Exploration of Benzenesulfonamide-Bearing Imidazole Derivatives Activity in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and Melanoma 2D and 3D Cell Cultures

N-desmethyldauricine from Menispermum dauricum DC suppresses triple-negative breast cancer growth in 2D and 3D models by downregulating the NF-κB signaling pathway

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer, for which targeted therapy regimens are lacking. The traditional Chinese medicine Menispermum dauricum DC (M. dauricum) and its compounds have been reported to have antitumor activity against various cancers; however, their anti-TNBC activity is unknown. In this work, dauricine and N-desmethyldauricine from M. dauricum were separated and identified to have anti-TNBC via a multi-component bioactivity and structure-guided method. The cell counting kit 8 assay showed that dauricine and N-desmethyldauricine inhibited the proliferation of four tested TNBC cell lines, with half maximal inhibitory concentration values ranging from 5.01 μM to 13.16 μM. Further research suggested that N-desmethyldauricine induced cell apoptosis, arrested cell cycle progression in the G0/G1 phase, and inhibited cell migration. Western blot analysis revealed that the proapoptotic protein cleaved-poly-ADP-ribose polymerase 1 was upregulated, and the G0/G1 phase-related proteins cyclin-dependent kinase 2 and cyclin D1 and the migration-related protein matrix metallopeptidase 9 were downregulated. Furthermore, N-desmethyldauricine decreased the protein expression of p65, an important subunit of nuclear factor kappa-beta (NF-κB). Moreover, an antiproliferation assay of three-dimensional (3D) tumor spheroids showed that N-desmethyldauricine diminished cell‒cell adhesion and suppressed the growth of TNBC 3D spheroids. Taken together, these findings indicate that N-desmethyldauricine inhibited the proliferation of TNBC cells and decreased the expression of p65 in the NF-κB pathway.

Recent development of azole-sulfonamide hybrids with the anticancer potential

Cancer exhibits heterogeneity that enables adaptability and remains grand challenges for effective treatment. Chemotherapy is a validated and critically important strategy for the treatment of cancer, but the emergence of multidrug resistance which may lead to recurrence of disease or even death is a major hurdle for successful chemotherapy. Azoles and sulfonamides are important anticancer pharmacophores, and azole-sulfonamide hybrids have the potential to simultaneously act on dual/multiple targets in cancer cells, holding great promise to overcome drug resistance. This review outlines the current scenario of azole-sulfonamide hybrids with the anticancer potential, and the structure-activity relationships as well as mechanisms of action are also discussed, covering articles published from 2020 onward.

Synthesis and In Vitro Evaluation as Potential Anticancer and Antioxidant Agents of Diphenylamine-Pyrrolidin-2-one-Hydrazone Derivatives

The title compounds were synthesized by the reaction of 5-oxo-1-(4-(phenylamino)phenyl)pyrrolidine-3-carbohydrazide with various aldehydes bearing aromatic and heterocyclic moieties and acetophenones, and their cytotoxicity was tested via MTT assay against human triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231, human melanoma IGR39, human pancreatic carcinoma Panc-1, and prostate cancer cell line PPC-1. Furthermore, the selectivity of compounds towards cancer cells compared to fibroblasts was also investigated. Four compounds were identified as the most promising anticancer agents out of a series of pyrrolidinone-hydrazone derivatives bearing a diphenylamine moiety. These compounds were most selective against the prostate cancer cell line PPC-1 and the melanoma cell lines IGR39, with EC50 values in the range of 2.5-20.2 µM against these cell lines. In general, the compounds were less active against triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line, and none of them showed an inhibitory effect on the migration of these cells. In the 'wound healing' assay, N'-((5-nitrothiophen-2-yl)methylene)-5-oxo-1-(4-(phenylamino)phenyl)pyrrolidine-3-carbohydrazide was identified as the most promising derivative that could be further developed as an antimetastatic agent. N'-(5-chloro- and N'-(3,4-dichlorobenzylidene)-5-oxo-1-(4-(phenylamino)phenyl)pyrrolidine-3-carbohydrazides most efficiently reduced the cell viability in IGR39 cell spheroids, while there was no effect of the investigated pyrrolidinone-hydrazone derivatives on PPC-1 3D cell cultures. Antioxidant activity determined via FRAP assay of N'-(1-(4-aminophenyl)ethylidene)-5-oxo-1-(4-(phenylamino)phenyl)pyrrolidine-3-carbohydrazide was 1.2 times higher than that of protocatechuic acid.

