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Mahmoud MA, Mohammed AF, Salem OIA, Almutairi TM, Bräse S, Youssif BGM. Design, synthesis, and apoptotic antiproliferative action of new 1,2,3-triazole/1,2,4-oxadiazole hybrids as dual EGFR/ VEGFR-2 inhibitors. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2024; 39:2305856. [PMID: 38326989 PMCID: PMC10854447 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2024.2305856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
A novel series of 1,2,3-triazole/1,2,4-oxadiazole hybrids (7a-o) was developed as dual inhibitors of EGFR/VEGFR-2. Compounds 7a-o were evaluated as antiproliferative agents with Erlotinib as the reference drug. Results demonstrated that most of the tested compounds showed significant antiproliferative action with GI50 values ranging from 28 to 104 nM, compared to Erlotinib (GI50 = 33 nM), and compounds 7i-m were the most potent. Compounds 7h, 7i, 7j, 7k, and 7l were evaluated as dual EGFR/VEGFR-2 inhibitors. These in vitro experiments demonstrated that compounds 7j, 7k, and 7l are potent antiproliferative agents that may operate as dual EGFR/VEGFR-2 inhibitors. Compounds 7j, 7k, and 7l were evaluated for their apoptotic potential activity, where findings indicated that compounds 7j, 7k, and 7l promote apoptosis by activating caspase-3, 8, and Bax and down-regulating the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2. Molecular docking simulations show the binding mode of the most active antiproliferative compounds within EGFR and VEGFR-2 active sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A. Mahmoud
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
| | - Anber F. Mohammed
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
| | - Ola I. A. Salem
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
| | | | - Stefan Bräse
- Institute of Biological and Chemical Systems, IBCS-FMS, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
| | - Bahaa G. M. Youssif
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt
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Fadaly WAA, Nemr MTM, Kahk NM. Discovery of novel pyrazole based Urea/Thiourea derivatives as multiple targeting VEGFR-2, EGFR WT, EGFR T790M tyrosine kinases and COX-2 Inhibitors, with anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities. Bioorg Chem 2024; 147:107403. [PMID: 38691909 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
A novel series of pyrazole derivatives with urea/thiourea scaffolds 16a-l as hybrid sorafenib/erlotinib/celecoxib analogs was designed, synthesized and tested for its VEGFR-2, EGFRWT, EGFRT790M tyrosine kinases and COX-2, pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 inhibitory activities. All the tested compounds showed excellent COX-2 selectivity index in range of 18.04-47.87 compared to celecoxib (S.I. = 26.17) and TNF-α and IL-6 inhibitory activities (IC50 = 5.0-7.50, 6.23-8.93 respectively, compared to celecoxib IC50 = 8.40 and 8.50, respectively). Screening was carried out against 60 human cancer cell lines by National Cancer Institute (NCI), compounds 16a, 16c, 16d and 16 g were the most potent inhibitors with GI% ranges of 100 %, 99.63-87.02 %, 98.98-43.10 % and 98.68-23.62 % respectively, and with GI50 values of 1.76-15.50 µM, 1.60-5.38 µM, 1.68-7.39 µM and 1.81-11.0 µM respectively, in addition, of showing good safety profile against normal cell line (F180). Moreover, compounds 16a, 16c, 16d and 16 g had cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase with induced necrotic percentage compared to sorafenib of 2.06 %, 2.47 %, 1.57 %, 0.88 % and 1.83 % respectively. Amusingly, compounds 16a, 16c, 16d and 16 g inhibited VEGFR-2 with IC50 of 25 nM, 52 nM, 324 nM and 110 nM respectively, compared to sorafenib (IC50 = 85 nM), and had excellent EGFRWT and EGFRT790M kinase inhibitory activities (IC50 = 94 nM, 128 nM, 160 nM, 297 nM), (10 nM, 25 nM, 36 nM and 48 nM) respectively, compared to both erlotinib and osimertinib (IC50 = 114 nM, 56 nM) and (70 nM, 37 nM) respectively and showed (EGFRwt/EGFRT790M S.I.) of (range: 4.44-9.40) compared to erlotinib (2.03) and osmertinib (1.89).
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Affiliation(s)
- Wael A A Fadaly
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62514, Egypt
| | - Mohamed T M Nemr
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Eini street 11562, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Nesma M Kahk
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62514, Egypt
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Elkady H, Mahdy HA, Taghour MS, Dahab MA, Elwan A, Hagras M, Hussein MH, Ibrahim IM, Husein DZ, Elkaeed EB, Alsfouk AA, Metwaly AM, Eissa IH. New thiazolidine-2,4-diones as potential anticancer agents and apoptotic inducers targeting VEGFR-2 kinase: Design, synthesis, in silico and in vitro studies. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2024; 1868:130599. [PMID: 38521471 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2024.130599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Revised: 11/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND VEGFR-2 has emerged as a prominent positive regulator of cancer progression. AIM Discovery of new anticancer agents and apoptotic inducers targeting VEGFR-2. METHODS Design and synthesis of new thiazolidine-2,4-diones followed by extensive in vitro studies, including VEGFR-2 inhibition assay, MTT assay, apoptosis analysis, and cell migration assay. In silico investigations including docking, MD simulations, ADMET, toxicity, and DFT studies were performed. RESULTS Compound 15 showed the strongest VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 0.066 μM. Additionally, most of the synthesized compounds showed anti-proliferative activity against HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines at the micromolar range with IC50 values ranging from 0.04 to 4.71 μM, relative to sorafenib (IC50 = 2.24 ± 0.06 and 3.17 ± 0.01 μM against HepG2 and MCF-7, respectively). Also, compound 15 showed selectivity indices of 1.36 and 2.08 against HepG2 and MCF-7, respectively. Furthermore, compound 15 showed a significant apoptotic effect and arrested the cell cycle of MCF-7 cells at the S phase. Moreover, compound 15 had a significant inhibitory effect on the ability of MCF-7 cells to heal from. Docking studies revealed that the synthesized thiazolidine-2,4-diones have a binding pattern approaching sorafenib. MD simulations indicated the stability of compound 15 in the active pocket of VEGFR-2 for 200 ns. ADMET and toxicity studies indicated an acceptable pharmacokinetic profile. DFT studies confirmed the ability of compound 15 to interact with VEGFR-2. CONCLUSION Compound 15 has promising anticancer activity targeting VEGFR-2 with significant activity as an apoptosis inducer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt.
| | - Hazem A Mahdy
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt.
| | - Mohammed S Taghour
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohammed A Dahab
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Alaa Elwan
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohamed Hagras
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt.
| | - Mona H Hussein
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, College of Pharmacy (Girls), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim M Ibrahim
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.
| | - Dalal Z Husein
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, El-Kharja 72511, Egypt.
| | - Eslam B Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh 13713, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Aisha A Alsfouk
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Ahmed M Metwaly
- Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt; Biopharmaceutical Products Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria 21934, Egypt.
| | - Ibrahim H Eissa
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt.
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Li T, Wang J, Feng L, Zhou Q, Xie Q, Shen Y, Ji R, Liu X, Wang Y, Hu C. Discovery of novel thiophene-3-carboxamide derivatives as potential VEGFR-2 inhibitors with anti-angiogenic properties. Bioorg Chem 2024; 147:107358. [PMID: 38626490 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024]
Abstract
VEGFR-2 is an attractive target for the development of anti-tumor drugs and plays a crucial role in tumor angiogenesis. This study reports a series of novel thiophene-3-carboxamide derivatives based on PAN-90806 as VEGFR-2 inhibitors, among which compound 14d exhibits excellent anti-proliferative activity against HCT116, MCF7, PC3, and A549 cell lines, and has effective VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 191.1 nM. Additionally, CETSA results indicated that VEGFR-2 was a relevant target of compound 14d in the cell lines, and compound 14d could also inhibit VEGFR-2 protein phosphorylation in A549 cell line. Furthermore, compound 14d inhibited colony formation, cell migration, and HUVECs tube formation in a dose-dependent manner. The mechanism by which 14d induced cancer cell death involves blocking the cell cycle, increasing ROS production, inducing apoptosis, and dose-dependently reducing the levels of phosphorylated ERK and MEK. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations had shown that compound 14d could stably bind to the active site of VEGFR-2. These results confirmed that compound 14d might be a promising lead compound for anti-angiogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tai Li
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design & Discovery (Ministry of Education), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016, China
| | - Jiawei Wang
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design & Discovery (Ministry of Education), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016, China
| | - Limiao Feng
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design & Discovery (Ministry of Education), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016, China
| | - Qi Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design & Discovery (Ministry of Education), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016, China
| | - Qian Xie
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design & Discovery (Ministry of Education), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016, China; Center for Translational Medicine Research and Development, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yanni Shen
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design & Discovery (Ministry of Education), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016, China; Center for Translational Medicine Research and Development, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Rongxin Ji
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design & Discovery (Ministry of Education), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016, China
| | - Xiaoping Liu
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design & Discovery (Ministry of Education), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016, China.
| | - Yan Wang
- Center for Translational Medicine Research and Development, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
| | - Chun Hu
- Key Laboratory of Structure-based Drug Design & Discovery (Ministry of Education), Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 110016, China.
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Dahab MA, Mahdy HA, Elkady H, Taghour MS, Elwan A, Elkady MA, Elsakka EGE, Elkaeed EB, Alsfouk AA, Ibrahim IM, Metwaly AM, Eissa IH. Semi-synthesized anticancer theobromine derivatives targeting VEGFR-2: in silico and in vitro evaluations. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:4214-4233. [PMID: 37261471 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2219333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Vascular endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis are all crucially impacted by Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 (VEGFR-2). Its expression is significantly boosted throughout pathologic angiogenesis causing the development of tumors. Sothat, inhibition of VEGFR-2 has crucial role in cancer treatment. In this study, novel semisynthetic theobromine derivatives were rationally designed as VEGFR-2 inhibitors and subjected to in vitro testing for their ability to block VEGFR-2 activation. Furthermore, the antiproliferative effects of these derivatives were evaluated. Compound 7 g exhibited the most potent anti-VEGFR-2 activity, with an IC50 value of 0.072 µM, and demonstrated excellent dose-dependent inhibitory activity against both MCF-7 and HepG2 cancer cells with IC50 values of 19.35 and 27.89 µM, respectively. Notably, compound 7 g exhibited high selectivity indices of 2.6 and 1.8 against MCF-7 and HepG2 cells, respectively. Compound 7 g induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, promoted apoptosis, and boosted immunomodulation by downregulating TNF-α expression and upregulating IL-2 levels in MCF-7 cells. The molecular docking analysis revealed that compound 7 g could bind effectively to the active site of VEGFR-2, and molecular dynamic simulations confirmed the stability of the VEGFR-2/compound 7 g complex. Furthermore, ADME and toxicity profiling indicated the potential suitability of these compounds as drug candidates. In summary, compound 7 g hold promise as a VEGFR-2 inhibitor.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed A Dahab
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Hazem A Mahdy
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mohammed S Taghour
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Alaa Elwan
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mohamed A Elkady
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Elsayed G E Elsakka
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Eslam B Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Aisha A Alsfouk
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ibrahim M Ibrahim
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M Metwaly
- Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
- Biopharmaceutical Products Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim H Eissa
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
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Zahran SS, Ragab FA, Soliman AM, El-Gazzar MG, Mahmoud WR, Ghorab MM. Utility of sulfachloropyridazine in the synthesis of novel anticancer agents as antiangiogenic and apoptotic inducers. Bioorg Chem 2024; 148:107411. [PMID: 38733747 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/27/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
In a search for new anticancer agents with better activity and selectivity, the present work described the synthesis of several new series of sulfachloropyridazine hybrids with thiocarbamates 3a-e, thioureids 4a-h, 5a-e and 4-substituted sulfachloropyridazines 6a, b, 7a, b and 8. The synthesized compounds were screened in vitro against a panel of 60 cancer cell lines in one dose assay. The most potent derivatives 3a, 3c, 4c, 4d, 5e, 7a and 7b were tested for their antiangiogenic activity by measuring their ability to inhibit VEGFR-2. The most potent compounds in VEGFR-2 inhibitory assay were further evaluated for their ability to inhibit PDGFR. In addition, the ability of 4c compound to inhibit cell migration on HUVEC cells and cell cycle effect on UO-31 cells has been studied. The pro-apoptotic effect of compound 4c was studied by the evaluation of caspase-3, Bax and BCl-2. Alternatively, the IC50 of compounds 3a, 3c, 4c, 5e, 7a and 7b against certain human cancer cell lines were determined. Re-evaluation in combination with γ-radiation was carried out for compounds 4c, 5e and 7b to study the possible synergistic effect on cytotoxicity. Docking studies of the most active compounds were performed to give insights into the binding mode within VEGFR-2 active site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sally S Zahran
- Department of Drug Radiation Research, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo 11787, Egypt
| | - Fatma A Ragab
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, 11562, Egypt
| | - Aiten M Soliman
- Department of Drug Radiation Research, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo 11787, Egypt.
| | - Marwa G El-Gazzar
- Department of Drug Radiation Research, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo 11787, Egypt
| | - Walaa R Mahmoud
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, 11562, Egypt
| | - Mostafa M Ghorab
- Department of Drug Radiation Research, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology (NCRRT), Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA), Cairo 11787, Egypt.
