Discovery of new 4-alkoxyquinazoline-based derivatives as potent VEGFR2 inhibitors

Quinazoline-based VEGFR-2 inhibitors as potential anti-angiogenic agents: A contemporary perspective of SAR and molecular docking studies

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from the existing vasculature, is pivotal in the migration, growth, and differentiation of endothelial cells in normal physiological conditions. In various types of tumour microenvironments, dysregulated angiogenesis plays a crucial role in supplying oxygen and nutrients to cancerous cells, leading to tumour size growth. VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase has been extensively studied as a critical regulator of angiogenesis; thus, inhibition of VEGFR-2 has been widely used for cancer treatments in recent years. Quinazoline nucleus is a privileged and versatile scaffold with a broad range of pharmacological activity, especially in the field of tyrosine kinase inhibitors with more than twenty small molecule inhibitors approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in the last two decades. As of now, the U.S. FDA has approved eleven small chemical inhibitors of VEGFR-2 for various types of malignancies, with a prime example being vandetanib, a quinazoline derivative, which is a multi targeted kinase inhibitor used for the treatment of late-stage medullary thyroid cancer. Despite of prosperous discovery and development of VEGFR-2 down regulator drugs, there still exists limitations in clinical efficacy, adverse effects, a high rate of clinical discontinuation and drug resistance. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the design and synthesis of more selective and effective inhibitors to tackle these challenges. Through the gathering of this review, we have strived to broaden the extent of our view over the entire scope of quinazoline-based VEGFR-2 inhibitors. Herein, we give an overview of the importance and advancement status of reported structures, highlighting the SAR, biological evaluations and their binding modes.

Design, Synthesis, Antibacterial Evaluation, Three-Dimensional Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship, and Mechanism of Novel Quinazolinone Derivatives

Plant bacterial illnesses are common and cause dramatic damage to agricultural goods all over the world, yet there are few efficient bactericides to alleviate them at present. To discover novel antibacterial agents, two series of quinazolinone derivatives with novel structures were synthesized and their bioactivity against plant bacteria was tested. Combining CoMFA model search and the antibacterial bioactivity assay, D32 was identified as a potent antibacterial inhibitor against Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae (Xoo), with an EC₅₀ value of 1.5 μg/mL, much better in inhibitory capacity compared to bismerthiazol (BT) and thiodiazole copper (TC) (31.9 and 74.2 μg/mL). The activities of compound D32 against rice bacterial leaf blight in vivo were 46.7% (protective activities) and 43.9% (curative activities), better than commercial drug thiodiazole copper (29.3% protective activities and 30.6% curative activities). Flow cytometry, proteomics, reactive oxygen species, and key defense enzymes were used to further investigate the relevant mechanisms of action of D32. The identification of D32 as an antibacterial inhibitor and revelation of its recognition mechanism not only open the possibility of developing new therapeutic strategies for treatment of Xoo but also provide clues for elucidation of the acting mechanism of quinazolinone derivative D32, which is a possible clinical candidate worth in-depth study.

Apoptotic and Cell Cycle Effects of Triterpenes Isolated from Phoradendron wattii on Leukemia Cell Lines

Current antineoplastic agents present multiple disadvantages, driving an ongoing search for new and better compounds. Four lupane-type triterpenes, 3α,24-dihydroxylup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (1), 3α,23-dihydroxy-30-oxo-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (2), 3α,23-O-isopropylidenyl-3α,23-dihydroxylup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (3), and 3α,23-dihydroxylup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid (4), previously isolated from Phoradendron wattii, were evaluated on two cell lines of chronic (K562) and acute (HL60) myeloid leukemia. Compounds 1, 2, and 4 decreased cell viability and inhibit proliferation, mainly in K562, and exhibited an apoptotic effect from 24 h of treatment. Of particular interest is compound 2, which caused arrest in active phases (G2/M) of the cell cycle, as shown by in silico study of the CDK1/Cyclin B/Csk2 complex by molecular docking. This compound [3α,23-dihydroxy-30-oxo-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid] s a promising candidate for incorporation into cancer treatments and deserves further study.

An appraisal of anticancer activity with structure-activity relationship of quinazoline and quinazolinone analogues through EGFR and VEGFR inhibition: A review

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death. Globally a huge number of deaths and new incidences are reported annually. Heterocyclic compounds have been proved to be very effective in the treatment of different types of cancer. Among different heterocyclic scaffolds, quinazoline and quinazolinone core were found versatile and interesting with many biological activities. In the discovery of novel anticancer agents, the Quinazoline core is very effective. The FDA has approved more than 20 drugs as an anticancer bearing quinazoline or quinazolinone core in the last two decades. One prime example is Dacomitinib, which was newly approved for non-small-cell lung carcinoma treatment in 2018. These drugs work by different pathways to prevent the spread of cancer cell progression, including inhibition of different kinases, tubulin, kinesin spindle protein, and so forth. This review presented recent developments of quinazoline/quinazolinone scaffold bearing derivatives as anticancer agents acting as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), and dual EGFR/VEGFR inhibitors.

Synthesis of piperazine-based thiazolidinones as VEGFR2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors inducing apoptosis

Aim: VEGFR2 tyrosine kinase is a main target in suppressing cancer growth and metastasis. Materials & methods: Piperazine-based thiazolidinones were synthesized and screened for their anticancer and VEGFR2 tyrosine kinase inhibitory activity. Results: Compounds 11, 13 and 16 displayed potent anticancer activity against HepG-2 with IC50 values 0.03–0.06 μM. They were safe on normal human fibroblasts with selectivity indices 8.09, 11.40 and 4.37, respectively. Also, these compounds showed VEGFR2 tyrosine kinase inhibitory activities more than the reference staurosporine with IC50 values <0.3 μM. Lineweaver–Burk plot revealed that these compounds behaved as uncompetitive VEGFR2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors. They also induced caspase-dependent apoptosis in HepG-2. In addition, these compounds revealed good binding within VEGFR2 tyrosine kinase enzyme in comparison with sorafenib reference. Conclusion: Compounds 11, 13 and 16 comprise a new promising scaffold of selective VEGFR2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors with caspase-dependent apoptotic activities.