Synthesis of novel 6,7-dimethoxy-4-anilinoquinolines as potent c-Met inhibitors

SPOP regulates the expression profiles and alternative splicing events in human hepatocytes

Speckle type BTB/POZ protein (SPOP) may have cancer promoting or inhibiting effects. At present, the role of SPOP in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has rarely been studied. In this study, to investigate the effects of SPOP in HCC and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of its relationship with genes, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were classified through RNA sequencing. The gene ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional pathway analysis were used to further predict the function of DEGs after the overexpression of SPOP. The biological function of SPOP-regulated alternative splicing events in cells is comprehensively assessed. The Cancer Genome Atlas database and Gene Expression Omnibus dataset were performed to evaluate the correlation between SPOP and HCC progression. Due to SPOP overexpression, 56 DEGs in the HCC related pathway were further identified. The results showed that SPOP overexpression facilitated the cell proliferation and changed the gene expression profiles of human normal hepatocytes. SPOP-regulated alternative splicing events were involved in pathways associated with cellular processes, metabolism, environmental information procession, organismal systems, and so on. In conclusion, SPOP may potentially exhibit tumor-promoting effects, necessitating further investigations to unveil its molecular mechanisms comprehensively.

Benzimidazole and its derivatives as cancer therapeutics: The potential role from traditional to precision medicine

Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality globally which remains a continuing threat to human health today. Drug insensitivity and resistance are critical hurdles in cancer treatment; therefore, the development of new entities targeting malignant cells is considered a high priority. Targeted therapy is the cornerstone of precision medicine. The synthesis of benzimidazole has garnered the attention of medicinal chemists and biologists due to its remarkable medicinal and pharmacological properties. Benzimidazole has a heterocyclic pharmacophore, which is an essential scaffold in drug and pharmaceutical development. Multiple studies have demonstrated the bioactivities of benzimidazole and its derivatives as potential anticancer therapeutics, either through targeting specific molecules or non-gene-specific strategies. This review provides an update on the mechanism of actions of various benzimidazole derivatives and the structure‒activity relationship from conventional anticancer to precision healthcare and from bench to clinics.

Benzimidazole hybrids as anticancer drugs: An updated review on anticancer properties, structure-activity relationship, and mechanisms of action (2019-2021)

Cancer, characterized by a deregulation of the cell cycle which mainly results in a progressive loss of cellular differentiation and uncontrolled cellular growth, remains a prominent cause of death across the world. Almost all currently available anticancer agents used in clinical practice have developed multidrug resistance, creating an urgent need to develop novel chemotherapeutics. Benzimidazole derivatives could exert anticancer properties through diverse mechanisms, inclusive of the disruption of microtubule polymerization, the induction of apoptosis, cell cycle (G2/M) arrest, antiangiogenesis, and blockage of glucose transport. Moreover, several benzimidazole-based agents have already been approved for the treatment of cancers. Hence, benzimidazole derivatives are useful scaffolds for the development of novel anticancer agents. In particular, benzimidazole hybrids could exert dual or multiple antiproliferative activities and had the potential to overcome drug resistance, demonstrating the potential of benzimidazole hybrids as potential prototypes for clinical deployment in the control and eradication of cancers. The purpose of the present review article is to provide a comprehensive landscape of benzimidazole hybrids as potential anticancer agents, and the structure-activity relationship as well as mechanisms of action are also discussed to facilitate the further rational design of more effective candidates, covering articles published from 2019 to 2021.

Structure-activity relationship study of novel quinazoline-based 1,6-naphthyridinones as MET inhibitors with potent antitumor efficacy

As a privileged scaffold, the quinazoline ring is widely used in the development of EGFR inhibitors, while few quinazoline-based MET inhibitors are reported. In our ongoing efforts to develop new MET-targeted anticancer drug candidates, a series of quinazoline-based 1,6-naphthyridinone derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their biological activities. The preliminary SARs studies indicate that the quinazoline scaffold was also acceptable for the block A of class II MET inhibitors. The further pharmacokinetic studies led to the identification of the most promising compound 22a with favorable in vitro potency (MET, IC₅₀ = 9.0 nM), human microsomal metabolic stability (t_1/2 = 621.2 min) and oral bioavailability (F = 42%). Moreover, 22a displayed good in vivo antitumor efficacy (IR of 81% in 75 mg/kg) in MET-positive human glioblastoma U-87 MG xenograft model. These positive results indicated that 22a is a potential new MET-targeted antitumor drug lead, which is worthy of further development.