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Ye L, Liu R, Li Q, Zhou C, Tan X. Dysregulated VEGF/ VEGFR-2 Signaling and Plexogenic Lesions in the Embryonic Lungs of Chickens Predisposed to Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4489. [PMID: 38674074 PMCID: PMC11049811 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25084489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Plexiform lesions are a hallmark of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in humans and are proposed to stem from dysfunctional angioblasts. Broiler chickens (Gallus gallus) are highly susceptible to PAH, with plexiform-like lesions observed in newly hatched individuals. Here, we reported the emergence of plexiform-like lesions in the embryonic lungs of broiler chickens. Lung samples were collected from broiler chickens at embryonic day 20 (E20), hatch, and one-day-old, with PAH-resistant layer chickens as controls. Plexiform lesions consisting of CD133+/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor type-2 (VEGFR-2)+ angioblasts were exclusively observed in broiler embryos and sporadically in layer embryos. Distinct gene profiles of angiogenic factors were observed between the two strains, with impaired VEGF-A/VEGFR-2 signaling correlating with lesion development and reduced arteriogenesis. Pharmaceutical inhibition of VEGFR-2 resulted in enhanced lesion development in layer embryos. Moreover, broiler embryonic lungs displayed increased activation of HIF-1α and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), indicating a hypoxic state. Remarkably, we found a negative correlation between lung Nrf2 activation and VEGF-A and VEGFR-2 expression. In vitro studies indicated that Nrf2 overactivation restricted VEGF signaling in endothelial progenitor cells. The findings from broiler embryos suggest an association between plexiform lesion development and impaired VEGF system due to aberrant activation of Nrf2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lujie Ye
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Center for Veterinary Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Rui Liu
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Center for Veterinary Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Qinghao Li
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Center for Veterinary Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Chunzhen Zhou
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Center for Veterinary Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Xun Tan
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Center for Veterinary Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- Institute of Preventive Veterinary Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
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Ezelarab HAA, Abd El-Hafeez AA, Ali TFS, Sayed AM, Hassan HA, Beshr EAM, Abbas SH. New 2-oxoindole derivatives as multiple PDGFRα/ß and VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Bioorg Chem 2024; 145:107234. [PMID: 38412650 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 02/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Two new series of N-aryl acetamides 6a-o and benzyloxy benzylidenes 9a-p based 2-oxoindole derivatives were designed as potent antiproliferative multiple kinase inhibitors. The results of one-dose NCI antiproliferative screening for compounds 6a-o and 9a-p elucidated that the most promising antiproliferative scaffolds were 6f and 9f, which underwent five-dose testing. Notably, the amido congener 6f was the most potent derivative towards pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma MDA-PATC53 and PL45 cell lines (IC50 = 1.73 µM and 2.40 µM, respectively), and the benzyloxy derivative 9f was the next potent one with IC50 values of 2.85 µM and 2.96 µM, respectively. Both compounds 6f and 9f demonstrated a favorable safety profile when tested against normal prostate epithelial cells (RWPE-1). Additionally, compound 6f displayed exceptional selectivity as a multiple kinase inhibitor, particularly targeting PDGFRα, PDGFRβ, and VEGFR-2 kinases, with IC50 values of 7.41 nM, 6.18 nM, and 7.49 nM, respectively. In contrast, the reference compound Sunitinib exhibited IC50 values of 43.88 nM, 2.13 nM, and 78.46 nM against the same kinases. The derivative 9f followed closely, with IC50 values of 9.9 nM, 6.62 nM, and 22.21 nM for the respective kinases. Both 6f and 9f disrupt the G2/M cell cycle transition by upregulating p21 and reducing CDK1 and cyclin B1 mRNA levels. The interplay between targeted kinases and these cell cycle regulators underpins the G2/M cell cycle arrest induced by our compounds. Also, compounds 6f and 9f fundamentally resulted in entering MDA-PATC53 cells into the early stage of apoptosis with good percentages compared to the positive control Sunitinib. The in silico molecular-docking outcomes of scaffolds 6a-o and 9a-p in VEGFR-2, PDGFRα, and PDGFRβ active sites depicted their ability to adopt essential binding interactions like the reference Sunitinib. Our designed analogs, specifically 6f and 9f, possess promising antiproliferative and kinase inhibitory properties, making them potential candidates for further therapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hend A A Ezelarab
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, 61519 Minia, Egypt
| | - Amer Ali Abd El-Hafeez
- Pharmacology and Experimental Oncology Unit, Department of Cancer Biology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Taha F S Ali
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, 61519 Minia, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M Sayed
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Nahda University, 62513 Beni-Suef, Egypt; Department of Pharmacognosy, Collage of Pharmacy, Almaaqal University, 61014 Basrah, Iraq
| | - Heba A Hassan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, 61519 Minia, Egypt.
| | - Eman A M Beshr
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, 61519 Minia, Egypt
| | - Samar H Abbas
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, 61519 Minia, Egypt.
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Eid NM, Al-Karmalawy AA, Eldebss TMA, Elhakim HKA. Investigating the Promising Anticancer Activity of Cetuximab and Fenbendazole Combination as Dual CBS and VEGFR-2 Inhibitors and Endowed with Apoptotic Potential. Chem Biodivers 2024; 21:e202302081. [PMID: 38318954 DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202302081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
In this work, the cytotoxicity of monoclonal antibody (Cetuximab, Ce) and Fenbendazole (Fen), as well as their combination therapy were tested with the MTT assay. On the other side, Ce, Fen, and a combination between them were subjected to a colchicine-tubulin binding test, which was conducted and compared to Colchicine as a reference standard. Besides, Ce, Fen, and the combination of them were tested against the VEGFR-2 target receptor, compared to Sorafenib as the standard medication. Moreover, the qRT-PCR technique was used to investigate the levels of apoptotic genes (p53 and Bax) and anti-apoptotic gene (Bcl-2) as well. Also, the effect of Ce, Fen, and the combination of them on the level of ROS was studied. Furthermore, the cell cycle analysis and Annexin V apoptosis assay were carried out for Ce, Fen, and a combination of them. In addition, the molecular docking studies were used to describe the molecular levels of interactions for both (Fen and colchicine) or (Fen and sorafenib) within the binding pockets of the colchicine binding site (CBS) and vascular endothelial growth factor-2 receptor (VEGFR-2), respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norhan M Eid
- Biochemistry Division, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt
| | - Ahmed A Al-Karmalawy
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Horus University-Egypt, New Damietta, 34518, Egypt
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ahram Canadian University, 6th of October City, Giza, 12566, Egypt
| | - Taha M A Eldebss
- Chemistry Division, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt
| | - Heba K A Elhakim
- Biochemistry Division, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, 12613, Egypt
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10
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Ding H, Xing F, Zou L, Zhao L. QSAR analysis of VEGFR-2 inhibitors based on machine learning, Topomer CoMFA and molecule docking. BMC Chem 2024; 18:59. [PMID: 38555462 PMCID: PMC10981835 DOI: 10.1186/s13065-024-01165-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
VEGFR-2 kinase inhibitors are clinically approved drugs that can effectively target cancer angiogenesis. However, such inhibitors have adverse effects such as skin toxicity, gastrointestinal reactions and hepatic impairment. In this study, machine learning and Topomer CoMFA, which is an alignment-dependent, descriptor-based method, were employed to build structural activity relationship models of potentially new VEGFR-2 inhibitors. The prediction ac-curacy of the training and test sets of the 2D-SAR model were 82.4 and 80.1%, respectively, with KNN. Topomer CoMFA approach was then used for 3D-QSAR modeling of VEGFR-2 inhibitors. The coefficient of q2 for cross-validation of the model 1 was greater than 0.5, suggesting that a stable drug activity-prediction model was obtained. Molecular docking was further performed to simulate the interactions between the five most promising compounds and VEGFR-2 target protein and the Total Scores were all greater than 6, indicating that they had a strong hydrogen bond interactions were present. This study successfully used machine learning to obtain five potentially novel VEGFR-2 inhibitors to increase our arsenal of drugs to combat cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Ding
- Department of Ultrasound, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning, China
| | - Fei Xing
- Department of Oncology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning, China
| | - Lin Zou
- Medical College of Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, China
| | - Liang Zhao
- Hepatobiliary and Splenic Surgery Ward, Department of General Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, Liaoning, China.
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11
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Ceci C, Lacal PM, Barbaccia ML, Mercuri NB, Graziani G, Ledonne A. The VEGFs/VEGFRs system in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases: Pathophysiological roles and therapeutic implications. Pharmacol Res 2024; 201:107101. [PMID: 38336311 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2024.107101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
The vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) and their cognate receptors (VEGFRs), besides their well-known involvement in physiological angiogenesis/lymphangiogenesis and in diseases associated to pathological vessel formation, play multifaceted functions in the central nervous system (CNS). In addition to shaping brain development, by controlling cerebral vasculogenesis and regulating neurogenesis as well as astrocyte differentiation, the VEGFs/VEGFRs axis exerts essential functions in the adult brain both in physiological and pathological contexts. In this article, after describing the physiological VEGFs/VEGFRs functions in the CNS, we focus on the VEGFs/VEGFRs involvement in neurodegenerative diseases by reviewing the current literature on the rather complex VEGFs/VEGFRs contribution to the pathogenic mechanisms of Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) diseases. Thereafter, based on the outcome of VEGFs/VEGFRs targeting in animal models of AD and PD, we discuss the factual relevance of pharmacological VEGFs/VEGFRs modulation as a novel and potential disease-modifying approach for these neurodegenerative pathologies. Specific VEGFRs targeting, aimed at selective VEGFR-1 inhibition, while preserving VEGFR-2 signal transduction, appears as a promising strategy to hit the molecular mechanisms underlying AD pathology. Moreover, therapeutic VEGFs-based approaches can be proposed for PD treatment, with the aim of fine-tuning their brain levels to amplify neurotrophic/neuroprotective effects while limiting an excessive impact on vascular permeability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Ceci
- Pharmacology Section, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Maria Luisa Barbaccia
- Pharmacology Section, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Nicola Biagio Mercuri
- Neurology Section, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Department of Experimental Neuroscience, Rome, Italy; Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Grazia Graziani
- Pharmacology Section, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
| | - Ada Ledonne
- Pharmacology Section, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Department of Experimental Neuroscience, Rome, Italy; Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
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12
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Zeidan MA, Othman DIA, Goda FE, Mostafa AS. Identification of novel sulfathiazole-triazolo-chalcone hybrids as VEGFR-2/EGFR dual inhibitors with antiangiogenic activity and apoptotic induction. Arch Pharm (Weinheim) 2024; 357:e2300320. [PMID: 38117940 DOI: 10.1002/ardp.202300320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Certain sulfathiazole-triazolo chalcone hybrids were identified as anticancer agents with dual vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2)/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase inhibitory effect. All of the compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against the MCF-7 and HepG-2 tumor cell lines. Compounds 11g, 11h, and 11j exhibited the most potent antiproliferative activity against both cancer cell lines, with good safety toward WI-38 normal cells. Thus, they were further assessed for VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity. They have suppressed VEGFR-2 enzyme at IC50 of 0.316, 0.076, and 0.189 µM, respectively in comparison to sorafenib (IC50 = 0.035 µM). EGFR enzyme inhibition was further screened for the most potent inhibitors, 11h and 11j, where they displayed enhanced potency with IC50 of 0.085 and 0.108 µM, respectively, compared to erlotinib (IC50 = 0.037 µM). Compounds 11h and 11j were additionally investigated for inhibition of comparable kinases, PDGFR-β and B-Raf, where results assessed adequate selectivity of both compounds toward the VEGFR-2 and EGFR kinases. Furthermore, the wound healing assay of compound 11h manifested a percent wound closure of 65.18% in MCF-7 cells compared to doxorubicin (58.51%) and untreated cells (97.77%), proving its antiangiogenic activity. The cell cycle assay of MCF-7 cells treated with 11h demonstrated cell cycle arrest at the S phase. Moreover, compound 11h induced apoptosis with a 44-fold increase compared to that induced in the control MCF-7 cells. Molecular docking results of compounds 11h and 11j established their efficacies, and in silico studies showed convenient safety profiles with drug-likeness properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A Zeidan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Horus University, New Damietta, Egypt
| | - Dina I A Othman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
- Pharmacy Center of Scientific Excellence, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Fatma E Goda
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Amany S Mostafa
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
- Pharmacy Center of Scientific Excellence, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
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13
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Abdel-Mohsen HT, Ibrahim MA, Nageeb AM, El Kerdawy AM. Receptor-based pharmacophore modeling, molecular docking, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel VEGFR-2, FGFR-1, and BRAF multi-kinase inhibitors. BMC Chem 2024; 18:42. [PMID: 38395926 PMCID: PMC10893631 DOI: 10.1186/s13065-024-01135-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
A receptor-based pharmacophore model describing the binding features required for the multi-kinase inhibition of the target kinases (VEGFR-2, FGFR-1, and BRAF) were constructed and validated. It showed a good overall quality in discriminating between the active and the inactive in a compiled test set compounds with F1 score of 0.502 and Mathew's correlation coefficient of 0.513. It described the ligand binding to the hinge region Cys or Ala, the glutamate residue of the Glu-Lys αC helix conserved pair, the DFG motif Asp at the activation loop, and the allosteric back pocket next to the ATP binding site. Moreover, excluded volumes were used to define the steric extent of the binding sites. The application of the developed pharmacophore model in virtual screening of an in-house scaffold dataset resulted in the identification of a benzimidazole-based scaffold as a promising hit within the dataset. Compounds 8a-u were designed through structural optimization of the hit benzimidazole-based scaffold through (un)substituted aryl substitution on 2 and 5 positions of the benzimidazole ring. Molecular docking simulations and ADME properties predictions confirmed the promising characteristics of the designed compounds in terms of binding affinity and pharmacokinetic properties, respectively. The designed compounds 8a-u were synthesized, and they demonstrated moderate to potent VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity at 10 µM. Compound 8u exhibited a potent inhibitory activity against the target kinases (VEGFR-2, FGFR-1, and BRAF) with IC50 values of 0.93, 3.74, 0.25 µM, respectively. The benzimidazole derivatives 8a-u were all selected by the NCI (USA) to conduct their anti-proliferation screening. Compounds 8a and 8d resulted in a potent mean growth inhibition % (GI%) of 97.73% and 92.51%, respectively. Whereas compounds 8h, 8j, 8k, 8o, 8q, 8r, and 8u showed a mean GI% > 100% (lethal effect). The most potent compounds on the NCI panel of 60 different cancer cell lines were progressed further to NCI five-dose testing. The benzimidazole derivatives 8a, 8d, 8h, 8j, 8k, 8o, 8q, 8r and 8u exhibited potent anticancer activity on the tested cell lines reaching sub-micromolar range. Moreover, 8u was found to induce cell cycle arrest of MCF-7 cell line at the G2/M phase and accumulating cells at the sub-G1 phase as a result of cell apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heba T Abdel-Mohsen
