In silico evaluation of potential breast cancer receptor antagonists from GC-MS and HPLC identified compounds in Pleurotus ostreatus extracts

Introduction: Pharmacotherapeutic targets for breast cancer include the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Inhibitors of these receptors could be interesting therapeutic candidates for the treatment and management of breast cancer (BC). Aim: This study used GC-MS and HPLC to identify bioactive compounds in Pleurotus ostreatus (P. ostreatus) extracts and applied in silico methods to identify potent EGFR, ER, and PR inhibitors from the compounds as potential drug candidates. Method: GC-MS and HPLC were used to identify bioactive chemicals in P. ostreatus extracts of aqueous (PO-A), methanol (PO-M), ethanol (PO-E), chloroform (PO-C), and n-hexane (PO-H). The ER, PR, and EGFR model optimization and molecular docking of compounds/control inhibitors in the binding pocket were simulated using AutoDock Vina in PyRx. The drug-likeness, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic features of prospective docking leads were all anticipated. Result: The results indicated the existence of 29 compounds in PO-A, 36 compounds in PO-M and PO-E, 42 compounds in PO-C, and 22 compounds in PO-H extracts. With ER, only o-tolylamino-acetic acid (4-nitro-benzylidene)-hydrazide (-7.5 kcal mol-1) from the ethanolic extract could bind to the receptor. PR and EGFR, on the other hand, identified several compounds with higher binding affinities than the control. Ergotaman-3',6',18-trione (-8.1 kcal mol-1), 5,10-diethoxy-2,3,7,8-tetrahydro-1H,6H-dipyrrolo[1,2-a:1',2'-d]pyrazine (-7.8 kcal mol-1) from the aqueous extract; o-tolylamino-acetic acid (4-nitro-benzylidene)-hydrazide (-8.4 kcal mol-1) from the ethanolic extract had better binding affinity compared to progesterone (-7.7 kcal mol-1). Likewise, ergotaman-3',6',18-trione (-9.7 kcal mol-1) from the aqueous extract and phenol, 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethyl ethyl) (-8.2 kcal mol-1) from the chloroform extract had better binding affinities compared to the control, gefitinib (-7.9 kcal mol-1) with regards to EGFR. None of the PO-H or PO-M extracts outperformed the control for any of the proteins. Phenols and flavonoids such as quercetin, luteolin, rutin, chrysin, apigenin, ellagic acid, and naringenin had better binding affinity to PR and EGFR compared to their control. Conclusion: The identified compounds in the class of phenols and flavonoids were better lead molecules due to their ability to strongly bind to the proteins' receptors. These compounds showed promising drug-like properties; they could be safe and new leads for creating anticancer medicines.

Multitarget Pharmacology of Sulfur-Nitrogen Heterocycles: Anticancer and Antioxidant Perspectives

Cancer and oxidative stress are interrelated, with reactive oxygen species (ROS) playing crucial roles in physiological processes and oncogenesis. Excessive ROS levels can induce DNA damage, leading to cancer, and disrupt antioxidant defenses, contributing to diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. Antioxidant mechanisms include enzymes and small molecules that mitigate ROS damage. However, cancer cells often exploit oxidative conditions to evade apoptosis and promote tumor growth. Antioxidant therapy has shown mixed results, with timing and cancer-type influencing outcomes. Multifunctional drugs targeting multiple pathways offer a promising approach, reducing side effects and improving efficacy. Recent research focuses on sulfur-nitrogen heterocyclic derivatives for their dual antioxidant and anticancer properties, potentially enhancing therapeutic efficacy in oncology. The newly synthesized compounds often do not demonstrate both antioxidant and anticancer properties simultaneously. Heterocyclic rings are typically combined with phenyl groups, where hydroxy substitutions enhance antioxidant activity. On the other hand, electron-withdrawing substituents, particularly at the p-position on the phenyl ring, tend to enhance anticancer activity.

Synthesis and crystal structure studies of 5-(tri-fluoro-meth-yl)-1,3,4-thia-diazol-2(3H)-one at 180 K

The synthesis and crystal structure of C3HF3N2OS, systematic name 5-(tri-fluoro-meth-yl)-1,3,4-thia-diazol-2(3H)-one (5-TMD-2-one), a compound containing the pharmacologically important heterocycle 1,3,4-thia-diazole, is presented. The asymmetric unit comprises six independent mol-ecules (Z' = 6), all of which are planar. The r.m.s. deviations from each mean plane range from 0.0063 to 0.0381 Å, not including the CF3 fluorine atoms. Within the crystal, two of the mol-ecules form hydrogen-bonded dimers that in turn combine with inversion-related copies to form tetra-meric constructs. Similar tetra-mers, but lacking inversion symmetry, are formed by the remaining four mol-ecules. The tetra-mers are linked into tape-like motifs by S⋯O and O⋯O close contacts. The environments of each symmetry-independent mol-ecule were compared via a Hirshfeld surface analysis. The most abundant atom-atom contacts are between fluorine atoms, while the strongest result from N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

