O-prenylated carbostyrils as a novel class of 15-lipoxygenase inhibitors: Synthesis, characterization, and inhibitory assessment

Design, synthesis, and pharmacological evaluation of indazole carboxamides of N-substituted pyrrole derivatives as soybean lipoxygenase inhibitors

In this paper, we attempted to develop a novel class of compounds against lipoxygenase, a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of leukotrienes implicated in a series of inflammatory diseases. Given the absence of appropriate human 5-lipoxygenase crystallographic data, solved soybean lipoxygenase-1 and -3 structures were used as a template to generate an accurate pharmacophore model which was further used for virtual screening purposes. Eight compounds (1-8) have been derived from the in-house library consisting of N-substituted pyrroles conjugated with 5- or 6-indazole moieties through a carboxamide linker. This study led to the discovery of hit molecule 8 bearing a naphthyl group with the IC50 value of 22 μM according to soybean lipoxygenase in vitro assay. Isosteric replacement of naphthyl ring with quinoline moieties and reduction of carbonyl carboxamide group resulted in compounds 9-12 and 13, respectively. Compound 12 demonstrated the most promising enzyme inhibition. In addition, compounds 8 and 12 were found to reduce the carrageenan-induced paw edema in vivo by 52.6 and 49.8%, respectively. In view of the encouraging outcomes concerning their notable in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory activities, compounds 8 and 12 could be further optimized for the discovery of novel 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors in future. A structure-based 3D pharmacophore model was used in the virtual screening of in-house library to discover novel potential 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors.

8-Geranyloxycarbostyril as a potent 15-LOX-1 inhibitor showed great anti-tumor effects against prostate cancer

Carbostyrils are quinolone derivatives, with possible growth inhibition properties on cancer cells. Unlike many tumors, 15-Lipoxygenase-1 (15-LOX-1) is highly expressed in prostate cancer (PCa) cells and has oncogenic properties. Here, with the hypothesis that 6-, 7- and 8-geranyloxycarbostyril (GQ) have inhibitory properties on 15-LOX-1, their effects were assessed on PCa cells. Their cytotoxic effects were evaluated by MTT assay and mechanism of cell death was investigated using annexin V/PI staining. Finally, the anti-tumor properties of 8-GQ were assessed in immunocompromised C57BL/6 mice bearing human PCa cells. Accordingly, these compounds could effectively inhibit 15-LOX activity in PCa cells. MTT and flow cytometry tests confirmed their toxic effects on PCa cells, with no significant toxicity on normal cells, and apoptosis was the main mechanism of cell death. In vivo results indicated that use of 8-GQ at 50 mg/kg had stronger anti-tumor effects than 5 mg/kg cisplatin, with fewer side effects on normal tissues. Therefore, 8-GQ can be introduced as a potential drug candidate with 15-LOX-1 inhibitory potency, which can be effective in treatment of prostate cancer, and should be considered for further drug screening investigations.