Design and Synthesis of Imidazopyrazolopyridines as Novel Selective COX-2 Inhibitors

Identification of a New Promising BAG3 Modulator Featuring the Imidazopyridine Scaffold

The antiapoptotic BAG3 protein plays a crucial role in cellular proteostasis and it is involved in several signalling pathways governing cell proliferation and survival. Owing to its multimodular structure, it possesses an extensive interactome including the molecular chaperone HSP70 and other specific cellular partners, which make it an eminent factor in several pathologies, particularly in cancer. Despite its potential as a therapeutic target, very few BAG3 modulators have been disclosed so far. Here we describe the identification of a promising BAG3 modulator able to bind the BAG domain of the protein featuring an imidazopyridine scaffold and obtained through the application of the Groebke-Blackburn-Bienaymé chemical synthesis procedure. The disclosed compound 10 showed a relevant cytotoxic activity, and in line with the biological profile of BAG3 disruption, it induced the activation of caspase 3 and 9.

New Antibacterial 1,3,4-Thiadiazole Derivatives With Pyridine Moiety

1,3,4-Thiadiazole compounds were synthesized using pyridine carboxylic acid derivatives and thiosemicarbazide derivatives. The molecular structures of the resulting compounds were characterized by spectroscopic methods such as ATR-FTIR, 1H-NMR, and elemental analysis. Its compounds were also examined for their antibacterial properties against some strains of bacteria. Five synthesized compounds showed varying antibacterial effects on Escherichia coli, Salmonella kentucky, Bacillus substilis and Klebsiella pneumoniae. This result revealed that some of the resulting compounds could be antibacterial agents.

Design, synthesis, biological and computational screening of novel pyridine-based thiadiazole derivatives as prospective anti-inflammatory agents

In this study, a novel series of pyridine-based thiadiazole derivatives (NTD1-NTD5) were synthesized as prospective anti-inflammatory agents by combining substituted carboxylic acid derivatives of 5-substituted-2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole with nicotinoyl isothiocyanate in the presence of acetone. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectrometry. First, the compounds underwent rigorous in vivo testing for acute toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity and the results revealed that three compounds-NTD1, NTD2, and NTD3, displayed no acute toxicity and significant anti-inflammatory activity, surpassing the efficacy of the standard drug, diclofenac. Notably, NTD3, which featured benzoic acid substitution, emerged as the most potent anti-inflammatory agent among the screened compounds. To further validate these findings, an in silico docking study was carried out against COX-2 bound to diclofenac (PDB ID: 1pxx). The computational analysis demonstrated that NTD2, and NTD3, exhibited substantial binding affinity, with the lowest binding energies (-8.5 and -8.4, kcal/mol) compared to diclofenac (-8.4 kcal/mol). This alignment between in vivo and in silico data supported the robust anti-inflammatory potential of these derivatives. Moreover, molecular dynamics simulations were conducted, extending over 100 ns, to examine the dynamic interactions between the ligands and the target protein. The results solidified NTD3's position as a leading candidate, showing potent inhibitory activity through strong and sustained interactions, including stable hydrogen bond formations. This was further confirmed by RMSD values of 2-2.5 Å and 2-3Ǻ, reinforcing NTD3's potential as a useful anti-inflammatory agent. The drug likeness analysis of NTD3 through SwissADME indicated that most of the predicted parameters including Lipinski rule were within acceptable limits. While these findings are promising, further research is necessary to elucidate the precise relationships between the chemical structures and their activity, as well as to understand the mechanisms underlying their pharmacological effects. This study lays the foundation for the development of novel anti-inflammatory therapeutics, potentially offering improved efficacy and safety profiles.

Design, synthesis, molecular docking studies and biological evaluation of thiazole carboxamide derivatives as COX inhibitors

BACKGROUND

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been the most commonly used class of medications worldwide for the last three decades.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to design and synthesize a novel series of methoxyphenyl thiazole carboxamide derivatives and evaluate their cyclooxygenase (COX) suppressant and cytotoxic properties.

