Derivatives Incorporating Acridine, Pyrrole, and Thiazolidine Rings as Promising Antitumor Agents

Derivatives combining acridine, pyrrole, and thiazolidine rings have emerged as promising candidates in the field of antitumor drug discovery. This paper aims to highlight the importance of these three structural motifs in developing potent and selective anticancer agents. The integration of these rings within a single molecule offers the potential for synergistic effects, targeting multiple pathways involved in tumor growth and progression. Spiro derivatives were efficiently synthesized in a two-step process starting from isothiocyanates and 2-cyanoacetohydrazide. The thiourea side chain in spiro derivatives was utilized as a key component for the construction of the thiazolidine-4-one ring through regioselective reactions with bifunctional reagents, namely methyl-bromoacetate, dietyl-acetylenedicarboxylate, ethyl-2-bromopropionate, and ethyl-2-bromovalerate. These reactions resulted in the formation of a single regioisomeric product for each derivative. Advanced spectroscopic techniques, including 1D and 2D NMR, FT-IR, HRMS, and single-crystal analysis, were employed to meticulously characterize the chemical structures of the synthesized derivatives. Furthermore, the influence of these derivatives on the metabolic activity of various cancer cell lines was assessed, with IC50 values determined via MTT assays. Notably, derivatives containing ester functional groups exhibited exceptional activity against all tested cancer cell lines, boasting IC50 values below 10 μM. Particularly striking were the spiro derivatives with methoxy groups at position 3 and nitro groups at position 4 of the phenyl ring. These compounds displayed remarkable selectivity and exhibited heightened activity against HCT-116 and Jurkat cell lines. Additionally, 4-oxo-1,3-thiazolidin-2-ylidene derivatives demonstrated a significant activity against MCF-7 and HCT-116 cancer cell lines.

Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation of Novel Indole Hybrid Chalcones and Their Antiproliferative and Antioxidant Activity

The synthesis, anticancer, and antioxidant activities of a series of indole-derived hybrid chalcones are reported here. First, using the well-known Claisen-Schmidt condensation method, a set of 29 chalcones has been designed, synthesized, and consequently characterized. Subsequently, screening for the antiproliferative activity of the synthesized hybrid chalcones was performed on five cancer cell lines (HCT116, HeLa, Jurkat, MDA-MB-231, and MCF7) and two non-cancer cell lines (MCF-10A and Bj-5ta). Chalcone 18c, bearing 1-methoxyindole and catechol structural features, exhibited selective activity against cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 8.0 ± 1.4 µM (Jurkat) and 18.2 ± 2.9 µM (HCT116) and showed no toxicity to non-cancer cells. Furthermore, antioxidant activity was evaluated using three different methods. The in vitro studies of radical scavenging activity utilizing DPPH radicals as well as the FRAP method demonstrated the strong activity of catechol derivatives 18a-c. According to the ABTS radical scavenging assay, the 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-substituted chalcones 19a-c were slightly more favorable. In general, a series of 3,4-dihydroxychalcone derivatives showed properties as a lead compound for both antioxidant and antiproliferative activity.

Actin depolymerization-induced changes in proteome of Arabidopsis roots

Actin cytoskeleton is a vital cellular structure primarily known for controlling cell integrity, division and expansion. Here we present a proteomic dissection of Arabidopsis roots treated by actin depolymerizing agent latrunculin B. Pharmacological disintegration of the actin cytoskeleton by latrunculin B caused downregulation of several proteins involved in the actin organization and dynamics. Moreover, this approach helped to identify new protein candidates involved in gene transcription, due to the altered abundance of proteins involved in mRNA nuclear export. Finally, latrunculin B negatively affected the abundance of abscisic acid (ABA) responsive proteins.

SIGNIFICANCE

This article substantially contributes to the current knowledge about the importance of actin organization and dynamics in proteome remodelling. We employed gel based and gel free proteomic analyses and identified several new protein candidates and protein networks linking actin dynamics to the gene transcription and to the ABA response in Arabidopsis.

Monitoring protein phosphorylation by acrylamide pendant Phos-Tag™ in various plants

The aim of the present study is to rationalize acrylamide pendant Phos-Tag™ in-gel discrimination of phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated plant protein species with standard immunoblot analysis, and optimize sample preparation, efficient electrophoretic separation and transfer. We tested variants of the method including extraction buffers suitable for preservation of phosphorylated protein species in crude extracts from plants and we addressed the importance of the cation (Mn(2+) or Zn(2+)) used in the gel recipe for efficient transfer to PVDF membranes for further immunoblot analysis. We demonstrate the monitoring of Medicago sativa stress-induced mitogen activated protein kinase (SIMK) in stress-treated wild type plants and transgenic SIMKK RNAi line. We further show the hyperosmotically-induced phosphorylation of the previously uncharacterized HvMPK4 of barley. The method is validated using inducible phosphorylation of barley and wheat α-tubulin and of Arabidopsis MPK6. Acrylamide pendant Phos-Tag™offers a flexible tool for studying protein phosphorylation in crops and Arabidopsis circumventing radioactive labeling and the use of phosphorylation specific antibodies.