Recent Patents on the Development of c-Met Kinase Inhibitors

Background :

Receptor Tyrosine Kinases (RTKs) play critical roles in a variety of cellular processes including growth, differentiation and angiogenesis, and in the development and progression of many types of cancer. Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transition Factor (c-Met) kinase is one of the types of RTKs and has become an attractive target for anti-tumor drug designing. c-Met inhibitors have a broad prospect in tumor prevention, chemotherapy, biotherapy, and especially in tumor resistance.

Objective:

The purpose of this article is to review recent research progress of c-Met inhibitors reported in patents since 2015.

Methods:

A comprehensive Scifinder and Web of Science literature review was conducted to identify all c-Met inhibitors published in patents since 2015.

Results:

There are two kinds of c-Met inhibitors, one is from natural products, and the other one is of synthetic origin. Most of these c-Met inhibitors show potent in vivo and in vitro antitumor activities and have potential in the treatment of cancers.

Conclusion:

c-Met kinase inhibitors have emerged as an exciting new drug class for the treatment of all kinds of cancers, especially the Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) with tumor resistance. More studies should be conducted on natural products to find novel c-Met kinase inhibitors.

Quinoline-Based Molecules Targeting c-Met, EGF, and VEGF Receptors and the Proteins Involved in Related Carcinogenic Pathways

The quinoline ring system has long been known as a versatile nucleus in the design and synthesis of biologically active compounds. Currently, more than one hundred quinoline compounds have been approved in therapy as antimicrobial, local anaesthetic, antipsychotic, and anticancer drugs. In drug discovery, indeed, over the last few years, an increase in the publication of papers and patents about quinoline derivatives possessing antiproliferative properties has been observed. This trend can be justified by the versatility and accessibility of the quinoline scaffold, from which new derivatives can be easily designed and synthesized. Within the numerous quinoline small molecules developed as antiproliferative drugs, this review is focused on compounds effective on c-Met, VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor), and EGF (epidermal growth factor) receptors, pivotal targets for the activation of important carcinogenic pathways (Ras/Raf/MEK and PI3K/AkT/mTOR). These signalling cascades are closely connected and regulate the survival processes in the cell, such as proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and angiogenesis. The antiproliferative biological data of remarkable quinoline compounds have been analysed, confirming the pivotal importance of this ring system in the efficacy of several approved drugs. Furthermore, in view of an SAR (structure-activity relationship) study, the most recurrent ligand–protein interactions of the reviewed molecules are summarized.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel (E)-N'-benzylidene hydrazides as novel c-Met inhibitors through fragment based virtual screening

C-Met plays a crucial role in the development and progression of neoplastic disease. Type II c-Met inhibitors recognise the inactive DFG-out conformation of the kinase, result in better anti-tumour effects due to synergistic effect against the other kinases. According to our previous works, an (E)-N'-benzylidene group was selected as the initial fragment. Two series of (E)-N'-benzylidene hydrazides were designed by fragment growth method. The inhibitory activities were in vitro investigated against c-Met and VEGFR-2. Compound 10b exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity against the c-Met inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 0.37 nM). Compound 11b exhibited multi-target c-Met kinase inhibitory activity as a potential type II c-Met inhibitor (IC₅₀ = 3.41 nM against c-Met; 25.34 nM against VEGFR-2). The two compounds also demonstrate the feasibility of fragment-based virtual screening method for drug discovery.

Large-Scale Virtual Screening Against the MET Kinase Domain Identifies a New Putative Inhibitor Type

By using an ensemble-docking strategy, we undertook a large-scale virtual screening campaign in order to identify new putative hits against the MET kinase target. Following a large molecular dynamics sampling of its conformational space, a set of 45 conformers of the kinase was retained as docking targets to take into account the flexibility of the binding site moieties. Our screening funnel started from about 80,000 chemical compounds to be tested in silico for their potential affinities towards the kinase binding site. The top 100 molecules selected—thanks to the molecular docking results—were further analyzed for their interactions, and 25 of the most promising ligands were tested for their ability to inhibit MET activity in cells. F0514-4011 compound was the most efficient and impaired this scattering response to HGF (Hepatocyte Growth Factor) with an IC50 of 7.2 μM. Interestingly, careful docking analysis of this molecule with MET suggests a possible conformation halfway between classical type-I and type-II MET inhibitors, with an additional region of interaction. This compound could therefore be an innovative seed to be repositioned from its initial antiviral purpose towards the field of MET inhibitors. Altogether, these results validate our ensemble docking strategy as a cost-effective functional method for drug development.