Design, synthesis, molecular modeling, DFT, ADME and biological evaluation studies of some new 1,3,4-oxadiazole linked benzimidazoles as anticancer agents and aromatase inhibitors

Breast cancer is the most frequent female cancer and second cause of cancer-related deaths among women around the world. Two thirds of breast cancer patients have hormone-dependent tumors, which is very likely be treated with hormonal therapy. Aromatase is involved in the biosynthesis of estrogen thus a critical target for breast cancer. In this study, in order to identify new aromatase enzyme inhibitors, a series of benzimidazole-1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives were synthesized and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and MS spectra analyses. In the in vitro anticancer assay, all the compounds tested anticancer activities using MTT-based assay against five cancer cell lines (MCF-7, A549, HeLa, C6, and HepG2). Among them, compound 5a exhibited the most potent activity with IC₅₀ values of 5.165 ± 0.211 μM and 5.995 ± 0.264 μM against MCF-7 and HepG2 cell lines. Compound 5a was included in the BrdU test to determine the DNA synthesis inhibition effects for both cell types. Furthermore, compound 5c was also found to be more effective than doxorubicin on the HeLa cell line. The selectivity of anticancer activity was evaluated in NIH3T3 cell line. In vitro, enzymatic inhibition assays of aromatase enzyme were performed for compound 5a acting on the MCF-7 cell line. For compound 5a, in silico molecular docking and dynamics simulations against aromatase enzyme was performed to determine possible protein-ligand interactions and stability. DFT study was performed to evaluate the quantum mechanical and electronic properties of compound 5a. Finally, the theoretical ADME properties of the potential aromatase inhibitor compound 5a were analyzed by calculations.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Theoretical model study of adsorbed antimalarial-graphene dimers: doping effects, photophysical parameters, intermolecular interactions, edge adsorption, and SERS

Future diagnostics and therapy applications are in part riding on the discovery and implementation of new optical techniques and strategies (which often derive from dyads) for example, prediction of features in surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy requires the study of chromophore-chromophore interactions involve intermolecular forces, drug delivery, and photo mechanisms which are of great interest. New matches between chromophore systems (i.e. FRET), and π-delocalized surfaces are important to study. We explore low-molecular weight drug molecules and their interaction with the reporter material/surface of graphene. Bonding, charge transfer and orbital interactions for 2-amino-5-(1-methyl-5-nitro-2-imidazolyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazole (megazol or AMIT) on graphene were carried out. The graphene model substrate was monotonically/monatomically substituted (doped) with one neutral heteroatom (N/O/S/B) in place of one carbon center; chemical adsorption of AMIT is due to charge transfer from doped graphene to AMIT (DFT). Our AMIT-nanocluster studies show that the nanoclusters will act as a sensor component for the detection of drugs due to SERS. Our findings identified that the greater the energy of the charge transfer, the stronger the calculated chemical adsorption. Additionally, charge transfer is highest for the N-doped systems and least for pristine graphene, resulting in a stronger adsorption energy for N-doped graphene. Mulliken charge analysis of structures confirms enhancement found in QD-AMIT systems.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Oxygen- and Sulphur-Containing Heterocyclic Compounds as Potential Anticancer Agents

Oxygen- and sulphur-based heterocycles form the core structure of many biologically active molecules as well as U.S. FDA-approved drugs. Moreover, they possess broad range of biological activities, viz. anticancer, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antitumour, antibacterial, antiviral, antidiabetic, anticonvulsant, anti-tubercular, analgesic, anti-leishmanial, antimalarial, antifungal, and anti-histaminic, Hence, O- and S-based heterocycles are gaining more attention in recent years on the road to the discovery of innovative anticancer drugs after the extensive investigation of nitrogen-based heterocycles as anticancer agents. Several attempts have been made to synthesize fused oxygen- and sulphur-based heterocyclic derivatives as joining one heterocyclic moiety with another may lead to improvement in the biological profile of a molecule. Humans have been cursed with cancer since long time. Despite the development of several heterocyclic anticancer medications such as 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, methotrexate, and daunorubicin, cure of cancer is difficult. Hence, researchers are trying to synthesize new fused/spiro heterocyclic molecules to discover novel anticancer drugs which may show promising anticancer effects with fewer side effects. Furthermore, fused heterocycles behave as DNA intercalating agents which have the ability to interact with DNA, leading to cell death thereby exerting anticancer effect. This review article highlights the synthesis and anticancer potentiality of oxygen- and sulphur-containing heterocyclic compounds covering the period from 2011 to 2021.