Salt-induced subcellular kinase relocation and seedling susceptibility caused by overexpression of Medicago SIMKK in Arabidopsis

Dual-specificity mitogen-activated protein kinases kinases (MAPKKs) are the immediate upstream activators of MAPKs. They simultaneously phosphorylate the TXY motif within the activation loop of MAPKs, allowing them to interact with and regulate multiple substrates. Often, the activation of MAPKs triggers their nuclear translocation. However, the spatiotemporal dynamics and the physiological consequences of the activation of MAPKs, particularly in plants, are still poorly understood. Here, we studied the activation and localization of the Medicago sativa stress-induced MAPKK (SIMKK)-SIMK module after salt stress. In the inactive state, SIMKK and SIMK co-localized in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. Upon salt stress, however, a substantial part of the nuclear pool of both SIMKK and SIMK relocated to cytoplasmic compartments. The course of nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of SIMK correlated temporally with the dual phosphorylation of the pTEpY motif. SIMKK function was further studied in Arabidopsis plants overexpressing SIMKK-yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) fusions. SIMKK-YFP plants showed enhanced activation of Arabidopsis MPK3 and MPK6 kinases upon salt treatment and exhibited high sensitivity against salt stress at the seedling stage, although they were salt insensitive during seed germination. Proteomic analysis of SIMKK-YFP overexpressors indicated the differential regulation of proteins directly or indirectly involved in salt stress responses. These proteins included catalase, peroxiredoxin, glutathione S-transferase, nucleoside diphosphate kinase 1, endoplasmic reticulum luminal-binding protein 2, and finally plasma membrane aquaporins. In conclusion, Arabidopsis seedlings overexpressing SIMKK-YFP exhibited higher salt sensitivity consistent with their proteome composition and with the presumptive MPK3/MPK6 hijacking of the salt response pathway.

Affinity-based SDS PAGE identification of phosphorylated Arabidopsis MAPKs and substrates by acrylamide pendant Phos-Tag™

Protein phosphorylation is the most abundant and best studied protein posttranslational modification, dedicated to the regulation of protein function and subcellular localization as well as to protein-protein interactions. Identification and quantitation of the dynamic, conditional protein phosphorylation can be achieved by either metabolic labeling of the protein of interest with (32)P-labeled ATP followed by autoradiographic analysis, the use of specific monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against the phosphorylated protein species and finally by phosphoproteome delineation using mass spectrometry.Hereby we present a fourth alternative which relies on the enforced-affinity-based-electrophoretic separation of phosphorylated from non-phosphorylated protein species by standard SDS-PAGE systems co-polymerized with Phos-Tag™ and Mn(2+) or Zn(2+) cations. Phosphate groups of phosphorylated Ser, Thr, and Tyr residues form complexes with Mn(2+) and Zn(2+) cations with polyacrylamide immobilized Phos-Tag™. Following appropriate treatment of the gels, separated proteins can be quantitatively transferred to PVDF or nitrocellulose membranes and probed with common-not phosphorylation state specific-antibodies and delineate the occurrence of a certain phosphoprotein species against its non-phosphorylated counterpart.

1,2-Anhydrosaccharides and 1,2-Cyclic Sulfites as Saccharide Donors in Convergent Synthesis of Glucopyranosyl-, Mannopyranosyl- and Ribofuranosylbenzocamalexin

A convergent synthesis of 1-(β-D-glucopyranosyl)-, 1-(α-D-mannopyranosyl)- and 1-(β-D-ribofuranosyl)benzocamalexin was elaborated as an alternative route to the linear approach based on the indoline-indole method. 1,2-Anhydrosaccharides and 1,2-cyclic sulfites as saccharide donors were used in the key glycosylation step. Coupling with benzocamalexin resulted in moderate to excellent yields of nucleoside analogs, depending on the saccharide donor, catalyst and solvent used.

Synthesis of β-D-Glucopyranosides of 6-Substituted 2-(Indol-3-yl)benzothiazoles

A linear synthesis of substituted 1-(β-D-glucopyranosyl)benzocamalexins starting from indoline and penta-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranose was elaborated. Jacobson cyclization of corresponding 4-substituted peracetylated β-D-glucopyranosylindole-3-carbothioanilides employing potassium ferricyanide under basic conditions was a key synthetic step.

Synthesis of 1-Glycosyl Derivatives of Benzocamalexin

The linear synthesis of 1-(β-D-glucopyranosyl)-, 1-(β-D-galactopyranosyl)-, 1-(β-D-mannopyranosyl)- and 1-(β-D-ribofuranosyl)benzocamalexin was elaborated from indoline as a starting compound and corresponding pentaacetylhexoses or 1-O-acetyl-2,3,5-tri-O-benzoyl-D-ribose as suitable glycosyl donors.