- Chemistry of Natural and Microbial Products Department, Pharmaceutical and Drug Industries Research Institute, National Research Centre, Dokki, P.O. 12622, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Marwa A Ibrahim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini Street, P.O. 11562, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Amira M Nageeb
- High Throughput Molecular and Genetic Technology Lab, Center of Excellence for Advanced Sciences, Biochemistry Department, Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Centre, Dokki, P.O. 12622, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M El Kerdawy
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini Street, P.O. 11562, Cairo, Egypt
- School of Pharmacy, College of Health and Science, University of Lincoln, Joseph Banks Laboratories, Green Lane, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, UK
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14
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Ali AM, Khalaf MA, Bhongade BA, Selim KB, Mostafa AS. Exploration of antiproliferative potential of modified triazole-benzohydrazone scaffold: Multitarget approach. Arch Pharm (Weinheim) 2024; 357:e2300383. [PMID: 37946599 DOI: 10.1002/ardp.202300383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
A novel series of triazole-benzohydrazone hybrids was efficiently designed and synthesized as antiproliferative agents, targeting different kinases. All compounds were screened via the National Cancer Institute (NCI) against 60 cancer cell lines, where compounds 16, 17, and 18 exhibited growth inhibition percent (GI%) of various leukemia subpanels with values of 70.33%, 64.13%, and 76.03%, respectively. Compound 18 showed broad-spectrum antiproliferative efficacy toward most cancer cells, with outstanding potency regarding melanoma (MALME-3M GI% = 101.82%) and breast cancer cell lines (MCF7 GI% = 85.87%), while proving safe toward the WI-38 normal cell line, compared to doxorubicin. Multikinase investigation including vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2), mesenchymal epithelial transition factor (c-Met), proto-oncogene B-Raf, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase, extracellular signal-regulated kinase, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase was accomplished to reveal its plausible mechanism of action, giving the ultimate potency against both VEGFR-2 and c-Met with IC50 values of 0.055 and 0.042 μM, respectively, while displaying moderate to good inhibition concerning the remaining kinases. DNA binding capability was excluded using the methyl green colorimetric assay. Further, it exhibited both early and late apoptotic induction by about 16- and 9.4-fold over the control, respectively, triggering cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. Physicochemical properties and bioavailability radar plot inferred drug-likeness characteristics for compound 18. The molecular docking study assessed the binding pattern with the active sites of c-Met and VEGFR-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alaa M Ali
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Mohamed A Khalaf
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
- Chemistry Department, College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Bhoomendra A Bhongade
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, RAK College of Pharmacy, RAK Medical & Health Sciences University, Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Khalid B Selim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Amany S Mostafa
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
- Pharmacy Center of Scientific Excellence, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
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15
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Ayoup MS, Ammar A, Abdel-Hamid H, Amer A, Abu-Serie MM, Nasr SA, Ghareeb DA, Teleb M, Tageldin GN. Challenging the anticolorectal cancer capacity of quinoxaline-based scaffold via triazole ligation unveiled new efficient dual VEGFR-2/MAO-B inhibitors. Bioorg Chem 2024; 143:107102. [PMID: 38211551 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2024.107102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 12/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Monoamine oxidases (MAOs) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) are promoters of colorectal cancer (CRC) and central signaling nodes in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by activating hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). Herein, a novel series of rationally designed triazole-tethered quinoxalines were synthesized and evaluated against HCT-116 CRC cells. The tailored scaffolds combine the pharmacophoric themes of both VEGFR-2 inhibitors and MAO inhibitors. All the synthesized derivatives were screened utilizing the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay for their possible cytotoxic effects on normal human colonocytes, then evaluated for their anticancer activities against HCT-116 cells overexpressing MAOs. The hit derivatives 11 and 14 exhibited IC50 = 18.04 and 7.850 µM, respectively, against HCT-116cells within their EC100 doses on normal human colonocytes. Wound healing assay revealed their efficient CRC antimetastatic activities recording HCT-116 cell migration inhibition exceeding 75 %. In vitro enzymatic assays demonstrated that both 11 and 14 efficiently inhibited VEGFR-2 (IC50 = 88.79 and 9.910 nM), MAO-A (IC50 = 0.763 and 629.1 nM) and MAO-B (IC50 = 0.488 and 209.6 nM) with observed MAO-B over MAO-A selectivity (SI = 1.546 and 3.001), respectively. Enzyme kinetics studies were performed for both compounds to identify their mode of MAO-B inhibition. Furthermore, qRT-PCR analysis showed that the hits efficiently downregulated HIF-1α in HCT-116cells by 3.420 and 16.96 folds relative to untreated cells. Docking studies simulated their possible binding modes within the active sites of VEGFR-2 and MAO-B to highlight their essential structural determinants of activities. Finally, they recorded in silico drug-like absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) profiles as well as ligand efficiency metrics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Salah Ayoup
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia; Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 426, Alexandria 21321, Egypt.
| | - Ahmed Ammar
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 426, Alexandria 21321, Egypt
| | - Hamida Abdel-Hamid
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 426, Alexandria 21321, Egypt
| | - Adel Amer
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 426, Alexandria 21321, Egypt; Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Marwa M Abu-Serie
- Medical Biotechnology Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Egypt
| | - Samah A Nasr
- Bio-screening and Preclinical Trial Lab, Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, 21511 Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Doaa A Ghareeb
- Bio-screening and Preclinical Trial Lab, Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, 21511 Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Mohamed Teleb
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21521, Egypt
| | - Gina N Tageldin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Alexandria University, Alexandria, 21521, Egypt.
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16
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Allawi MM, Mahmood AAR, Tahtamouni LH, AlSakhen MF, Kanaan SI, Saleh KM, Yasin SR. New Indole-6-Carboxylic Acid Derivatives as Multi-Target Antiproliferative Agents: Synthesis, in Silico Studies, and Cytotoxicity Evaluation. Chem Biodivers 2024; 21:e202301892. [PMID: 38145305 DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202301892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) are commonly overexpressed in cancers making them appealing targets for cancer therapeutics. Two groups of indole-6-carboxylic acid derivatives, hydrazone derivatives targeting EGFR and oxadiazole derivatives targeting VEGFR-2, were synthesized and characterized using FT-IR, 1 H-NMR, 13 CNMR, and HR-MS techniques. Binding patterns to potential molecular targets were studied using molecular docking and compared to standard EGFR and VEGFR-2 inhibitors. The newly synthesized compounds were cytotoxic to the three cancer cell lines tested (HCT-116, HeLa, and HT-29 cell lines) as evaluated by the MTT assay. Compound 3 b (EGFR-targeting) and compound 6 e (VEGFR-2-targeting) possessed the highest antiproliferation activity, were cancer-selective, arrested cancer cells in the G2/M phase, induced the extrinsic apoptosis pathway, and had the highest EGFR/VEGFR-2 enzyme inhibitory activity, respectively. The structure-activity relationships of the new compounds showed that the presence of an aryl or heteroaryl fragment attached to a linker is required for the anti-tumor activity. In conclusion, the findings of the current study suggest that compounds 3 b and 6 e are promising cytotoxic agents that act by inhibiting EGFR and VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinases, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mustafa M Allawi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Uruk University, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Ammar A Razzak Mahmood
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Baghdad, Bab-Almoudam, 10001, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Lubna H Tahtamouni
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
- Department of Biology and Molecular Biology, College of Natural Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Mai F AlSakhen
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Sana I Kanaan
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Khaled M Saleh
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Salem R Yasin
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
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17
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Elbouhi M, Ouabane M, Tabti K, Badaoui H, Abdessadak O, El Alaouy MA, Elkamel K, Lakhlifi T, Sbai A, Ajana MA, Bouachrine M. Computational evaluation of 1,2,3-triazole-based VEGFR-2 inhibitors: anti-angiogenesis potential and pharmacokinetic assessment. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024:1-11. [PMID: 38193897 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2301686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its cell surface receptor, as well as the human VEGFR-2 domain kinase, are some of the signaling pathways that have received the most attention in this field. This study aimed to identify novel molecules as VEGFR-2 inhibitors using 3D-QSAR modeling based on 1,2,3-triazole. Docking studies and dynamic simulations were performed to analyze novel interactions with the inhibitors and validate the molecular docking, dynamic simulations, and ADMET analyses. The optimized CoMSIA/SEH model showed good statistical results, and molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated stability of M3 ligand with the receptor and provided insight into ligand-receptor interactions. The newly developed compounds performed well in ADMET evaluations and showed promising results using Lipinski's rule of five, suggesting that the molecule M3 could be a useful anti-angiogenesis agent. In conclusion, this study provides insights into the structure-activity relationship of VEGFR-2 inhibitors and identifies M3 as a potential new anti-angiogenesis drug. The methodology used in this study can be applied to other similar drug targets to discover new and potent inhibitors.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mhamed Elbouhi
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Mohamed Ouabane
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Kamal Tabti
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Hassan Badaoui
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Oumayma Abdessadak
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Moulay Ahfid El Alaouy
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Khalid Elkamel
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Tahar Lakhlifi
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Abdelouahid Sbai
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Mohammed Aziz Ajana
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
| | - Mohammed Bouachrine
- Molecular Chemistry and Natural Substances Laboratory (MCNSL), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes, Morocco
- Higher School of Technology (EST Khenifra), Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni-Mellal, Morocco
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18
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Banerjee S, Kejriwal S, Ghosh B, Lanka G, Jha T, Adhikari N. Fragment-based investigation of thiourea derivatives as VEGFR-2 inhibitors: a cross-validated approach of ligand-based and structure-based molecular modeling studies. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2024; 42:1047-1063. [PMID: 37029768 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2198039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 04/09/2023]
Abstract
Angiogenesis is mediated by the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that plays a key role in the modulation of progression, invasion and metastasis, related to solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Several small-molecule VEGFR-2 inhibitors are marketed, but their usage is restricted to specific cancers due to severe toxicities. Therefore, cost-effective novel small molecule VEGFR-2 inhibitors may be an alternative to overcome these adverse effects. Here, a set of thiourea-based VEGFR-2 inhibitors were considered for a combined fragment-based QSAR technique, structure-based molecular docking followed by molecular dynamics simulation studies to acquire insights into the key structural attributes and the binding pattern of enzyme-ligand interactions. Noticeably, amine-substituted quinazoline phenyl ring and a higher number of nitrogen atoms, and the hydrazide function in the molecular structure are crucial for VEGFR-2 inhibition whereas methoxy groups are detrimental to VEGFR-2 inhibition. The MD simulation study of sorafenib and thiourea derivatives explored the significance of urea and thiourea moiety binding at VEGFR-2 active site that can be utilized further in the future to design molecules for greater binding stability and better VEGFR-2 selectivity. Therefore, such findings can be beneficial for the development of newer VEGFR-2 inhibitors for further refinement to acquire better therapeutic efficacy.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suvankar Banerjee
- Natural Science Laboratory, Division of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
| | - Shristi Kejriwal
- Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, Nadia, West Bengal, India
| | - Balaram Ghosh
- Epigenetic Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Shamirpet, Hyderabad, India
| | - Goverdhan Lanka
- Epigenetic Research Laboratory, Department of Pharmacy, Birla Institute of Technology and Science-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Shamirpet, Hyderabad, India
| | - Tarun Jha
- Natural Science Laboratory, Division of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
| | - Nilanjan Adhikari
- Natural Science Laboratory, Division of Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India
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19
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Pla-López A, Carda M, Falomir E. Tetrazole derivatives as potent immunomodulatory agents in tumor microenvironment. Biomed Pharmacother 2023; 169:115668. [PMID: 37976894 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2023.115668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Twenty-seven compounds bearing a tetrazole ring as a central unit have been designed, synthetized and biologically evaluated. Studies have been performed in order to compare the effect of tetrazole derivatives bearing amine electron-donor or nitro electron-acceptor groups. The antiproliferative activity has been determined in monoculture studies on tumor cell lines HT-29, A-549, MCF-7 and on non-tumor cell line HEK-293 as well as in co-culture studies (HT-29/THP-1). All the compounds have been studied as PD-L1 (Programmed Death Ligand 1), VEGFR-2 (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor 2), CD-47 (Cluster of Differentiation 47) and c-Myc inhibitors. The effect on TNF-α secretion has also been determined. Bromoderivatives 23, 24 and chloroderivatives 26, 27 have demonstrated an apoptotic effect on HT-29 cancer cells. Compounds bearing an amine group have shown very promising effects as TME immunomodulatory agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Pla-López
- Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Department, University Jaume I, E-12071 Castellón, Spain
| | - Miguel Carda
- Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Department, University Jaume I, E-12071 Castellón, Spain
| | - Eva Falomir
- Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Department, University Jaume I, E-12071 Castellón, Spain.
