Design and Synthesis of New Dual Binding Site Cholinesterase Inhibitors: in vitro Inhibition Studies with in silico Docking

Synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular modeling studies of methyl indole-isoxazole carbohydrazide derivatives as multi-target anti-Alzheimer's agents

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects the elderly population globally and there is an urgent demand for developing novel anti-AD agents. In this study, a new series of indole-isoxazole carbohydrazides were designed and synthesized. The structure of all compounds was elucidated using spectroscopic methods including FTIR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR as well as mass spectrometry and elemental analysis. All derivatives were screened for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitory activity. Out of all synthesized compounds, compound 5d exhibited the highest potency as AChE inhibitor with an IC50 value of 29.46 ± 0.31 µM. It showed significant selectivity towards AChE, with no notable inhibition against BuChE. A kinetic study on AChE for compound 5d indicated a competitive inhibition pattern. Also, 5d exhibited promising BACE1 inhibitory potential with an IC50 value of 2.85 ± 0.09 µM and in vitro metal chelating ability against Fe3+. The molecular dynamic studies of 5d against both AChE and BACE1 were executed to evaluate the behavior of this derivative in the binding site. The results showed that the new compounds deserve further chemical optimization to be considered potential anti-AD agents.

Design and synthesis of novel tacrine-indole hybrids as potential multitarget-directed ligands for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

The authors report on the synthesis and biological evaluation of new compounds whose structure combines tacrine and indole moieties. Tacrine-indole heterodimers were designed to inhibit cholinesterases and β-amyloid formation, and to cross the blood-brain barrier. The most potent new acetylcholinesterase inhibitors were compounds 3c and 4d (IC₅₀ = 25 and 39 nM, respectively). Compound 3c displayed considerably higher selectivity for acetylcholinesterase relative to human plasma butyrylcholinesterase in comparison to compound 4d (selectivity index: IC₅₀ [butyrylcholinesterase]/IC₅₀ [acetylcholinesterase] = 3 and 0.6, respectively). Furthermore, compound 3c inhibited β-amyloid-dependent amyloid nucleation in the yeast-based prion nucleation assay and displayed no dsDNA destabilizing interactions with DNA. Compounds 3c and 4d displayed a high probability of crossing the blood-brain barrier. The results support the potential of 3c for future development as a dual-acting therapeutic agent in the prevention and/or treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Benzimidazole Derivatives as Potential Neuroprotective Agents in an Ethanol-Induced Rodent Model

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most devastating and progressive neurodegenerative disease in middle to elder aged people, which can be exacerbated by lifestyle factors. Recent longitudinal studies demonstrated that alcohol consumption exacerbates memory impairments in adults. However, the underlying mechanism of alcohol-induced memory impairment is still elusive. The increased cellular manifestation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the production of numerous proinflammatory markers play a critical role in the neurodegeneration and pathogenesis of AD. Therefore, reducing neurodegeneration by decreasing oxidative stress and neuroinflammation may provide a potential therapeutic roadmap for the treatment of AD. In this study, eight new benzimidazole acetamide derivatives (FP1, FP2, FP5-FP10) were synthesized and characterized to investigate its neuroprotective effects in ethanol-induced neurodegeneration in a rat model. Further, three derivatives (FP1, FP7, and FP8) were selected for in vivo molecular analysis based on preliminary in vitro antioxidant screening assay. Molecular docking analysis was performed to assess the affinity of synthesized benzimidazole acetamide derivatives against selected proinflammatory targets (TNF-α, IL-6). Biochemical analysis revealed elevated expression of neuroinflammatory markers (TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-6, NLRP3), increased cellular oxidative stress, and reduced antioxidant enzymes in ethanol-exposed rats brain. Notably, pretreatment with new benzimidazole acetamide derivatives (FP1, FP7, and FP8) significantly modulated the ethanol-induced memory deficits, oxidative stress, and proinflammatory markers (TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-6, NLRP3) in the cortex. The multipurpose nature of acetamide containing benzimidazole nucleus and its versatile affinity toward numerous receptors highlight its multistep targeting potential. These results indicated the neuroprotective potential of benzimidazole acetamide derivatives (FP1, FP7, and FP8) as novel therapeutic candidates in ethanol-induced neurodegeneration which may partially be due to inhibition of the neuroinflammatory-oxidative stress vicious cycle.

Medicinal chemistry of indole derivatives: Current to future therapeutic prospectives

Indole is a versatile pharmacophore, a privileged scaffold and an outstanding heterocyclic compound with wide ranges of pharmacological activities due to different mechanisms of action. It is an superlative moiety in drug discovery with the sole property of resembling different structures of the protein. Plenty of research has been taking place in recent years to synthesize and explore the various therapeutic prospectives of this moiety. This review summarizes some of the recent effective chemical synthesis (2014-2018) for indole ring. This review also emphasized on the structure-activity relationship (SAR) to reveal the active pharmacophores of various indole analogues accountable for anticancer, anticonvulsant, antimicrobial, antitubercular, antimalarial, antiviral, antidiabetic and other miscellaneous activities which have been investigated in the last five years. The precise features with motives and framework of each research topic is introduced for helping the medicinal chemists to understand the perspective of the context in a better way. This review will definitely offer the platform for researchers to strategically design diverse novel indole derivatives having different promising pharmacological activities with reduced toxicity and side effects.