METHODS

The synthesized compounds were characterized using ¹H, ¹³C-NMR, IR, and HRMS spectrum analysis and were evaluated for their selectivity towards COX-1 and COX-2 using an in vitro COX inhibition assay kit. Besides, their cytotoxicity was evaluated using the Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. Moreover, molecular docking studies were conducted to identify the possible binding patterns of these compounds within both COX-1 and COX-2 isozymes, utilizing human X-ray crystal structures. The density functional theory (DFT) analysis was used to evaluate compound chemical reactivity, which was determined by calculating the frontier orbital energy of both HOMO and LUMO orbitals, as well as the HOMO-LUMO energy gap. Finally, the QiKProp module was used for ADME-T analysis.

RESULTS

The results revealed that all synthesized molecules have potent inhibitory activities against COX enzymes. The percentage of inhibitory activities at 5 µM concentration against the COX2 enzyme was in the range of 53.9-81.5%, while the percentage against the COX-1 enzyme was 14.7-74.8%. That means almost all of our compounds have selective inhibition activities against the COX-2 enzyme, and the most selective compound was 2f, with selectivity ratio (SR) value of 3.67 at 5 µM concentration, which has a bulky group of trimethoxy on the phenyl ring that could not bind well with the COX-1 enzyme. Compound 2h was the most potent, with an inhibitory activity percentage at 5 µM concentration of 81.5 and 58.2% against COX-2 and COX-1, respectively. The cytotoxicity of these compounds was evaluated against three cancer cell lines: Huh7, MCF-7, and HCT116, and negligible or very weak activities were observed for all of these compounds except compound 2f, which showed moderate activities with IC₅₀ values of 17.47 and 14.57 µM against Huh7 and HCT116 cancer cell lines, respectively. Analysis of the molecular docking suggests 2d, 2e, 2f, and 2i molecules were bound to COX-2 isozyme favorably over COX-1 enzyme, and their interaction behaviors within COX-1 and COX-2 isozymes were comparable to celecoxib, as an ideal selective COX-2 drug, which explained their high potency and COX-2 selectivity. The molecular docking scores and expected affinity using the MM-GBSA approach were consistent with the recorded biological activity. The calculated global reactivity descriptors, such as HOMO and LUMO energies and the HOMO-LUMO gaps, confirmed the key structural features required to achieve favorable binding interactions and thus improve affinity. The in silico ADME-T studies asserted the druggability of molecules and have the potential to become lead molecules in the drug discovery process.

CONCLUSION

In general, the series of the synthesized compounds had a strong effect on both enzymes (COX-1 and COX-2) and the trimethoxy compound 2f was more selective than the other compounds.

Molecular docking studies and biological evaluation of isoxazole-carboxamide derivatives as COX inhibitors and antimicrobial agents

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are considered one of the most commonly used medications globally. Seventeen isoxazole-containing compounds with various functional groups were evaluated in this work to identify which one was the most potent and which group was most selective toward COX-1 and COX-2 by using an in vitro COX inhibition assay kit. Their cytotoxicity was evaluated on the normal hepatic cell line (LX-2) utilizing the MTS assay. Moreover, these molecules' antibacterial and antifungal activities were evaluated using a microdilution assay against several bacterial and fungal species. In addition, molecular docking studies were conducted to identify the possible binding interactions between these compounds and their biological targets by using the X-ray crystal structure of the human COX enzyme and different proteins of bacterial and fungal strains. At the same time, the QiKProp module was used for ADME-T analysis. The results showed that all evaluated isoxazole derivatives showed moderate to potent activities against COX enzymes. The most potent compound against COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes was A13, with IC50 values of 64 and 13 nM, respectively, and a significant selectivity ratio of 4.63. It was clear that the 3,4-dimethoxy substitution on the first phenyl ring and the Cl atom on the other phenyl pushed the 5-methyl-isoxazole ring toward the secondary binding pocket and created the ideal binding interactions with the COX-2 enzyme in comparison with the other compounds. Compound A8 showed antibacterial and antifungal activities against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Candida albicans with MIC values of 2 mg/ml. In fact, this compound showed possible binding interactions with the elastase in P. aeruginosa and KPC-2 carbapenemase in K. pneumonia. Furthermore, for better understanding, molecular dynamics simulations were undertaken to study the change in dynamicity of the protein backbone and ligand after the ligand binds to the protein and to ensure the stability of ligand-protein complexes.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-022-03408-8.