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20
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Yousef RG, Eissa IH, Elkady H, Eldehna WM, Mehany ABM, Nabeeh A, Ibrahim IM, Elwan A, El-Zahabi MA. New nicotinamide derivatives as potential anticancer agents targeting VEGFR-2: design, synthesis, in vitro, and in silico studies. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-18. [PMID: 38100580 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2294170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Herin, new nicotinamide candidates were designed and synthesized as VEGFR-2 inhibitors. In vitro antiproliferative activities were assessed against MCF-7, HepG-2 and HCT-116 cancer cell lines. The top cytotoxic members 15a, 15b, 16, 18a, and 18b were estimated against their selected target (VEGFR-2). Further mechanistic tests were studied for the most potent cytotoxic candidate 18a, these studies revealed the ability of compound 18a to hinder the progression of HCT-116 cells at S and Pre-G1phases besides boosting early and late apoptosis. Also compound 18a was found to significantly decrease the levels immunomodulatory proteins TNF-α and IL-6 while showing a four-fold rise in an apoptotic marker caspase-3 when compared to control cells. The therapeutic index of the designed derivatives was evaluated by computational ADMET and toxicity calculations as well as their potentiality to occupy the VEGFR-2 active site was signposted by molecular docking assessments. Finally, molecular dynamic simulation studies of compound 18a-VEGFR-2 complex indicated the high steadiness of compound 18a in the VEGFR-2 active site. This study presents compound 18a as a lead candidate that can be optimized to get a strong VEGFR-2 inhibitor.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reda G Yousef
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim H Eissa
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Wagdy M Eldehna
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Ahmed B M Mehany
- Zoology Department, Faculty of Science (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ahmed Nabeeh
- Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim M Ibrahim
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Alaa Elwan
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mohamed Ayman El-Zahabi
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
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21
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Johnson BM, Johnson AM, Heim M, Buckley M, Mortimer B, Berry JL, Sewell-Loftin MK. Biomechanical stimulation promotes blood vessel growth despite VEGFR-2 inhibition. BMC Biol 2023; 21:290. [PMID: 38072992 PMCID: PMC10712065 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01792-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Angiogenesis, or the growth of new vasculature from existing blood vessels, is widely considered a primary hallmark of cancer progression. When a tumor is small, diffusion is sufficient to receive essential nutrients; however, as the tumor grows, a vascular supply is needed to deliver oxygen and nutrients into the increasing mass. Several anti-angiogenic cancer therapies target VEGF and the receptor VEGFR-2, which are major promoters of blood vessel development. Unfortunately, many of these cancer treatments fail to completely stop angiogenesis in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Since these therapies focus on the biochemical activation of VEGFR-2 via VEGF ligand binding, we propose that mechanical cues, particularly those found in the TME, may be a source of VEGFR-2 activation that promotes growth of blood vessel networks even in the presence of VEGF and VEGFR-2 inhibitors. RESULTS In this paper, we analyzed phosphorylation patterns of VEGFR-2, particularly at Y1054/Y1059 and Y1214, stimulated via either VEGF or biomechanical stimulation in the form of tensile strains. Our results show prolonged and enhanced activation at both Y1054/Y1059 and Y1214 residues when endothelial cells were stimulated with strain, VEGF, or a combination of both. We also analyzed Src expression, which is downstream of VEGFR-2 and can be activated through strain or the presence of VEGF. Finally, we used fibrin gels and microfluidic devices as 3D microtissue models to simulate the TME. We determined that regions of mechanical strain promoted increased vessel growth, even with VEGFR-2 inhibition through SU5416. CONCLUSIONS Overall, understanding both the effects that biomechanical and biochemical stimuli have on VEGFR-2 activation and angiogenesis is an important factor in developing effective anti-angiogenic therapies. This paper shows that VEGFR-2 can be mechanically activated through strain, which likely contributes to increased angiogenesis in the TME. These proof-of-concept studies show that small molecular inhibitors of VEGFR-2 do not fully prevent angiogenesis in 3D TME models when mechanical strains are introduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bronte Miller Johnson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1824 6th Avenue South, Wallace Tumor Institute, Room 630A, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Allison McKenzie Johnson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1824 6th Avenue South, Wallace Tumor Institute, Room 630A, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Michael Heim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1824 6th Avenue South, Wallace Tumor Institute, Room 630A, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Molly Buckley
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1824 6th Avenue South, Wallace Tumor Institute, Room 630A, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
| | - Bryan Mortimer
- Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Joel L Berry
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1824 6th Avenue South, Wallace Tumor Institute, Room 630A, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA
| | - Mary Kathryn Sewell-Loftin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1824 6th Avenue South, Wallace Tumor Institute, Room 630A, Birmingham, AL, 35294, USA.
- O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA.
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22
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Eissa IH, Yousef RG, Sami M, Elkaeed EB, Alsfouk BA, Ibrahim IM, Husein DZ, Elkady H, Metwaly AM. Exploring the anticancer properties of a new nicotinamide analogue: Investigations into in silico analysis, antiproliferative effects, selectivity, VEGFR-2 inhibition, apoptosis induction, and migration suppression. Pathol Res Pract 2023; 252:154924. [PMID: 37956639 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2023.154924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND This study focuses on the development and evaluation of (E)-N-(3-(1-(2-(4-bromobenzoyl)hydrazono)ethyl)phenyl)nicotinamide (BHEPN) as a potential inhibitor of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 (VEGFR-2). METHODS Computational investigations as density function theory (DFT), docking, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and ADMET) in addition to in vitro (VEGFR-2 inhibition, cytotoxicity against HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines, selectivity index, cells cycle analysis, apoptosis investigation, and cells migration assay) studies were conducted. RESULTS DFT calculations determined the three-dimensional structure and indicated the reactivity of BHEPN. Molecular docking, and MD simulations analysis showed the BHEPN's binding affinity and its potential as a VEGFR-2 inhibitor. ADMET assessments predicted BHEPN's safety and drug-like characteristics. In vitro investigations confirmed the inhibition of VEGFR-2 with an IC50 value of 0.320 ± 0.012 µM. BHEPN also exhibited remarkable cytotoxic effects against HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines, with IC50 values of 0.19 ± 0.01 µM and 1.18 ± 0.01 µM, respectively, outperforming Sorafenib's IC50 values (2.24 ± 0.06 µM and 3.17 ± 0.01 µM), respectively. Notably, BHEPN displayed a higher IC50 value of 4.11 ± 0 µM against the non-carcinogenic Vero cell lines, indicating selectivity index values of 21.6 and 3.4 against the tested cancer cell lines, respectively. In a flow cytometry assay, BHEPN induced HepG2 cell cycle arrest at the G1/S phase. Moreover, BHEPN increased the incidence of early and late apoptosis in HepG2 cell lines (from 1.38% and 0.22%) in control cells to (4.11-26.02%) in the treated cells, respectively. Additionally, the percentage of necrosis raised to 13.39%, in contrast to 0.62% in control cells. Finally, BHEPN was able to reduce the migration and wound healing abilities in HepG2 cells to 38.89% compared to 87.92% in untreated cells after 48 h. These in vitro results aligned with the computational predictions, providing strong evidence of BHEPN's efficacy and safety in anticancer applications. CONCLUSIONS BHEPN is a promising candidate for the development of novel anticancer agents through further in vitro and in vivo investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibrahim H Eissa
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Reda G Yousef
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Muhammad Sami
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Eslam B Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh 13713, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Bshra A Alsfouk
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ibrahim M Ibrahim
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
| | - Dalal Z Husein
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, El-Kharja 72511, Egypt
| | - Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M Metwaly
- Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt; Biopharmaceutical Products Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt.
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23
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Yilmaz N, Gulsen Coban P, Yilmaz S, Inal HA, Timur H, Haltas H. Does cabergoline administration affect endometrial VEGFR-2 expression in a rat model of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome? Gynecol Endocrinol 2023; 39:2217295. [PMID: 37247633 DOI: 10.1080/09513590.2023.2217295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of cabergoline on endometrial vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) immunoexpression in an ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) rat model. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-one immature female Wistar rats were assigned into three groups: group 1, the control group; group 2, stimulated with gonadotropins to mimic OHSS; and group 3, in which an OHSS protocol was induced and thereafter treated with cabergoline (100 μg/kg/day). Body weight, ovarian volume, corpora lutea numbers, and endometrial VEGFR-2 expression were compared between the groups. RESULTS Weight gain and ovarian volume were highest in the OHSS-placebo group, while cabergoline administration significantly reversed those effects (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). VEGFR-2 stained cells were significantly lower in groups 2 and 3 compared to group 1 (p = 0.002). Although VEGFR-2 expression was lowest in group 3, the difference was not statistically significant. Corpora lutea numbers were also similar (p = 0.465). CONCLUSION While successful implantation requires a vascularized receptive endometrium, impaired expression of VEGFR-2 and disrupted endometrial angiogenesis due to cabergoline administration may be associated with IVF failure in fresh OHSS cycles. The insignificant decrease in endometrial VEGFR-2 expression observed in this research needs to be investigated by further studies involving additional techniques such as immunoblotting and/or RT-PCR analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nafiye Yilmaz
- Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Pinar Gulsen Coban
- Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Saynur Yilmaz
- Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Hasan Ali Inal
- Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Antalya, Turkey
| | - Hakan Timur
- Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Education and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Hacer Haltas
- Department of Pathology, Private Hospital, Ankara, Turkey
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24
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Hassan A, Mubarak FAF, Shehadi IA, Mosallam AM, Temairk H, Badr M, Abdelmonsef AH. Design and biological evaluation of 3-substituted quinazoline-2,4(1 H,3 H)-dione derivatives as dual c-Met/ VEGFR-2-TK inhibitors. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2023; 38:2189578. [PMID: 36919632 PMCID: PMC10026756 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2023.2189578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The dual c-Met/vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) TK inhibition is a good strategy to overcome therapeutic resistance to small molecules VEGFR-2 inhibitors. In this study, we designed 3-substituted quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives as dual c-Met/VEGFR-2 TK inhibitors. We introduced new synthetic methods for reported derivatives of 3-substituted quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione 2a-g, in addition to the preparation of some new derivatives namely, 3 and 4a-j. Three compounds namely, 2c, 4b, and 4e showed substantial amount of inhibition for both c-Met and VEGFR-2 TK (IC50 range 0.052-0.084 µM). Both compounds 4b, 4e showed HB with highly conserved residue Asp1222 in the HB region of c-Met TK. For VEGFR-2 TK, compound 4b showed HB with a highly conserved residue Asp1046 in the HB region. Compound 4e showed HB with Glu885 and Asp1046. Moreover, in silico prediction of pharmacokinetic and physicochemical parameters of target compounds was carried out using SwissADME website. The quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives are promising antiproliferative candidates that require further optimisation.HighlightsNew 3-substituted quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives were synthesised and characterised.Compounds 4b and 4e showed higher cytotoxic activity than cabozantinib against HCT-116 colorectal cell lines.Both compounds 4b and 4e showed less toxicity to WI38 normal cell line compared to HCT 116 colon cancer cell line.Compound 4b was superior to cabozantinib in VEGFR-2 inhibition while compound 2c was equipotent to cabozantinib.Compounds 4b and 4e showed remarkable c-Met inhibitory activity.Compounds 4b and 4e arrested cell cycle and induced significant levels of apoptosis.In silico ADME prediction revealed high oral bioavailability and enhanced water solubility of target compounds as compared to cabozantinib.Target compounds interacted with both c-Met and VEGFR-2 active site in similar way to cabozantinib.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdelfattah Hassan
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt
| | - Fawzy A F Mubarak
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt
| | - Ihsan A Shehadi
- Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Pure and Applied Chemistry Research Group, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Ahmed M Mosallam
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt
| | - Hussain Temairk
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt
| | - Mohamed Badr
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt
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25
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Othman DIA, Hamdi A, Tawfik SS, Elgazar AA, Mostafa AS. Identification of new benzimidazole-triazole hybrids as anticancer agents: multi-target recognition, in vitro and in silico studies. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2023; 38:2166037. [PMID: 36651111 PMCID: PMC9858449 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2023.2166037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Multi-target inhibitors represent useful anticancer agents with superior therapeutic attributes. Here in, two novel series of benzimidazole-triazole hybrids were designed, synthesised as multi-target EGFR, VEGFR-2 and Topo II inhibitors, and evaluated for anticancer activity. Compounds 5a and 6g were the most potent analogues against four cancer cell lines, HepG-2, HCT-116, MCF-7 and HeLa, and were further evaluated for EGFR, VEGFR-2, and Topo II inhibition. Compound 5a was especially good inhibitor for EGFR (IC50 = 0.086 µM) compared to Gefitinib (IC50 = 0.052 µM), moderate VEGFR-2 inhibitor (IC50 = 0.107 µM) compared to Sorafenib (IC50 = 0.0482 µM), and stronger Topo II inhibitor (IC50 = 2.52 µM) than Doxorubicin (IC50 = 3.62 µM). Compound 6g exhibited moderate EGFR and VEGFR-2 inhibition and weaker Topo II inhibition. DNA binding assay, cell cycle analysis, apoptotic induction, molecular docking, and physicochemical studies were additionally implemented to explore the plausible mechanism of the active compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dina I. A. Othman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Abdelrahman Hamdi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Samar S. Tawfik
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
| | - Abdullah A. Elgazar
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Amany S. Mostafa
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt,CONTACT Amany S. Mostafa Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
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26
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El-Dash Y, Khalil NA, Ahmed EM, Hassanin SO, Gowifel AMH, Hassan MSA. Synthesis of novel nicotinic acid derivatives of potential antioxidant and anticancer activity. Arch Pharm (Weinheim) 2023; 356:e2300250. [PMID: 37792247 DOI: 10.1002/ardp.202300250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 09/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
This study comprises the design and synthesis of novel nicotinic acid-based cytotoxic agents with selective inhibitory efficacy against the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2). Screening of novel compounds for cytotoxicity was assessed against 60 human cancer cell lines. The two most active compounds, 5b and 5c, and the reference drugs sorafenib and doxorubicin were investigated against HCT-15, PC-3, and CF-295 cancer cell lines. Compound 5c exhibited the highest cytotoxic potential compared to doxorubicin against the HCT-15 and PC-3 tumor cell lines. Moreover, it exhibited higher cytotoxic potential and selectivity toward the HCT-15 cell panel compared with sorafenib. Compound 5c demonstrated promising VEGFR-2 inhibition (concentration needed to inhibit cell viability by 50%, IC50 = 0.068 μM) and superior VEGFR-2 selectivity over the epidermal growth factor receptor and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β enzymes. It also reduced the total and phosphorylated VEGFR-2 and induced apoptosis, as evidenced by a 4.3-fold rise in caspase-3 levels. The antioxidant potential of the new compounds was determined via measuring the superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels, among which compound 5c exhibited an SOD level almost comparable to ascorbic acid. These results suggested that compound 5c exhibited dual cytotoxic and antioxidant activities. Docking of 5c into the VEGFR-2 pocket showed a similar binding mode to sorafenib. Moreover, the ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) profile of 5c outlined drug-likeness. Finally, The density functional theory calculations displayed an increased binding affinity of 5c to the target enzyme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yara El-Dash
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Nadia A Khalil
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Eman M Ahmed
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Soha O Hassanin
- Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Modern University for Technology and Information (MTI), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ayah M H Gowifel
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Modern University for Technology and Information (MTI), Cairo, Egypt
| | - Marwa S A Hassan
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
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Elkady H, Abuelkhir AA, Rashed M, Taghour MS, Dahab MA, Mahdy HA, Elwan A, Al-Ghulikah HA, Elkaeed EB, Ibrahim IM, Husein DZ, Metwaly A, Eissa IH. New thiazolidine-2,4-diones as effective anti-proliferative and anti- VEGFR-2 agents: Design, synthesis, in vitro, docking, MD simulations, DFT, ADMET, and toxicity studies. Comput Biol Chem 2023; 107:107958. [PMID: 37714080 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2023.107958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
Novel thiazolidine-2,4-dione derivatives, 11a-g, were designed, and synthesized targeting the VEGFR-2 protein. The in vitro studies indicated the abilities of the synthesized derivatives to inhibit VEGFR-2 and prevent the growth of two different cancer cell types, HepG2 and MCF-7. Compound 11 f exhibited the strongest anti-VEGFR-2 activity (IC50 = 0.053 µM). As well, compound 11 f showed impressive anti-proliferative activity against the mentioned cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 0.64 ± 0.01 and 0.53 ± 0.04 µM, respectively. Additionally, compound 11 f arrested the MCF-7 cell cycle at the S phase and increased the overall apoptosis percentage. Furthermore, cell migration assay revealed that compound 11 f has a significant ability to prevent migration and healing potentialities of MCF-7. Moreover, computational studies were used to conduct the molecular investigation of the VEGFR-2-11 f complex. The kinetic and structural features of the complex were examined using molecular dynamics simulations and molecular docking. Besides, Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to explain the dynamics of the VEGFR-2-11 f complex at various spatial scales. The DFT calculations also provided further clarity regarding compound 11 f's structural and electronic features. To evaluate how closely the developed compounds might look like drugs, ADMET and toxicity experiments were computed. To conclude, the presented study demonstrates the potential of compound 11 f as a viable anti-cancer drug, which can serve as a prototype for future structural modifications and further biological investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt.