Novel indole based hybrid oxadiazole scaffolds with N-(substituted-phenyl)butanamides: synthesis, lineweaver–burk plot evaluation and binding analysis of potent urease inhibitors

In the study presented herein, 4-(1H-indol-3-yl)butanoic acid (1) was sequentially transformed in the first phase into ethyl 4-(1H-indol-3-yl)butanoate (2), 4-(1H-indol-3-yl)butanohydrazide (3) and 5-[3-(1H-indol-3-yl)propyl]-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol (4) as a nucleophile. In the second phase, various electrophiles were synthesized by reacting substituted-anilines, 5a–j, with 4-chlorobutanoyl chloride (6) to afford 4-chloro-N-(substituted-phenyl)butanamides (7a–j). In the final phase, nucleophilic substitution reaction of 4 was carried out with different electrophiles, 7a–j, to achieve novel indole based oxadiazole scaffolds with N-(substituted-phenyl)butamides (8a–j). The structural confirmation of all the as-synthesized compounds was performed by spectral and elemental analysis. These molecules were screened for their in vitro inhibitory potential against urease enzyme and were found to be potent inhibitors. The results of enzyme inhibitory kinetics showed that compound 8c inhibited the enzyme competitively with a K_i value 0.003 μM. The results of the in silico study of these scaffolds were in full agreement with the experimental data and the ligands showed good binding energy values. The hemolytic study revealed their mild cytotoxicity towards cell membranes and hence, these molecules can be regarded as valuable therapeutic agents in drug designing programs.

In the study presented herein, 4-(1H-indol-3-yl)butanoic acid (1) was sequentially transformed in the first phase into ethyl 4-(1H-indol-3-yl)butanoate (2), 4-(1H-indol-3-yl)butanohydrazide (3) and 5-[3-(1H-indol-3-yl)propyl]-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol (4) as a nucleophile.

Novel pyridine-2,4,6-tricarbohydrazide thiourea compounds as small key organic molecules for the potential treatment of type-2 diabetes mellitus: In vitro studies against yeast α- and β-glucosidase and in silico molecular modeling

A range of novel pyridine-2,4,6-tricarbohydrazide thiourea compounds (4a-i) were synthesized in good to excellent yields (63-92%). The enzyme inhibitory potentials of these compounds were investigated against α- and β-glucosidases because these enzymes play a crucial role in treating type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). As compared to the reference compound acarbose (IC₅₀ 38.22 ± 0.12 μM), compounds 4i (IC₅₀ 25.49 ± 0.67 μM), 4f (IC₅₀ 28.91 ± 0.43 μM), 4h (IC₅₀ 30.66 ± 0.52 μM), and 4e (IC₅₀ 35.01 ± 0.45 μM) delivered better inhibition against α-glucosidase and were quite inactive/completely inactive against β-glucosidase. The structure-activity relationship of these compounds was developed and elaborated with the help of molecular docking studies.

An Efficient Synthesis of bi-Aryl Pyrimidine Heterocycles: Potential New Drug Candidates to Treat Alzheimer's Disease

A series of 13 novel pyrimidine-based sulfonamides 6a-m were synthesized in short periods of time under microwave conditions in good to excellent yield (54-86%). The chemical structures of these heterocycles consist of a central pyrimidine ring having a phenyl group and pyrimidine groups with sulfonamide motifs. The enzyme inhibitory potential of these compounds was investigated against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) because these enzymes play a crucial role in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. As compared to the reference compound eserine (IC₅₀  = 0.04 ± 0.0001 μM for AChE and IC₅₀  = 0.85 ± 0.0001 μM for BChE), the IC₅₀ values of the synthesized compounds ranged from 3.73 ± 0.61 μM to 57.36 ± 0.22 μM for AChE and 4.81 ± 0.16 μM to 111.61 ± 0.53 μM for BChE. Among these tested compounds, 6j having a -CH₃ group was found to be the most potent one against both enzymes (AChE, IC₅₀  = 3.73 ± 0.61 μM; BChE, IC₅₀  = 4.81 ± 0.16 μM). Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) and molecular docking studies of the synthesized compounds were also performed.

Synthesis and DPPH scavenging assay of reserpine analogues, computational studies and in silico docking studies in AChE and BChE responsible for Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a fast growing neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system and anti-oxidants can be used to help suppress the oxidative stress caused by the free radicals that are responsible for AD. A series of selected synthetic indole derivatives were biologically evaluated to identify potent new antioxidants. Most of the evaluated compounds showed significant to modest antioxidant properties (IC50 value 399.07 140.0±50 µM). Density Functional Theory (DFT) studies were carried out on the compounds and their corresponding free radicals. Differences in the energy of the parent compounds and their corresponding free radicals provided a good justification for the trend found in their IC50 values. In silico, docking of compounds into the proteins acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), which are well known for contributing in AD disease, was also performed to predict anti-AD potential.

Organocatalyzed solvent free an efficient novel synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles for α-glucosidase inhibition to treat diabetes

A new and efficient solvent free synthesis of 2,4,5-trisubstituted imidazoles (3a-3j) was achieved by N-acetyl glycine (NAG) catalyzed three components condensation of aldehydes, benzil and ammonium acetate. Our synthetic methodology accommodated a range of various substituted alkyl and aryl aldehydes. Evaluation of α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of these imidazole derivatives revealed that most of them presented good α-glucosidase inhibition at low micro-molar concentrations. Among the synthesized compounds, compound 3c, bearing the ortho-hydroxy phenyl substituent at position 2 displayed the highest inhibitory activity with an IC50 value 74.32±0.59 μM. In silico molecular docking for all compounds and computational studies of the most active compound 3c were also performed.