a Chiral Imidazolidine-Containing NCN-Pincer Pd Catalyst

A chiral imidazolidine-containing NCN-pincer Pd-OTf complex (NCN-Pd cat) promoted the asymmetric nucleophilic addition of unprotected 2-vinylindoles to N-Boc imines in a Friedel-Crafts-type manner. The chiral (2-vinyl-1H-indol-3-yl)methanamine products become nice platforms for constructing multiple ring systems.

Design, synthesis, modeling studies and biological evaluation of pyrazole derivatives linked to oxime and nitrate moieties as nitric oxide donor selective COX-2 and aromatase inhibitors with dual anti-inflammatory and anti-neoplastic activities

Two new series of pyrazole derivatives 10a-f and 11a-f with selective COX-2 inhibition pharmacophore and oxime/nitrate moieties as NO donor moiety were designed, synthesized and tested for anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic activities and NO release. Compounds 10c, 11a, 11e were more selective for COX-2 isozyme (S.I. = 25.95, 22.52 and 21.54 respectively) in comparison to celecoxib (S.I. = 21.41). Regarding anti-cancer activity, all synthesized compounds were screened by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Bethesda, USA for anticancer activity against 60 human cancer cell lines representing the following cancer types: leukemia, non-small cell lung, colon, CNS, melanoma, ovarian, renal, prostate, and breast cancers. Compounds 10c, 11a, 11e were found to be the most potent inhibitors on breast, ovarian and melanoma cell lines (MCF-7, IGROV1 and SK-MEL-5), compound 11a causing 79 % inhibition in case of MCF-7, 78.80 % inhibition in case of SK-MEL-5 and unexpected cell growth -26.22 % inhibition in case of IGROV1 (IC₅₀ = 3.12, 4.28, 4.13 μM respectively). On the other hand, compounds 10c and 11e showed lower inhibition on the same cell lines with IC₅₀ = 3.58, 4.58, 4.28 μM respectively for 10c, IC₅₀ = 3.43, 4.73, 4.43 μM respectively for 11e. Furthermore, DNA-flow cytometric analysis showed that compound 11a induces cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase leading to cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis. Additionally, these derivatives examined against F180 fibroblasts to investigate their selectivity indexes. The pyrazole derivative with internal oxime 11a was the most potent compound against most used cell lines especially MCF-7, IGROV1 and SK-MEL-5 (IC₅₀ = 3.12, 4.28, 4.13 μM respectively) with 4.82-fold selectivity towards MCF-7 than F180 fibroblasts. Moreover, oxime derivative 11a showed potent aromatase inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ 16.50 μM) when compared with reference compound letrozole (IC₅₀ 15.60 μM). All compounds 10a-f and 11a-f released NO in a slow rate (0.73-3.88 %) and the six derivatives 10c, 10e, 11a, 11b, 11c and 11e were the highest NO releasers (3.88, 2.15, 3.27, 2.27, 2.55 and 3.74 % respectively). Herein structure based and ligand based studies were implemented to under stand and evaluate the compounds activity for further in vivo and preclinical studies. Docking mode of final designed compounds with celecoxib (ID: 3LN1) represented that their triazole ring adopted as the core aryl in Y shaped structure. Regarding aromatase enzyme inhibition, docking was carried out with ID: 1 M17. The internal oxime series was more active as anticancer because of their ability to form extra HBs with receptor cleft.

Synthesis of 3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-one derivatives and their antioomycete activity against the phytopathogen Pythium recalcitrans†

In an effort to exploit the bioactive natural scaffold 3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-one for plant disease management, 59 derivatives of this scaffold were synthesized using the Castagnoli–Cushman reaction. The results of bioassay indicated that their antioomycete activity against Pythium recalcitrans was superior to the antifungal activity against the other 6 phytopathogens. Compound I23 showed the highest in vitro potency against P. recalcitrans with an EC₅₀ value of 14 μM, which was higher than that of the commercial hymexazol (37.7 μM). Moreover, I23 exhibited in vivo preventive efficacy of 75.4% at the dose of 2.0 mg/pot, which did not show significant differences compared with those of hymexazol treatments (63.9%). When the dose was 5.0 mg per pot, I23 achieved a preventive efficacy of 96.5%. The results of the physiological and biochemical analysis, the ultrastructural observation and lipidomics analysis suggested that the mode of action of I23 might be the disruption of the biological membrane systems of P. recalcitrans. In addition, the established CoMFA and CoMSIA models with reasonable statistics in the three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship (3D-QSAR) study revealed the necessity of the C4-carboxyl group and other structural requirements for activity. Overall, the above results would help us to better understand the mode of action and the SAR of these derivatives, and provide crucial information for further design and development of more potent 3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-one derivatives as antioomycete agents against P. recalcitrans.

A collection of 3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-one derivatives were synthesized by Castagnoli–Cushman reaction to screen antioomycete agents against Pythium recalcitrans.

Direct selenosulfonylation of unsaturated compounds: a review

In this review, we have discussed recent developments on the direct selenosulfonylation of unsaturated compounds which lead to the formation of two new carbon-sulfur and carbon-selenium bonds in a single operation. The reactions were classified based on the type of starting unsaturated compound and product. Thus, the review is divided into three major sections. The first describes the current literature on selenosulfonylation of alkenes. The second section covers the available literature on selenosulfonylation of alkynes. The third focuses exclusively on selenosulfonylation of allenes.

In this review, we have discussed recent developments on the direct selenosulfonylation of unsaturated compounds which lead to the formation of two new carbon-sulfur and carbon-selenium bonds in a single operation.