| | - Abdelrahman A Abuelkhir
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Mahmoud Rashed
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohammed S Taghour
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohammed A Dahab
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Hazem A Mahdy
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Alaa Elwan
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Hanan A Al-Ghulikah
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Eslam B Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh 13713, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ibrahim M Ibrahim
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
| | - Dalal Z Husein
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, El-Kharja 72511, Egypt
| | - Ahmed Metwaly
- Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt; Biopharmaceutical Products Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria 21934, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim H Eissa
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt.
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Eissa IH, Yousef RG, Elkady H, Elkaeed EB, Alsfouk AA, Husein DZ, Ibrahim IM, Elhendawy MA, Godfrey M, Metwaly AM. Design, semi-synthesis, anti-cancer assessment, docking, MD simulation, and DFT studies of novel theobromine-based derivatives as VEGFR-2 inhibitors and apoptosis inducers. Comput Biol Chem 2023; 107:107953. [PMID: 37673011 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2023.107953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
A group of theobromine derivatives was designed based on the key pharmacophoric characteristics of VEGFR-2 inhibitors. HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines were used to test the obtained compounds for their in vitro anti-proliferative activities. Compound 15 (2-(3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-dioxo-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-purin-1-yl)-N-(4-(1-(2-(4-hydroxybenzoyl)hydrazono)ethyl) phenyl)acetamide) was the most potent cytotoxic member against MCF-7 (IC50 = 0.42 µM) and HepG2 (IC50 = 0.22 µM). The effectiveness of VEGFR-2 inhibition was assessed for compound 15, and its IC50 value was calculated to be 0.067 µM. Additional cellular mechanistic investigations showed that compound 15 dramatically increased the population of apoptotic HepG2 cells in both early and late apoptosis. The investigation of apoptotic markers confirmed that compound 15 upregulated the levels of BAX (2.26-fold) and downregulated the levels of Bcl-2 (4.4-fold). The molecular docking investigations, MM-GPSA, PLIP studies, and MD simulations validated the potential of compound 15 to be a VEGFR-2 inhibitor. DFT calculations have been completed to comprehend how the electrical charge is distributed within compound 15 and to predict how it would bond to VEGFR-2. Lastly, ADMET prediction showed that the designed members have drug-like characteristics and minimal levels of toxicity. In conclusion, our in vitro and in silico investigations showed that compound 15 exhibited promising apoptotic anticancer potential through the suppression of VEGFR-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibrahim H Eissa
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt.
| | - Reda G Yousef
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Eslam B Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh 13713, Saudi Arabia
| | - Aisha A Alsfouk
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Dalal Z Husein
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, El-Kharja 72511, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim M Ibrahim
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
| | - Mostafa A Elhendawy
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA; Department of Agriculture Chemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Damietta University, Damietta, Egypt
| | - Murrell Godfrey
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Ahmed M Metwaly
- Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt; Biopharmaceutical Products Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt.
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Haffez H, Elsayed NA, Ahmed MF, Fatahala SS, Khaleel EF, Badi RM, Elkaeed EB, El Hassab MA, Hammad SF, Eldehna WM, Masurier N, El-Haggar R. Novel N-Arylmethyl-aniline/chalcone hybrids as potential VEGFR inhibitors: synthesis, biological evaluations, and molecular dynamic simulations. J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem 2023; 38:2278022. [PMID: 37982203 PMCID: PMC11003488 DOI: 10.1080/14756366.2023.2278022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Significant advancements have been made in the domain of targeted anticancer therapy for the management of malignancies in recent times. VEGFR-2 is characterised by its pivotal involvement in angiogenesis and subsequent mechanisms that promote tumour cells survival. Herein, novel N-arylmethyl-aniline/chalcone hybrids 5a-5n were designed and synthesised as potential anticancer and VEGFR-2 inhibitors. The anticancer activity was evaluated at the NCI-USA, resulting in the identification of 10 remarkably potent molecules 5a-5j that were further subjected to the five-dose assays. Thereafter, they were explored for their VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity where 5e and 5h emerged as the most potent inhibitors. 5e and 5h induced apoptosis with cell cycle arrest at the SubG0-G1 phase within HCT-116 cells. Moreover, their impact on some key apoptotic genes was assessed, suggesting caspase-dependent apoptosis. Furthermore, molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to explore the binding modes and stability of the protein-ligand complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hesham Haffez
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo, Ain Helwan, Egypt
- Center of Scientific Excellence “Helwan Structural Biology Research, (HSBR)”, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Nosaiba A. Elsayed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo, Ain Helwan, Egypt
| | - Marwa F. Ahmed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo, Ain Helwan, Egypt
| | - Samar S. Fatahala
- Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Eman F. Khaleel
- Department of Medical Physiology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Asir, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rehab Mustafa Badi
- Department of Medical Physiology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Asir, Saudi Arabia
| | - Eslam B. Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mahmoud A. El Hassab
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Salman International University (KSIU), South Sinai, Egypt
| | - Sherif F. Hammad
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo, Ain Helwan, Egypt
- Medicinal Chemistry Department, PharmD Program, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), New Borg El-Arab City, Egypt Alexandria
| | - Wagdy M. Eldehna
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
| | - Nicolas Masurier
- Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), UMR 5247, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, ENSCM, Montpellier, France
| | - Radwan El-Haggar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Helwan University, Cairo, Ain Helwan, Egypt
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30
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Pla-López A, Martínez-Colomina P, Cañada-García L, Fuertes-Monge L, Orellana-Palacios JC, Valderrama-Martínez A, Pérez-Sosa M, Carda M, Falomir E. Aryl azoles based scaffolds for disrupting tumor microenvironment. Bioorg Med Chem 2023; 95:117490. [PMID: 37862936 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2023.117490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
Thirty-nine aryl azoles, thirteen triazoles and twenty-seven tetrazoles, have been synthetized and biologically evaluated to determine their activity as tumor microenvironment disruptors. Antiproliferative studies have been performed on tumor cell lines HT-29, A-549 and MCF-7 and on non-tumor cell line HEK-293. It has been studied in HT-29 the expression levels of biological targets which are involved in tumor microenvironment processes, such as PD-L1, CD-47, c-Myc and VEGFR-2. In addition, antiproliferative activity was evaluated when HT-29 were co-cultured with THP-1 monocytes and the secretion levels of IL-6 were also determined in these co-cultures. The angiogenesis effect of some selected compounds on HMEC-1 was also evaluated as well as their action against vasculogenic mimicry on HEK-293. Compounds bearing an amino group in the phenyl ring and a halogen atom in the benzyl ring showed promising results as tumor microenvironment disrupting agents. The most outstanding compound decrease dramatically the population of HT-29 cells when co-cultured with THP-1 monocytes and the levels of IL-6 secreted, as well as it showed moderate effects over PD-L1, CD-47 and c-Myc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Pla-López
- Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat Jaume I, E-12071 Castellón, Spain.
| | | | | | | | - Jose C Orellana-Palacios
- Departament of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Sciences and Technologies, University of Castilla-La-Mancha, E-13071 Ciudad Real, Spain.
| | | | - Marikena Pérez-Sosa
- Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat Jaume I, E-12071 Castellón, Spain.
| | - Miguel Carda
- Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat Jaume I, E-12071 Castellón, Spain.
| | - Eva Falomir
- Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, Universitat Jaume I, E-12071 Castellón, Spain.