Synthesis of Novel Benzenesulfonamide-Bearing Functionalized Imidazole Derivatives as Novel Candidates Targeting Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium abscessus Complex

Infections caused by drug-resistant (DR) Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) complex (MAC) are an important public health concern, particularly when affecting individuals with various immunodeficiencies or chronic pulmonary diseases. Rapidly growing antimicrobial resistance among MAC urges us to develop novel antimicrobial candidates for future optimization. Therefore, we have designed and synthesized benzenesulfonamide-bearing functionalized imidazole or S-alkylated derivatives and evaluated their antimicrobial activity using multidrug-resistant M. abscessus strains and compared their antimycobacterial activity using M. bovis BCG and M. tuberculosis H37Ra. Benzenesulfonamide-bearing imidazole-2-thiol compound 13, containing 4-CF₃ substituent in benzene ring, showed strong antimicrobial activity against the tested mycobacterial strains and was more active than some antibiotics used as a reference. Furthermore, an imidazole-bearing 4-F substituent and S-methyl group demonstrated good antimicrobial activity against M. abscessus complex strains, as well as M. bovis BCG and M. tuberculosis H37Ra. In summary, these results demonstrated that novel benzenesulfonamide derivatives, bearing substituted imidazoles, could be further explored as potential candidates for the further hit-to-lead optimization of novel antimycobacterial compounds.

Synthesis of novel sulphamethoxazole derivatives and exploration of their anticancer and antimicrobial properties

A series of new derivatives based on sulfamethoxazole were designed and synthesized in this study. The structures of the new compounds were confirmed based on a comprehensive characterization of spectral data by applied IR and ¹H as well as ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The prepared compounds were tested for their anticancer and antimicrobial properties. Hydrazone 16b demonstrated convincing anticancer effect against all tested cell cultures such as human prostate carcinoma PPC-1 and human kidney carcinoma CaKi-1 cell lines, and human fibroblasts HF, n = 3. The most promising compound 16b showed higher activity against CaKi-1 cell line than the anticancer drugs axitinib and pazopanib used to treat renal cancer. Also, it was more active in the PPC-1 cell line compared to the approved PARP inhibitor Olaparib. Hydrazone 16b was also found to possess good antimicrobial properties against gram-positive bacteria strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, as well as Bacillus cereus.

The Chemo-Sensitizing Effect of Doxorubicin of Apple Extract-Enriched Triterpenic Complex on Human Colon Adenocarcinoma and Human Glioblastoma Cell Lines

Cancer cells' resistance to anticancer drugs represents a major clinical problem and the most important failure of treatment. Combination chemotherapy is more effective than monotherapy due to additive or synergistic effects. The aim of our research was to assess the effects of the combinations of apple extract's triterpenic compounds, individual triterpenic acids, and doxorubicin (DOX) on human colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29) and human glioblastoma (U-87) cell lines in 2D and 3D cultures. The effect of the combination of apple extracts, the triterpenic standards, and DOX against HT-29 and U-87 cell viability was tested by the MTT and spheroid growth assays. Cell line HT-29 was more sensitive to DOX when incubated with all tested apple extracts than DOX alone. Cell line HT-29 was the most strongly sensitive to DOX when it was treated with 5 µM oleanolic acid (change of EC₅₀ = -64.6% ± 4.4%) and with 5 µM ursolic acid (change of EC₅₀ = -61.9% ± 8.8%) in 2D culture. Meanwhile, cell line U-87 was the most strongly sensitive to DOX when treated with 2 µM betulinic acid (change of EC₅₀ = -45.1% ± 4.5%) in 2D culture. The combination of apple extract (E3) and DOX reduced the viability of HT-29 spheroids the most (spheroid viability reduced from -19.9% to -10.9%, compared to spheroids treated with DOX alone). Our study in 2D and 3D cultures showed that combining apple extract's triterpenic complexes or individual triterpenic acids with DOX may sensitize chemotherapeutic drugs and increase the cytotoxicity effects in HT-29 and U-87 cell lines.