Prediction of caspase-3 inhibitory activity of 1,3-dioxo-4-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1h-pyrrolo[3,4-c] quinolines: QSAR study

Biological properties of pyrroloquinoline and pyrroloisoquinoline derivatives

In this review, we summarize pyrroloquinoline and pyrroloisoquinoline derivatives (PQs and PIQs) that act on a broad spectrum of biological targets and are used as bacteriostatic, antiviral, plasmodial, anticancer, antidiabetic and anticoagulant agents. Many of these compounds play important roles in the study of DNA and its interactions, the regulation of the cell cycle and programmed cell death. This review involves twenty-five types of skeletally analogical compounds bearing pyrrole and (iso)quinoline scaffolds with different mutual annelations.

Pyrazole-promoted synthesis of pyrrolo[3,4-c] quinoline-1,3-diones in a novel diketene-based reaction

We describe the first classic example of green synthesis of pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinolones scaffolds by catalyst-free unusual reaction of diketene, isatin, and primary amines in ethanol in the presence of pyrazole as a promoter for 4 h. The whole structure of the new product was confirmed by X-ray analysis. The overall transformation involves the cleavage and generation of multiple carbon-nitrogen and carbon-carbon bonds. This report represents a simple and straightforward approach for the synthesis of pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline-1,3-diones, which has significant advantages like readily available precursors, non-use of toxic solvent, operational simplicity, mild conditions, good atom economy, and excellent yields; therefore it provides a green and sustainable strategy for access to a range of interesting N-containing heterocyclic compounds in medicinal and organic chemistry.

Overcoming Back Electron Transfer in the Electron Donor-Acceptor Complex-Mediated Visible Light-Driven Generation of α-Aminoalkyl Radicals from Secondary Anilines

An additive-free, visible light-driven annulation between N-aryl amino acids and maleimide to form tetrahydroquinolines (THQs) is disclosed. Photochemical activation of an electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex between amino acids and maleimides drives the reaction, and aerobic oxygen acts as the terminal oxidant in the net oxidative process. A range of N-aryl amino acids and maleimides have been investigated as substrates to furnish the target THQ in good to excellent yield. Mechanistic investigations, including titration and UV-vis studies, demonstrate the key role of the EDA complex as the photoactive species.

Investigation of 3D pharmacophore of N-benzyl benzamide molecules of melanogenesis inhibitors using a new descriptor Klopman index: uncertainties in model

We used a new descriptor called the Klopman index in our software of the "molecular comparative electron topology" (MCET) method to reduce the uncertainty resulting from the descriptors used in QSAR studies. The 3D pharmacophore model (3D-PhaM), which can demonstrate three-dimensional interaction between the ligand -receptor (L-R), is only possible with local reactive descriptors (LRD). The Klopman index, containing both Coulombic and frontier orbital and interactions of atoms of the ligand, is a good LRD. Molecular conformers having the best matching atoms with the template conformer can be selected as one of the most suitable spatial structures for interaction with the receptor, and the LRD values of the atoms in this conformer serve to determine 3D-PhaM. The 3D-PhaM of the N-benzyl benzamide derivatives, such as the melanogenesis inhibitor, was determined by ligand-based MCET and confirmed by the structure-based FlexX docking method. For compounds of the training set (42) and the external cross validation test set (6), the Q² (0.862) and R² (0.913) of the statistical parameters were calculated, respectively, and were checked by r_m² (0.85) of the stringent validation.

Synthesis of pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline-1,3-diones: a sequential oxidative annulation followed by dehydrogenation and N-demethylation strategy

A synthetic strategy for pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline-1,3-diones via oxidative annulation followed by DDQ mediated dehydrogenation and N-demethylation.

Crystal structure of diethyl 2-[(2-sulfan-yl-quinolin-3-yl)methyl-idene]malonate

In the title compound, C17H17N O4S, the quinoline ring system is nearly planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.0496 (16) Å. A weak intra-molecular C-H⋯O inter-action is observed. In the crystal, C-H⋯O, S-H⋯N and π-π stacking inter-actions between the fused benzene ring of quinoline and the pyridine moieties [shortest centroid-centroid distance = 3.6754 (11) Å] are observed. Inversion-related weak C-H⋯O inter-molecular inter-actions diagonally along [010], with R 2 (2)(10) ring motifs, and S-H⋯N inter-molecular inter-actions diagonally along [100], with R 2 (2)(8) ring motifs, are present, forming a three-dimensional network structure. No classical hydrogen bonds are observed.

Microwave-assisted synthesis of diverse pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline-1,3-diones and their antibacterial activities

With the aim of developing a general and practical method for library production, a novel and efficient two-phase microwave-assisted cascade reaction between isatins and β-ketoamides in [Bmim]BF4/toluene was developed for the synthesis of pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline-1,3-diones. The features of this methodology are, the use of microwave-assisted rapid synthesis, mild reaction conditions, high yields, operational simplicity, facile product separation, and recyclability. Furthermore, the antibacterial activities of the pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline-1,3-dione derivatives produced were evaluated against Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter aerogenes) and Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus). These derivatives showed antibacterial activities against Gram-positive strains that were at least equivalent to that against Gram-negative strains. Compound 7{3,5} displayed the most potent antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa (MIC = 0.5 μg/mL) and greater activity than standard ampicillin (MIC = 1 μg/mL). Compound 7{4,7} exhibited the best inhibitory activity against E. coli and E. aerogenes (MIC = 1 and 0.5 μg/mL), compared with the standard ampicillin (both MICs = 1 μg/mL). The synthesized pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline-1,3-diones are expected to be widely used as lead compounds for the development of new antibacterial agents.

Pharmacophore modeling and docking studies on some nonpeptide-based caspase-3 inhibitors

Neurodegenerative disorders are major consequences of excessive apoptosis caused by a proteolytic enzyme known as caspase-3. Therefore, caspase-3 inhibition has become a validated therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative disorders. We performed pharmacophore modeling on some synthetic derivatives of caspase-3 inhibitors (pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinoline-1,3-diones) using PHASE 3.0. This resulted in the common pharmacophore hypothesis AAHRR.6 which might be responsible for the biological activity: two aromatic rings (R) mainly in the quinoline nucleus, one hydrophobic (H) group (CH₃), and two acceptor (A) groups (–C=O). After identifying a valid hypothesis, we also developed an atom-based 3D-QSAR model applying the PLS algorithm. The developed model was statistically robust (q² = 0.53; pred_r² = 0.80). Additionally, we have performed molecular docking studies, cross-validated our results, and gained a deeper insight into its molecular recognition process. Our developed model may serve as a query tool for future virtual screening and drug designing for this particular target.

An efficient piecewise linear model for predicting activity of caspase-3 inhibitors

Background and purpose of the study

Multimodal distribution of descriptors makes it more difficult to fit a single global model to model the entire data set in quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) studies.

Methods

The linear (Multiple linear regression; MLR), non-linear (Artificial neural network; ANN), and an approach based on “Extended Classifier System in Function approximation” (XCSF) were applied herein to model the biological activity of 658 caspase-3 inhibitors.

Results

Various kinds of molecular descriptors were calculated to represent the molecular structures of the compounds. The original data set was partitioned into the training and test sets by the K-means classification method. Prediction error on the test data set indicated that the XCSF as a local model estimates caspase-3 inhibition activity, better than the global models such as MLR and ANN. The atom-centered fragment type CR₂X₂, electronegativity, polarizability, and atomic radius and also the lipophilicity of the molecule, were the main independent factors contributing to the caspase-3 inhibition activity.

Conclusions

The results of this study may be exploited for further design of novel caspase-3 inhibitors.