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31
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Courcier J, Leguerney I, Benatsou B, Pochon S, Tardy I, Albiges L, Cournède PH, De La Taille A, Lassau N, Ingels A. BR55 Ultrasound Molecular Imaging of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Reflects Tumor Vascular Expression of VEGFR-2 in a Patient-Derived Xenograft Model. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:16211. [PMID: 38003400 PMCID: PMC10671137 DOI: 10.3390/ijms242216211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Standard imaging cannot reliably predict the nature of renal tumors. Among malignant renal tumors, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common histological subtype, in which the vascular endothelial growth factor 2 (VEGFR-2) is highly expressed in the vascular endothelium. BR55, a contrast agent for ultrasound imaging, consists of gas-core lipid microbubbles that specifically target and bind to the extracellular portion of the VEGFR-2. The specific information provided by ultrasound molecular imaging (USMI) using BR55 was compared with the vascular tumor expression of the VEGFR-2 by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining in a preclinical model of ccRCC. Patients' ccRCCs were orthotopically grafted onto Nod-Scid-Gamma (NSG) mice to generate patient-derived xenografts (PdX). Mice were divided into four groups to receive either vehicle or axitinib an amount of 2, 7.5 or 15 mg/kg twice daily. Perfusion parameters and the BR55 ultrasound contrast signal on PdX renal tumors were analyzed at D0, D1, D3, D7 and D11, and compared with IHC staining for the VEGFR-2 and CD34. Significant Pearson correlation coefficients were observed between the area under the curve (AUC) and the CD34 (0.84, p < 10-4), and between the VEGFR-2-specific signal obtained by USMI and IHC (0.72, p < 10-4). USMI with BR55 could provide instant, quantitative information on tumor VEGFR-2 expression to characterize renal masses non-invasively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean Courcier
- Department of Urology, Henri Mondor Hospital, University of Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), 94000 Créteil, France
- Biomaps, UMR1281, INSERM, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris Saclay, 94800 Villejuif, France
| | - Ingrid Leguerney
- Biomaps, UMR1281, INSERM, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris Saclay, 94800 Villejuif, France
- Department of Imaging, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, 94800 Villejuif, France
| | - Baya Benatsou
- Biomaps, UMR1281, INSERM, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris Saclay, 94800 Villejuif, France
- Department of Imaging, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, 94800 Villejuif, France
| | | | | | - Laurence Albiges
- Department of Urological Oncology, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, 94805 Villejuif, France
| | - Paul-Henry Cournède
- Laboratory of Mathematics and Computer Science (MICS), CentraleSupélec, Université Paris-Saclay, 91190 Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
| | - Alexandre De La Taille
- Department of Urology, Henri Mondor Hospital, University of Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), 94000 Créteil, France
| | - Nathalie Lassau
- Biomaps, UMR1281, INSERM, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris Saclay, 94800 Villejuif, France
- Department of Imaging, Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, 94800 Villejuif, France
| | - Alexandre Ingels
- Department of Urology, Henri Mondor Hospital, University of Paris Est Créteil (UPEC), 94000 Créteil, France
- Biomaps, UMR1281, INSERM, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA), Université Paris Saclay, 94800 Villejuif, France
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32
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Moradi M, Mousavi A, Emamgholipour Z, Giovannini J, Moghimi S, Peytam F, Honarmand A, Bach S, Foroumadi A. Quinazoline-based VEGFR-2 inhibitors as potential anti-angiogenic agents: A contemporary perspective of SAR and molecular docking studies. Eur J Med Chem 2023; 259:115626. [PMID: 37453330 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from the existing vasculature, is pivotal in the migration, growth, and differentiation of endothelial cells in normal physiological conditions. In various types of tumour microenvironments, dysregulated angiogenesis plays a crucial role in supplying oxygen and nutrients to cancerous cells, leading to tumour size growth. VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase has been extensively studied as a critical regulator of angiogenesis; thus, inhibition of VEGFR-2 has been widely used for cancer treatments in recent years. Quinazoline nucleus is a privileged and versatile scaffold with a broad range of pharmacological activity, especially in the field of tyrosine kinase inhibitors with more than twenty small molecule inhibitors approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in the last two decades. As of now, the U.S. FDA has approved eleven small chemical inhibitors of VEGFR-2 for various types of malignancies, with a prime example being vandetanib, a quinazoline derivative, which is a multi targeted kinase inhibitor used for the treatment of late-stage medullary thyroid cancer. Despite of prosperous discovery and development of VEGFR-2 down regulator drugs, there still exists limitations in clinical efficacy, adverse effects, a high rate of clinical discontinuation and drug resistance. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the design and synthesis of more selective and effective inhibitors to tackle these challenges. Through the gathering of this review, we have strived to broaden the extent of our view over the entire scope of quinazoline-based VEGFR-2 inhibitors. Herein, we give an overview of the importance and advancement status of reported structures, highlighting the SAR, biological evaluations and their binding modes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahfam Moradi
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Alireza Mousavi
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zahra Emamgholipour
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Johanna Giovannini
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models Laboratory (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff, 29680, Roscoff, France
| | - Setareh Moghimi
- Drug Design and Development Research Center, The Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fariba Peytam
- Drug Design and Development Research Center, The Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Amin Honarmand
- Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
| | - Stéphane Bach
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, UMR8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models Laboratory (LBI2M), Station Biologique de Roscoff, 29680, Roscoff, France; Sorbonne Université, CNRS, FR2424, Plateforme de criblage KISSf (Kinase Inhibitor Specialized Screening Facility), Station Biologique de Roscoff, 29680, Roscoff, France; Centre of Excellence for Pharmaceutical Sciences, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
| | - Alireza Foroumadi
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Drug Design and Development Research Center, The Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (TIPS), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
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Sayın Kocakap DB, Kaygusuz S, Aksoy E, Şahin Ö, Baççıoğlu A, Ekici A, Kalpaklıoğlu AF, Ekici MS, Gül S, Kaçmaz B, Ayaşlıoğlu Açıkgöz E, Alyılmaz Bekmez S, Rouse BT, Azkur AK. Adverse effect of VEGFR-2 (rs1870377) polymorphism on the clinical course of COVID-19 in females and males in an age-dependent manner. Microbes Infect 2023; 25:105188. [PMID: 37499788 DOI: 10.1016/j.micinf.2023.105188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people worldwide with varying clinical presentations ranging from mild to severe or fatal, and studies have found that age, gender, and some comorbidities can influence the severity of the disease. It would be valuable to have genetic markers that might help predict the likely outcome of infection. For this objective, genes encoding VEGFR-2 (rs1870377), CCR5Δ32 (rs333), and TLR3 (rs5743313) were analyzed for polymorphisms in the peripheral blood of 160 COVID-19 patients before COVID-19 vaccine was available in Türkiye. We observed that possession of the VEGFR-2 rs1870377 mutant allele increased the risk of severe/moderate disease in females and subjects ≥65 years of age, but was protective in males <65 years of age. Other significant results were that the CCR5Δ32 allele was protective against severe disease in subjects ≥65 years of age, while TLR3 rs5743313 polymorphism was found to be protective against severe/moderate illness in males <65 years of age. The VEGFR-2 rs1870377 mutant allele was a risk factor for severe/moderate disease, particularly in females over the age of 65. These findings suggest that genetic polymorphisms have an age- and sex-dependent influence on the severity of COVID-19, and the VEGFR-2 rs1870377 mutant allele could be a potential predictor of disease severity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sedat Kaygusuz
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Emel Aksoy
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Ömer Şahin
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Ayşe Baççıoğlu
- Department of Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye; Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Aydanur Ekici
- Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Ayşe Füsun Kalpaklıoğlu
- Department of Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye; Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Mehmet Savaş Ekici
- Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Serdar Gül
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Birgül Kaçmaz
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Ergin Ayaşlıoğlu Açıkgöz
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Sibel Alyılmaz Bekmez
- Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye
| | - Barry T Rouse
- College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Ahmet Kürşat Azkur
- Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kırıkkale University, Kırıkkale, Türkiye.
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El-Metwally SA, Elkady H, Hagras M, Elkaeed EB, Alsfouk BA, Doghish AS, Ibrahim IM, Taghour MS, Husein DZ, Metwaly AM, Eissa IH. Discovery of new VEGFR-2 inhibitors and apoptosis inducer-based thieno[2,3- d]pyrimidine. Future Med Chem 2023; 15:2065-2086. [PMID: 37955128 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2023-0130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: VEGFR-2 is a key regulator of cancer cell proliferation, migration and angiogenesis. Aim: Development of thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives as potential anti-cancer agents targeting VEGFR-2. Methods: Seven in vitro and nine in silico studies were conducted. Results: Compound 10d demonstrated strong anticancer potential, boosting apoptosis based on VEGFR-2 inhibition. It arrested the S phase of the cell cycle and upregulated the apoptotic factors. Docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies confirm the stability of the VEGFR-2-10d complex and suggest that these compounds have good binding affinities to VEGFR-2. In addition, the drug-likeness was confirmed. Conclusion: Thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidines, particularly compound 10d, has good anticancer effects and may contribute to the development of new anticancer therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Souad A El-Metwally
- Department of Basic Science, Higher Technological institute, 10th of Ramadan City, Egypt
| | - Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohamed Hagras
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Eslam B Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh 13713, Saudi Arabia
| | - Bshra A Alsfouk
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, PO Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed S Doghish
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Badr City, Cairo 11829, Egypt
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11231, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim M Ibrahim
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, 12613, Egypt
| | - Mohammed S Taghour
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Dalal Z Husein
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, El-Kharja, 72511, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M Metwaly
- Pharmacognosy & Medicinal Plants Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
- Biopharmaceutical Products Research Department, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology Research Institute, City of Scientific Research & Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim H Eissa
- Department of Basic Science, Higher Technological institute, 10th of Ramadan City, Egypt
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Eissa IH, Yousef RG, Elkady H, Elkaeed EB, Alsfouk AA, Husein DZ, Ibrahim IM, Radwan MM, Metwaly AM. A Theobromine Derivative with Anticancer Properties Targeting VEGFR-2: Semisynthesis, in silico and in vitro Studies. ChemistryOpen 2023; 12:e202300066. [PMID: 37803417 PMCID: PMC10558427 DOI: 10.1002/open.202300066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
A computer-assisted drug design (CADD) approach was utilized to design a new acetamido-N-(para-fluorophenyl)benzamide) derivative of the naturally occurring alkaloid, theobromine, (T-1-APFPB), following the pharmacophoric features of VEGFR-2 inhibitors. The stability and reactivity of T-1-AFPB were assessed through density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Molecular docking assessments showed T-1-AFPB's potential to bind with and inhibit VEGFR-2. The precise binding of T-1-AFPB against VEGFR-2 with optimal energy was further confirmed through several molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, PLIP, MM-GBSA, and PCA studies. Then, T-1-AFPB (4-(2-(3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-dioxo-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-purin-1-yl)acetamido)-N-(4-fluorophenyl)benzamide) was semi-synthesized and the in vitro assays showed its potential to inhibit VEGFR-2 with an IC50 value of 69 nM (sorafenib's IC50 was 56 nM) and to inhibit the growth of HepG2 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 2.24±0.02 and 3.26±0.02 μM, respectively. Moreover, T-1-AFPB displayed very high selectivity indices against normal Vero cell lines. Furthermore, T-1-AFPB induced early (from 0.72 to 19.12) and late (from 0.13 to 6.37) apoptosis in HepG2 cell lines. In conclusion, the combined computational and experimental approaches demonstrated the efficacy and safety of T-1-APFPB providing it as a promising lead VEGFR-2 inhibitor for further development aiming at cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibrahim H. Eissa
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design DepartmentFaculty of Pharmacy (Boys)Al-Azhar UniversityCairo11884Egypt
| | - Reda G. Yousef
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design DepartmentFaculty of Pharmacy (Boys)Al-Azhar UniversityCairo11884Egypt
| | - Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design DepartmentFaculty of Pharmacy (Boys)Al-Azhar UniversityCairo11884Egypt
| | - Eslam B. Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical SciencesCollege of PharmacyAlMaarefa UniversityRiyadh13713Saudi Arabia
| | - Aisha A. Alsfouk
- Department of Pharmaceutical SciencesCollege of PharmacyPrincess Nourah bint Abdulrahman UniversityP.O. Box 84428Riyadh11671Saudi Arabia
| | - Dalal Z. Husein
- Chemistry DepartmentFaculty of ScienceNew Valley UniversityEl-Kharja72511Egypt
| | | | - Mohamed M. Radwan
- National Center for Natural Products ResearchUniversity of MississippiMississippiMS 38677USA
- Department of PharmacognosyFaculty of PharmacyAlexandria UniversityAlexandriaEgypt
| | - Ahmed M. Metwaly
- Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants DepartmentFaculty of Pharmacy (Boys)Al-Azhar UniversityCairo11884Egypt
- Biopharmaceutical Products Research DepartmentGenetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research InstituteCity of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City)AlexandriaEgypt
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Zhang W, Sun L, Gao H, Wang S. Mechanism of the HIF-1α/VEGF/ VEGFR-2 pathway in the proliferation and apoptosis of human haemangioma endothelial cells. Int J Exp Pathol 2023; 104:258-268. [PMID: 37381118 PMCID: PMC10500167 DOI: 10.1111/iep.12485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Haemangiomas (HAs) are prevalent vascular endothelial cell tumours. With respect to the possible involvement of HIF-1α in HAs, we have explored its role in haemangioma endothelial cell (HemEC) proliferation and apoptosis. shRNA HIF-1α and pcDNA3.1 HIF-α were manipulated into HemECs. HIF-α, VEGF, and VEGFR-2 mRNA and protein levels were assessed by qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Cell proliferation and viability, cell cycle and apoptosis, migration and invasion, and ability to form tubular structures were assessed by colony formation assay, CCK-8, flow cytometry, Transwell assay, and tube formation assay. Cell cycle-related protein levels, and VEGF and VEGFR-2 protein interaction were detected by Western blot and immunoprecipitation assays. An Haemangioma nude mouse model was established by subcutaneous injection of HemECs. Ki67 expression was determined by immunohistochemical staining. HIF-1α silencing suppressed HemEC neoplastic behaviour and promoted apoptosis. HIF-1α facilitated VEGF/VEGFR-2 expression and the VEGF had interacted with VEGFR-2 at protein - protein level. HIF-1α silencing arrested HemECs at G0/G1 phase, diminished Cyclin D1 protein level, and elevated p53 protein level. VEGF overexpression partially abrogated the effects of HIF-1α knockdown on inhibiting HemEC malignant behaviours. Inhibiting HIF-1α in nude mice with HAs repressed tumour growth and Ki67-positive cells. Briefly, HIF-1α regulated HemEC cell cycle through VEGF/VEGFR-2, thus promoting cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenpei Zhang
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi HospitalThird Hospital of Shanxi Medical UniversityTaiyuanChina
- Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Lei Sun
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi HospitalThird Hospital of Shanxi Medical UniversityTaiyuanChina
- Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Hongxia Gao
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi HospitalThird Hospital of Shanxi Medical UniversityTaiyuanChina
- Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Shengquan Wang
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Tongji Shanxi HospitalThird Hospital of Shanxi Medical UniversityTaiyuanChina
- Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
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Ismail MMF, Shawer TZ, Ibrahim RS, Allam RM, Ammar YA. Novel quinoxaline-based VEGFR-2 inhibitors to halt angiogenesis. Bioorg Chem 2023; 139:106735. [PMID: 37531818 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2023.106735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 06/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 is a dynamic target for therapeutic intervention in various types of cancer. This study was aimed at exploring the VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity of a novel library of quinoxalin-2-one derivatives such as 3-furoquinoxaline carboxamides, 3-pyrazolylquinoxalines, and 3-pyridopyrimidyl-quinoxalines. Among them, 6c, 7a, and 7d-f produced remarkable cytotoxicity against HCT-116 (IC50's 4.28-9.31 µM) and MCF-7 (IC50's 3.57-7.57 µM) cell lines using the MTT assay and doxorubicin (DOX) as a reference standard. Interestingly, results of cytotoxicity towards the human fibroblast cell line WI38 revealed that these hits demonstrated higher selectivity indices towards both HCT-116 (SI 8.69-23.19) and MCF-7 (SI 9.48-27.80) than DOX, SI 0.72 and 0.90, respectively. Then, these hits were subjected to a mechanistic study; they showed direct inhibition of VEGFR-2. Impressively, compound 7f displayed 1.2 times the VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity of sorafenib. The antiangiogenic potential of 7f was proved via lowering the level of VEGF-A, than that of control. It as well, exhibited scratch closure percent of 61.8%, compared with 74.5% of control at 48 hrs, indicating the potential anti-migratory effect of the compound 7f. It significantly increased the expression of tumor suppressor gene (p53) on MCF-7 cells by almost 18 folds and upregulated the caspase-3 level by 10.7 folds, compared to the control. Cell cycle analysis revealed cell cycle arrest at G2/M together with a PreG increase which indicated apoptosis induction potential. Annexin V-FITC apoptosis results proposed the two modes of cell death (apoptosis and necrosis) as an inherent mechanism of cytotoxicity of compound 7f. Molecular docking further supported the mechanism showing the affinity of target compounds for VEGFR-2 active site. Moreover, physicochemical and drug-like properties were assessed from the ADME properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magda M F Ismail
- Department of Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design, Faculty of Pharmacy (Girls), 11754 Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Taghreed Z Shawer
- Department of Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design, Faculty of Pharmacy (Girls), 11754 Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Rabab S Ibrahim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design, Faculty of Pharmacy (Girls), 11754 Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Rasha M Allam
- Department of Pharmacology, Medical and Clinical Research Institute, National Research Centre, 12622, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Yousry A Ammar
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, 11754 Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
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El-Metwally SA, Abuelkhir AA, Elkady H, Taghour MS, Ibrahim IM, Husein DZ, Alsfouk AA, Sultan A, Ismail A, Elkhawaga SY, Elkaeed EB, Metwaly AM, Eissa IH. In vitro and in silico evaluation of new thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidines as anti-cancer agents and apoptosis inducers targeting VEGFR-2. Comput Biol Chem 2023; 106:107928. [PMID: 37480629 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2023.107928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
In this study, new thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives that could have potential anticancer activity by inhibiting the VEGFR-2 receptor have been designed, synthesized, and investigated. The thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives showed strong in vitro abilities to inhibit VEGFR-2 and to prevent cancer cell growth in two different types of cancer cells, MCF-7 and HepG2. Particularly, compound 22 showed the most potent anti-VEGFR-2 activity with an IC50 value of 0.58 µM. Additionally, compound 22 exhibited good anti-proliferative activity against both MCF-7 and HepG2 cancer cell lines, with IC50 values of 11.32 ± 0.32 and 16.66 ± 1.22 µM, respectively. Further investigations revealed that compound 22 induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase and promoted both early and late apoptosis in the MCF-7 cancer cells. Compound 22 also increased the level of BAX (2.8-fold), and reduced the level of Bcl-2 (2.2-fold), hence increasing the rate of apoptosis. Compound 22 also revealed 2.9-fold and 2.8-fold higher levels of caspase-8 and caspase-9, respectively, in the treated MCF-7 cancer cells compared to the control cell lines. The MD simulations showed that the VEGFR-2-22 complex was structurally and energytically stable over 100 ns, while the MM-GBSA study indicated its stable thermodynamic behavior. The bi-dimensional projection analysis confirmed the proper binding of the VEGFR-2-22 complex, while the DFT studies provided optimized geometry, charge distribution, FMO, ESP, the total density of state, and QTAIM maps of compound 22. Finally, computational ADMET studies were performed to assess the drug development potential of the thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives. Overall, this study suggests that compound 22 has the potential as an anticancer lead compound by inhibiting VEGFR-2, which may be a guide for future drug design and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Souad A El-Metwally
- Department of Basic Science, Higher Technological institute, 10th of Ramadan City, Egypt
| | - Abdelrahman A Abuelkhir
- Department of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohammed S Taghour
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim M Ibrahim
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt
| | - Dalal Z Husein
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, El-Kharja 72511, Egypt
| | - Aisha A Alsfouk
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahlam Sultan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed Ismail
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Nasr City 11231, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Samy Y Elkhawaga
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Nasr City 11231, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Eslam B Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh 13713, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Ahmed M Metwaly
- Pharmacognosy and Medicinal Plants Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt; Biopharmaceutical Products Research Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, Egypt.