The Impact of Some Natural Phenolic Compounds on α-Glucosidase and Sorbitol Dehydrogenase Enzymes, and Anti-leukemia Cancer Potential, Spin Density Distributions, and in silico Studies

In this study, some phenolic compounds including 4-Hexylresorcinol, 5-Pentadecylresorcinol, 5-Tricosylresorcinol, Bilobol, and Urushiol were tested against α-glycosidase enzyme from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and sorbitol dehydrogenase enzymes from sheep liver. These compounds determined good inhibition properties against α-glycosidase and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) enzymes. IC₅₀ values were record in the range of 1.45±0.20-24.532±3.83 μM for α-glycosidase and 6.20±0.96-108.22±18.02 μM for SDH. These inhibitor compounds can be selective drug candidates as anti-diabetic agents, because of they have inhibition properties against both enzymes. In this study, the anti-oxidant activities of the molecules were compared with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Comparison was made with the experimental enzymes by molecular modeling calculations. In the cellular and molecular part of the recent study, the treated cells with some phenolic compounds were assessed by molecularly targeted therapy (MTT) assay for cytotoxicity and anti-acute lymphoblastic leukemia potentials on Clone 15 HL-60, HL-60, HL-60/MX1, and HL-60/MX2 cell lines. The IC₅₀ of these compounds were µg/mL level against these cell lines.

Antioxidant properties, anti- SARS-CoV-2 study, collagenase and elastase inhibition effects, anti-human lung cancer potential of some phenolic compounds

Lung cancer is one of the main reasons for death worldwide. The natural compounds with anti-lung cancer potential are of main interest and are considered a very promising alternative to replace or raise the efficiency of conventional drugs. Diethylstilbestrol, Enterodiol, Enterolactone, Flavokawain A, Flavokawain B, and Flavokawain C compounds showed excellent to good inhibitory activities against studied these enzymes with IC₅₀ values in ranging between 9.66 ± 1.52 to 121.20 ± 15.87 μM for collagenase and 11.06 ± 1.87 to 27.31 ± 4.673 μM for elastase. Also, these compounds had In vitro anti-lung cancer activities. Comparison of the chemical and biological activities of the studied molecules was made by theoretical calculations. Gaussian sofware program was used for chemical activity. The Maestro molecular docking calculations were made to compare their biochemical activities. Afterwards, ADME/T calculations of the molecules were made.

1,3,4-Thiadiazole Scaffold: As Anti-Epileptic Agents

A wide range of biological activities is exhibited by 1,3,4-thiadiazole moiety such as antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anticonvulsant, antiviral, antihypertensive, and antimicrobial. To date, drugs such as butazolamide, and acetazolamide. Several modifications have been done in the 1,3,4-thiadiazole moiety which showed good potency as anticonvulsant agents which are highly effective and have less toxicity. After in-depth literature survey in this review, we have compiled various derivatives of 1,3,4-thiadiazole scaffold as anticonvulsant agents.

Exploring of antioxidant and antibacterial properties of novel 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives: Facile synthesis, structural elucidation and DFT approach to antioxidant characteristics

In recent years, compounds containing thiophene and 1,3,4-thiadiazole skeletons have become important cyclic compounds, especially in medicinal chemistry. In this manner, we synthesized and isolated seven 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives with thiophene groups and fully characterized by elemental analysis and general spectroscopic methods such as ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and FT-IR. Antibacterial activities of the title compounds were investigated by using TLC-Dot blot, macro dilution, well diffusion, and growth curve analysis methods. Compounds 1 and 6 showed inhibitory activities against all tested gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. TLC-DPPH and DPPH assays, on the other hand, were performed to detect the antioxidant activities of the 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives and compound 1 exhibited the highest antioxidant activity at all tested concentrations. QTAIM and NCI calculations were performed as well as structural, electronic, and spectral analyzes using density functional theory (DFT). Calculations were carried out at the B3lyp/6-311 + +g(2d,2p) level of theory, and the data were used to examine the antioxidant activity of the compounds.

Novel 1,3,4-thiadiazole compounds as potential MAO-A inhibitors - design, synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular modelling

Monoamine oxidases (MAOs) are important drug targets for the management of neurological disorders. Herein, a series of new 1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives bearing various alkyl/arylamine moieties as MAO inhibitors were designed and synthesized. All of the compounds were more selective against hMAO-A than hMAO-B. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) values of most of the compounds were lower than that of the common drug moclobemide (IC₅₀ = 4.664 μM) and compound 6b was proven to be the most active compound (IC₅₀ = 0.060 μM). Moreover, it was seen that compound 6b showed a similar inhibition profile to that of clorgyline (IC₅₀ = 0.048 μM). The inhibition profile was found to be reversible and competitive for compound 6b with MAO-A selectivity. Molecular modelling studies aided in the understanding of the interaction modes between compound 6b and MAO-A. Furthermore, this compound was predicted to have a good pharmacokinetic profile and high BBB penetration. Therefore, such compounds are of interest towards developing new MAO inhibitors.