Synthesis of novel 3,5,6-trisubstituted 2-pyridone derivatives and evaluation for their anti-inflammatory activity

The inflammatory response is the reaction of living tissue to an injury of a foreign nature, such as infection and irritants, and occurs as part of the body's natural defence response. Compounds capable of inhibiting cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, especially COX-2, have great potential as anti-inflammatory agents. Herein we present the regioselective synthesis of 49 novel compounds based on the 2-pyridone nucleus. The topical anti-inflammatory activity of seventeen compounds was evaluated in mice by croton oil (CO) induced ear edema assay. Most of the compounds exhibited a high level of in vivo anti-inflammatory activity, reducing ear edema and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. The most active compounds (2a and 7a) were inhibitors of COX enzymes. Compound 2a selectively inhibited the COX-2, while 7a was nonselective. Further, the compound 2a showed effective binding at the active site of COX-2 co-crystal by docking molecular study.

Structural investigation on the selective COX-2 inhibitors mediated cardiotoxicity: A review

Initially, the selective COX-2 inhibitors were developed as safer alternatives to the conventional NSAIDs, but later on, most of them were withdrawn from the market due to the risk of heart attack and stroke. Celecoxib, the first selective COX-2 inhibitor, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 1998 and was taken back from the market in 2004. Since then, many coxibs have been discontinued one by one due to adverse cardiovascular events. United States (US), Australian and European authorities related to Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) implemented the requirements to carry the "Black box" warning on the labels of COX-2 drugs highlighting the risks of serious cardiovascular events. These facts encouraged the researchers to explore them well and find out the biochemical basis behind the cardiotoxicity. From the last few decades, the molecular mechanisms behind the coxibs have regained the attention, especially the specific structural features of the selective COX-2 inhibitors that are associated with cardiotoxicity. This review discusses the key structural features of the selective COX-2 inhibitors and underlying mechanisms that are responsible for the cardiotoxicity. This report also unfolds different strategies that have been reported in the last 10 years to combat the problem of selective COX-2 inhibitors mediated cardiotoxicity.

Design & synthesis of novel oxazolone & triazinone derivatives and their biological evaluation as COX-2 inhibitors

A new series of oxazolones and triazinones were designed and synthesized and evaluated against both COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. Full structure elucidation of the new derivatives was performed using microanalyses, IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and mass spectra. Most of the derivatives showed good inhibitory activity against COX-2 enzyme specifically compounds IIIc, IIIe, IVd and IVg with IC50 values 0.024, 0.019, 0.011 and 0.014µM compared to celecoxib as reference drug with IC50 value of 0.05µM. Altogether, these results indicate that these derivatives can be effective anti-inflammatory agents.

Structure-activity relationships for the synthesis of selective cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors: an overview (2009-2016)

Most drugs used to treat pain and inflammation act through inhibition of the enzymes prostaglandin G/H synthase, commonly known as cyclooxygenase (COX). Among these, the simultaneous inhibition of cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1) would explain the unwanted side effects in the gastrointestinal tract and many adverse cardiovascular effects, such as high blood pressure, myocardial infarction and thrombosis. These side effects led in time to the development of NSAIDs that behave as selective COX-2 inhibitors. This manuscript highlights the structure-activity relationships which characterize the chemical scaffolds endowed with selective COX-2 inhibition. Additionally, the role of COX-2 inhibitors in the pain phenomenon and cancer is discussed.