| | - Ibrahim H Eissa
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo 11884, Egypt.
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Abdel Rahman DE, Fouad MA, Mohammed ER, El-Zoheiry HH, Abdelrasheed Allam H. Novel VEGFR-2 inhibitors as antiangiogenic and apoptotic agents via paracrine and autocrine cascades: Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation. Bioorg Chem 2023; 139:106678. [PMID: 37354661 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2023.106678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023]
Abstract
Appertaining to its paracrine and autocrine signaling loops, VEGFR-2 succeeded in grabbing attention as one of the leading targets in cancer treatment. Based on the foregoing and our comprehensive studies regarding pharmacophoric features and activity of sorafenib, novel phenylpyridazinone based VEGFR-2 inhibitors 4, 6a-e, 7a,b, 9a,b, 12a-c, 13a,b, 14a,b, 15a,b, and 17a-d were optimized. An assortment of biological assays was conducted to assess the antiangiogenic and apoptotic activities of the synthesized derivatives. In vitro VEGFR-2 kinase assay verified the inhibitory activity of the synthesized derivatives with IC50 values from 49.1 to 418.0 nM relative to the reference drug sorafenib (IC50 = 81.8 nM). Antiproliferative activity against HUVECs revealed that compounds 2-{2-[2-(6-oxo-3-phenylpyridazin-1(6H)-yl)acetyl]hydrazineyl}-N-(p-tolyl)acetamide (12c) and 2-[(5-mercapto-4-methyl-4H-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)methyl]-6-phenylpyridazin-3(2H)-one (13a) possessed superior activity (IC50 values = 11.5 and 12.3 nM, respectively) in comparison to sorafenib (IC50 = 23.2 nM). For the purpose of appraising their antiproliferative effect, derivatives 12c and 13a were exposed to cell cycle analysis, apoptotic, cell invasion and migration assays in addition to determination of VEGFR-2 in protein level. Moreover, cytotoxicity as well as selectivity index against WI-38 cell line was measured to examine safety of derivatives 12c and 13a. After that, molecular docking study was executed on the top five compounds in the in vitro VEGFR-2 kinase assay 6d, 12c, 13a, 14a and 17c to get a deep perception on binding mode of the synthesized compounds and correlate the design strategy with biological results. Finally, physicochemical, pharmacokinetic properties, and drug-likeness studies were performed on the top five derivative in in vitro VEGFR-2 kinase assay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doaa E Abdel Rahman
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini St., Cairo 11562, Egypt
| | - Marwa A Fouad
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini St., Cairo 11562, Egypt; Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, School of Pharmacy, New Giza University, Newgiza, km 22 Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Eman R Mohammed
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini St., Cairo 11562, Egypt
| | - Haidy H El-Zoheiry
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini St., Cairo 11562, Egypt.
| | - Heba Abdelrasheed Allam
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini St., Cairo 11562, Egypt
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Ghanem A, Ali MA, Elkady MA, Abdel Mageed SS, El Hassab MA, El-Ashrey MK, Mohammed OA, Doghish AS. Rumex vesicarius L. boosts the effectiveness of sorafenib in triple-negative breast cancer by downregulating BCl2, mTOR, and JNK, and upregulating p21 expression. Pathol Res Pract 2023; 250:154807. [PMID: 37696244 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2023.154807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by poor prognosis, rapid progression, serious clinical behavior, an elevated risk of metastasis, and resistance to standard treatments. Traditional medicine practitioners value Rumex vesicarius L. (RMV) for a variety of reasons, including the plant's antioxidant capabilities. Our study's goals were to ascertain the efficacy of RMV alone and in combination with sorafenib (SOR) against the aggressive TNBC cell line (MDA-MB-231) and use in vitro and in silico analysis to deduce the fundamental mechanism of action. METHODS In the current study, molecular operating environment (MOE, 2019.0102) software was used for performing molecular docking. The MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity of RMV, SOR or RMV/SOR combination against the TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231 cells. The effects of RMV, SOR, and RMV and SOR combining on mRNAs expressions of the target genes including mTOR, p21, JNK, and BCl2 were evaluated. In TNBC cells, the relative expressions of mRNAs of the genes were examined by using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). RESULTS In our experiments, we discovered that both RMV extracts alone and in combination with SOR considerably reduced cancer cell proliferation (IC50 = 0.83 and 0.19 μM, respectively). Additionally, the expression of the tumor suppressor gene p21 was elevated whereas the expression of the invasion and anti-apoptosis genes BCl2, mTOR, and JNK were significantly decreased after treatment with RMV and SOR. Based on in silico analysis, it was found that RMV extract contains bioactive chemicals with a high affinity for inhibiting JNK and VEGFR-2. CONCLUSION In conclusion, in vitro and in silico investigations show that the RMV extract improves the anticancer efficiency of SOR through molecular processes involving the downregulation of mTOR, BCl2, and JNK1 and overexpression of p21 tumor suppressor gene. Finally, we suggest conducting additional in vivo investigations on RMV and its bioactive components to verify their potential in cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aml Ghanem
- School of Biotechnology, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Badr City, Cairo 11829, Egypt
| | - Mohamed A Ali
- School of Biotechnology, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Badr City, Cairo 11829, Egypt
| | - Mohamed A Elkady
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11231, Egypt.
| | - Sherif S Abdel Mageed
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Badr City, Cairo 11829, Egypt
| | - Mahmoud A El Hassab
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Salman International University (KSIU), SouthSinai, Ras Sudr 46612, Egypt
| | - Mohamed K El-Ashrey
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Salman International University (KSIU), SouthSinai, Ras Sudr 46612, Egypt; Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Egypt
| | - Osama A Mohammed
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Bisha, Bisha 61922, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed S Doghish
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Badr City, Cairo 11829, Egypt; Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo 11231, Egypt.
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H Ibraheim M, Maher I, Khater I. ' In silico' repurposing new inhibitors of EGFR and VEGFR-2 kinases via biophysical mechanisms. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023:1-16. [PMID: 37753739 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2023.2262038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) controls cell growth, death, and proliferation through a variety of signaling mechanisms. The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) by endothelial cells from malignant tissues triggers a series of signaling pathways that lead to tumor angiogenesis and increase cancer cell survival, proliferation, migration, and vascular permeability. The aim is to find novel inhibitors for EGFR and VEGFR-2 kinases by molecular docking drug-likeness models, pharmacokinetic, interaction analysis, and molecular dynamic simulation. Over 482 ligands were tested against the kinases, there are about 20 compounds that had the best docking scores for the 2 kinases but only compound 2C inhibited them with the highest score values by binding to active sites pocket established through molecular docking study. Secondly, the drug-likeness score of 2C was very good compared to the other compounds. The pharmacokinetics, physicochemical properties, and toxicity of 2C were much better than sorafenib and erlotinib as references. Analysis of interaction showed a strong interaction between 2C and active sites of EGFR and VEGFR-2 kinases illustrated by calculation of halogen bonds, π-Cation Interactions, Hydrogen Bonds, and Hydrophobic Interactions. Finally, the molecular dynamic simulation was also used to assess the stability of the EGFR and VEGFR-2 kinases-2C complexes. The complexes' stability was validated by RMSD, Rg, RMSF, SASA, and several hydrogen bonds analysis. 2C was shown to interact stably with pocket residues after MD simulation. Compound 2C may be a promising way to slow the signaling cascade of proteins that are significant contributors to the spread of cancer.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona H Ibraheim
- Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim Maher
- Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim Khater
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt
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Dai R, Xu Q, Shao Z, Wu X. The co-expression pattern of VEGFR-2 with indicators related to proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation of anagen hair follicles. Open Life Sci 2023; 18:20220723. [PMID: 37744457 PMCID: PMC10512449 DOI: 10.1515/biol-2022-0723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
An increasing number of studies show that vascular endothelial growth factor is an important regulator of hair growth, and involves in processes of hair follicle development by vascularization. Recently, VEGF receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) has been detected in epithelial cells of hair follicles, indicating that it may have a direct role in the biological activity of hair follicles. To explore how VEGFR-2 regulates hair follicle development, we investigated the co-expression pattern of VEGFR-2 with β-catenin, Bax, Bcl-2, involucrin, AE13 (hair cortex cytokeratin), keratin 16, keratin 14, and Laminin 5 by immunofluorescence double staining in anagen hair follicles of normal human scalp skin. The results of double staining immunofluorescence showed a strong overlapping and similar expression pattern for VEGFR-2 with β-catenin and Bcl-2, and revealing associated expression pattern with involucrin, AE13, keratin 14, keratin 16, and Laminin 5. These results elucidated that VEGFR-2 activation may participate in hair follicle differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ru Dai
- Department of Dermatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Second Affiliated Hospital, 310009, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qunye Xu
- Department of Dermatology, The First People’s Hospital Daishan, 316261, Zhoushan, China
| | - Zheren Shao
- Department of Plastic Surgery, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Second Affiliated Hospital, 310009, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xianjie Wu
- Department of Dermatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Second Affiliated Hospital, 310009, Hangzhou, China
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Rahman MO, Ahmed SS. Anti-angiogenic potential of bioactive phytochemicals from Helicteres isora targeting VEGFR-2 to fight cancer through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2023; 41:7447-7462. [PMID: 36099201 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2122568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death due to its very high rate of morbidity and mortality, and there is a constant demand of effective drugs for cancer therapy. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) plays a significant role as central modulator of angiogenesis and is targeted frequently for developing anti-angiogenic agents to fight cancer. Helicteres isora L. (Malvaceae) is reported to possess diverse medicinal properties including anti-cancer potentials. In the current investigation, 38 bioactive phytochemicals of H. isora were screened virtually to evaluate their anti-angiogenic potentials targeting VEGFR-2. The study unveiled three potential candidates such as, Diosgenin (-9.8 Kcal//mol), Trifolin (-8.4 Kcal/mol) and Yohimbine (-8.1 Kcal/mol) that showed favorable pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and toxicity properties with no significant side effects. Molecular dynamics simulation employing 100 ns revealed noteworthy structural stability and compactness for all the top three candidates. The MM/GBSA binding free energy estimation corroborated the docking interactions where Yohimbine (-30.47 Kcal/mol) scored better than Diosgenin (-27.54 Kcal/mol) and Trifolin (-29.58 Kcal/mol). Target class prediction revealed enzymes in most of the cases and some FDA approved drugs were found as structurally similar analogs for Trifolin and Yohimbine. These findings could lead to the development of novel and effective anti-angiogenic agents.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Oliur Rahman
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Sheikh Sunzid Ahmed
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Osmaniye D, Bozkurt NB, Kurban B, Yardımcı GB, Ozkay Y, Kaplancıklı ZA. Synthesis of Imidazole-2,3-dihydrothiazole Compounds as VEGFR-2 Inhibitors and Their Support with in Silico Studies. Chem Biodivers 2023; 20:e202300944. [PMID: 37503680 DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202300944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
In this study, 12 novel 2-((1-(4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl)ethylidene)hydrazineylidene)-3-ethyl-4-(substitutephenyl)-2,3-dihydrothiazole derivatives were obtained. Among these compounds, 2-((1-(4-(1H-imidazol-1-yl)phenyl)ethylidene)hydrazineylidene)-4-([1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)-3-ethyl-2,3-dihydrothiazole (4h) was chosen as the most active derivative in the series. According to the MTT results, compounds 4h and 4k showed activity with IC50 =4.566±0.246 μM and IC50 =4.537±0.463 μM, respectively. Unlike other derivatives, compound 4h carries a phenyl ring in the 4th position of the phenyl ring. This bulky group allowed the compound to settle in the enzyme active site. Dynamic studies show that the stability of the compound does not change over 40 ns. RMSD, RMSF and Rg parameters all remained within acceptable limits. The uninterrupted aromatic hydrogen bonding of the enzyme active site with the important amino acids Cys919, Glu885 and Asp1046 proves the inhibitory potential of compound 4h on the VEGFR-2 enzyme. It is thought that more active compounds will be reached with the derivatives to be synthesized starting from compound 4h.
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Affiliation(s)
- Derya Osmaniye
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, 26470, Eskişehir, Turkey
- Central Analysis Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, 26470, Eskişehir, Turkey
| | - Nurnehir Baltacı Bozkurt
- Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University, 03030, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
| | - Berkant Kurban
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University, 03030, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
| | - Gamze Benli Yardımcı
- Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University, 03030, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
| | - Yusuf Ozkay
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, 26470, Eskişehir, Turkey
- Central Analysis Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, 26470, Eskişehir, Turkey
| | - Zafer Asım Kaplancıklı
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Anadolu University, 26470, Eskişehir, Turkey
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Ruyani SF, Sumarsono SH. Exposure to Valproic acid (VPA) resulted in alterations in the expression of angiogenic genes (NRP-1, VEGFA, VEGFR-2 and sFlt1) and histological modifications in the placenta of mice (Mus musculus). Reprod Toxicol 2023; 119:108405. [PMID: 37207908 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2023.108405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Valproic acid (VPA), an anti-epileptic drug (AED), has been reported to exhibit anti-angiogenic properties. This study aimed to examine the impact of VPA on the expression of NRP-1 and additional angiogenic factors, as well as angiogenesis, in mouse placenta. Pregnant mice were divided into four groups: control (K), solvent control (KP), VPA treatment at a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight (BW) (P1), and VPA treatment at a dose of 600 mg/kg BW (P2). The mice were subjected to daily treatment via gavage from embryonic day (E) 9 to E14 and E9 to E16. Histological analysis was performed to evaluate Microvascular Density (MVD) and percentage of the placental labyrinth area. In addition, a comparative analysis of Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR-2), and soluble (sFlt1) expression was conducted in relation to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). The results of the MVD analysis and percentage of labyrinth area in the E14 and E16 placentas indicated that the treated groups were significantly lower than the control group. The relative expression levels of NRP-1, VEGFA, and VEGFR-2 in the treated groups were lower than those in the control group at E14 and E16. Meanwhile, the relative expression of sFlt1 in the treated groups at E16 was significantly higher than in the control group. Changes in the relative expression of these genes inhibit angiogenesis regulation in the mouse placenta, as evidenced by reduced MVD and a smaller percentage of the labyrinth area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shyfa F Ruyani
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, 10th Ganesa Street, Bandung, West Java 40132, Indonesia
| | - Sony Heru Sumarsono
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, 10th Ganesa Street, Bandung, West Java 40132, Indonesia.
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Hou F, Yao Y, Wei Y, Wang Y, Cao Y, Liu X, Zheng L, Zhang Q, Jiao Y, Chen Y, Meng Y, Sun Y, Wu Y, Wang J, Wang J, Wu Z, Zhang K, Wei M, Yang G. Design and discovery of new selective and potent VEGF receptor 2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Bioorg Med Chem 2023; 91:117404. [PMID: 37429211 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2023.117404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
A series of novel substituted 4-anilinoquinazolines and their related compounds were designed and prepared by 3D modeling as potential inhibitors of VEGFR-2. Evaluation of VEGFR inhibitory activities suggested that compound I10 was a more potent (IC50 = 0.11 nM) VEGFR-2 inhibitor than most of the listed drugs. Kinase panel assays demonstrated that compound I10 was the selective VEGFR-2 inhibitor. The prediction of 3D modeling unveiled a unique binding mode of this lead compound to VEGFR-2. Compound I10 exhibited remarkable anti-angiogenesis and anti-proliferation in HUVEC at low nanomolar concentrations. PK studies indicated that the lead compound possessed adequate oral bioavailability in various species. In vivo subcutaneous tumor model demonstrated that oral administration of I10 demonstrated potent efficacy in inhibiting tumor growth and angiogenesis. All these results suggested compound I10 is a potential drug candidate for cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Hou
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Yuhong Yao
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Yujiao Wei
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Yubo Wang
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Yangzi Cao
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Xinqiang Liu
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Liting Zheng
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Qingqing Zhang
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Yue Jiao
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Yukun Chen
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Yue Meng
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Yue Sun
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Yanjie Wu
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China
| | - Jiefu Wang
- Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, PR China.
| | - Junfeng Wang
- Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin 300060, PR China.
| | - Zhou Wu
- China Resources Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Beijing 100100, PR China.
| | - Kun Zhang
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
| | - Mingming Wei
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
| | - Guang Yang
- The State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology, College of Life Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.
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Tripathi N, Bhardwaj N, Kumar S, Jain SK. A machine learning-based KNIME workflow to predict VEGFR-2 inhibitors. Chem Biol Drug Des 2023; 102:38-50. [PMID: 37060274 DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.14250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/16/2023]
Abstract
Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) are specific cytokines involved in angiogenesis and do so via binding to vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFRs), a type of receptor tyrosine kinase. VEGFs are reported to facilitate angiogenesis in physiological (embryogenesis) and pathological (tumor) conditions. The overexpression of VEGFs and consequently VEGFRs is reported in tumorigenic conditions. Several VEGFR inhibitors currently used as anticancer drugs to prevent angiogenesis are sunitinib, sorafenib, etc. To identify new potential candidates as VEGFR inhibitors, a classification study using a large and diverse dataset of VEGFR inhibitors from the BindingDB database has been conducted. The KNIME platform was used to calculate molecular and fingerprint-based descriptors and several classification algorithms viz. linear regression (LR), k-nearest neighbor (kNN), decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), and gradient boosted tree (GBT) were employed to build the classification model. The model performance was evaluated by accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score of the test set. The best LR, kNN, DT, RF, and GBT classifiers had the F1 score of 0.81, 0.87, 0.82, 0.87, and 0.87, respectively. The assorted 5120 VEGFR inhibitors were clustered into 10 subsets, and the structural features of each subset were assessed along with the identification of significant fragments in active and inactive compounds. The automated classifier model developed using the KNIME platform could serve as an important platform for screening and designing molecules as VEGFR inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy Tripathi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, India
| | - Nivedita Bhardwaj
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, India
| | - Sanjay Kumar
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, India
| | - Shreyans K Jain
- Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering & Technology, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, India
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Mahdy HA, Elkady H, Taghour MS, Elwan A, Dahab MA, Elkady MA, Elsakka EG, Elkaeed EB, Alsfouk BA, Ibrahim IM, Eissa IH, Metwaly AM. New theobromine derivatives inhibiting VEGFR-2: design, synthesis, antiproliferative, docking and molecular dynamics simulations. Future Med Chem 2023; 15:1233-1250. [PMID: 37466069 DOI: 10.4155/fmc-2023-0089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: VEGFR-2 is one of the most effective targets in cancer treatment. Aim: The design and semi-synthesis of new theobromine derivatives as potential VEGFR-2 inhibitors. Methods: In vitro and in silico evaluation of the synthesized compounds. Results: Compound 5b demonstrated excellent antiproliferative and VEGFR-2 inhibitory effects with significant apoptotic activity. It modulated the immune response by increasing IL-2 and reducing TNF-α levels. Docking and molecular dynamics simulations revealed the compound's binding affinity with VEGFR-2. Lastly, computational absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity studies indicated the high potential of compound 5b for drug development. Conclusion: Compound 5b could be a promising anticancer agent targeting VEGFR-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hazem A Mahdy
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Hazem Elkady
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohammed S Taghour
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Alaa Elwan
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohammed A Dahab
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Mohamed A Elkady
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Elsayed Ge Elsakka
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Eslam B Elkaeed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh, 13713, Saudi Arabia
| | - Bshra A Alsfouk
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, PO Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ibrahim M Ibrahim
- Biophysics Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo, 12613, Egypt
| | - Ibrahim H Eissa
- Pharmaceutical Medicinal Chemistry & Drug Design Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
| | - Ahmed M Metwaly
- Pharmacognosy & Medicinal Plants Department, Faculty of Pharmacy (Boys), Al-Azhar University, Cairo, 11884, Egypt
- Biopharmaceutical Products Research Department, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology Research Institute, City of Scientific Research & Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Alexandria, 21934, Egypt
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Zahedipour F, Zamani P, Mashreghi M, Astaneh M, Sankian M, Amiri A, Jamialahmadi K, Jaafari MR. Nanoliposomal VEGF-R2 peptide vaccine acts as an effective therapeutic vaccine in a murine B16F10 model of melanoma. Cancer Nanotechnol 2023; 14:62. [PMID: 37333490 PMCID: PMC10264216 DOI: 10.1186/s12645-023-00213-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) plays an important role in melanoma development and progression. Peptide vaccines have shown great potential in cancer immunotherapy by targeting VEGFR-2 as a tumor-associated antigen and boosting the immune response against both tumor cells and tumor endothelial cells. Despite this, the low efficiency of peptide vaccines has resulted in moderate therapeutic results in the majority of studies. Enhancing the delivery of peptide vaccines using nanoliposomes is an important strategy for improving the efficacy of peptide vaccines. In this regard, we designed VEGFR-2-derived peptides restricted to both mouse MHC I and human HLA-A*02:01 using immunoinformatic tools and selected three peptides representing the highest binding affinities. The peptides were encapsulated in nanoliposomal formulations using the film method plus bath sonication and characterized for their colloidal properties. Results The mean diameter of peptide-encapsulated liposomes was around 135 nm, zeta potential of - 17 mV, and encapsulation efficiency of approximately 70%. Then, vaccine formulations were injected subcutaneously in mice bearing B16F10-established melanoma tumors and their efficiency in triggering immunological, and anti-tumor responses was evaluated. Our results represented that one of our designed VEGFR-2 peptide nanoliposomal formulations (Lip-V1) substantially activated CD4+ (p < 0.0001) and CD8+ (P < 0.001) T cell responses and significantly boosted the production of IFN-γ (P < 0.0001) and IL-4 (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, this formulation led to a significant decrease in tumor volume (P < 0.0001) and enhanced survival (P < 0.05) in mice. Conclusion Our findings suggest that the nanoliposomal formulation containing VEGFR-2 peptides could be a promising therapeutic vaccination approach capable of eliciting strong antigen-specific immunologic and anti-tumor responses. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12645-023-00213-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Zahedipour
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Nanotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
- Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Parvin Zamani
- Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mohammad Mashreghi
- Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mojgan Astaneh
- Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mojtaba Sankian
- Immunology Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Atefeh Amiri
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Nanotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
- Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Khadijeh Jamialahmadi
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
| | - Mahmoud Reza Jaafari
- Nanotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
- Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
- Department of Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
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50
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Gil-Edo R, Royo S, Carda M, Falomir E. Unveiling the Potential of BenzylethyleneAryl-Urea Scaffolds for the Design of New Onco Immunomodulating Agents. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023; 16:808. [PMID: 37375756 DOI: 10.3390/ph16060808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
This work focuses on the development of thirteen benzylethylenearyl ureas and one carbamate. After the synthesis and purification of the compounds, we studied their antiproliferative action on cell lines, such as HEK-293, and cancer ones, such as HT-29, MCF-7 or A-549, on the immune Jurkat T-cells and endothelial cells HMEC-1. Compounds C.1, C.3, C.12 and C.14 were selected for further biological studies to establish their potential as immunomodulating agents. Some of the derivatives exhibited significant inhibitory effects on both targets: PD-L1 and VEGFR-2 in the HT-29 cell line, showing that urea C.12 is active against both targets. Some compounds could inhibit more than 50% of cancer cell proliferation compared to non-treated ones when assessed in co-cultures using HT-29 and THP-1 cells. In addition, they significantly reduced CD11b expression, which is a promising target for immune modulation in anticancer immunotherapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Gil-Edo
- Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Department, University Jaume I, 12071 Castellón, Spain
| | - Santiago Royo
- Institute of Agronomic Engineering for Development, Polytechnic University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain
| | - Miguel Carda
- Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Department, University Jaume I, 12071 Castellón, Spain
| | - Eva Falomir
- Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Department, University Jaume I, 12071 Castellón, Spain
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