Correction: Synthesis and biological evaluation of pyrazolo-triazole hybrids as cytotoxic and apoptosis inducing agents.

Correction for 'Synthesis and biological evaluation of pyrazolo-triazole hybrids as cytotoxic and apoptosis inducing agents' by T. Srinivasa Reddy et al., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2015, 13, 10136-10149.

Synthesis of Gold(I) Complexes Containing Cinnamide: In Vitro Evaluation of Anticancer Activity in 2D and 3D Spheroidal Models of Melanoma and In Vivo Angiogenesis.

A series of alkynylgold(I) phosphine complexes containing methoxy-substituted cinnamide moieties (3a-3c and 4a-4c) have been synthesized and characterized. All of the synthesized complexes were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines A549 (lung), D24 (melanoma), and HT1080 (fibrosarcoma) and the human embryonic kidney 293 cell line (Hek293T) as a proxy model for noncancer cells. Most of the synthesized compounds showed antiproliferative activity against cancer cell lines at low micromolar concentrations. Among these, complex 3c showed a broad spectrum of anticancer activity with IC50 values in the range of 1.53-6.05 µM against all tested cancer lines. Complex 3c possessed 20 times higher cytotoxicity than the reference drug cisplatin against D24 melanoma cells and showed significant anticancer activity in 3D spheroidal models of melanoma cells. Mechanistic investigations of 3c activity indicate thioredoxin reductase inhibition through steric and hydrogen-bonding interactions, followed by the induction of oxidative stress and a mitochondrial pathway of cell death. Compound 3c also showed significant antiangiogenic properties in a transgenic zebrafish Tg(fli1a:EGFP) in vivo model.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of N-((1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl)-1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxamides as CDK1/Cdc2 inhibitors.

A series of new (N-((1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl)-1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxamide derivatives (8-35) were designed, synthesized and evaluated as CDK1/Cdc2 inhibitors. Biological evaluation assays indicated that compounds 16 and 27 showed the most potent growth inhibitory activity against human cancer cell lines (MIAPaCa-2, MCF-7 and HeLa) with GI50 values ranging from 0.13 to 0.7 µM, compared with the positive control nocodazole (0.81-0.95 µM). Flow cytometric analysis revealed that these compounds induce cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase and Western blot analysis suggested that compound treatment resulted in reduction of CDK1 expression levels in MCF-7 cell line. Moreover, the apoptosis inducing effect of the compounds was studied using Hoechst staining, Rhodamine 123 staining (MMP), carboxy-DCFDA staining (ROS), Annexin V-FITC assay. Based on these studies, two compounds 16 and 27 have been identified as promising new molecules that have the potential to be developed as leads.

Synthesis of (Z)-1-(1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-3-(phenylamino)prop-2-en-1-one derivatives as potential anticancer and apoptosis inducing agents.

A series of (Z)-1-(1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-3-(phenylamino)prop-2-en-1-one derivatives were synthesized and characterized by (1)H and (13)C NMR, ESI-MS and HRMS. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated for their anticancer activity against HT-29, PC-3, A549 and U87MG human tumor cell lines. Most of the synthesized compounds displayed potent growth inhibition selectively of A549 cancer cells and did not show significant toxicity to the non-cancerous HaCaT cells. Some of the representative compounds, particularly, 16, 22 and 28 exhibited potent growth inhibition with IC50 values in the range of 1.25-3.98 µM, which are comparable or even better than the standard chemotherapeutic drug 5-fluorouracil. Preliminary mechanistic studies revealed that these compounds could effectively inhibit the migration ability of A549 cells. Flow-cytometry analysis revealed that the compounds treatment led to G2/M cell cycle arrest. Moreover, the compounds induced apoptosis in A549 cells through depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (DΨm) and increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, suggesting their potential to act as promising lead compounds for the development of cancer chemotherapeutics.

An evaluation of the CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 inhibition potential of metoprolol metabolites and their contribution to drug-drug and drug-herb interaction by LC-ESI/MS/MS.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the contribution of metabolites to drug-drug interaction and drug-herb interaction using the inhibition of CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 by metoprolol (MET) and its metabolites. The peak concentrations of unbound plasma concentration of MET, α-hydroxy metoprolol (HM), O-desmethyl metoprolol (ODM) and N-desisopropyl metoprolol (DIM) were 90.37 ± 2.69, 33.32 ± 1.92, 16.93 ± 1.70 and 7.96 ± 0.94 ng/mL, respectively. The metabolites identified, HM and ODM, had a ratio of metabolic area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) to parent AUC of ≥0.25 when either total or unbound concentration of metabolite was considered. In vitro CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 inhibition by MET, HM and ODM study revealed that MET, HM and ODM were not inhibitors of CYP3A4-catalyzed midazolam metabolism and CYP2D6-catalyzed dextromethorphan metabolism. However, DIM only met the criteria of >10% of the total drug related material and <25% of the parent using unbound concentrations. If CYP inhibition testing is solely based on metabolite exposure, DIM metabolite would probably not be considered. However, the present study has demonstrated that DIM contributes significantly to in vitro drug-drug interaction. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of pyrazolo-triazole hybrids as cytotoxic and apoptosis inducing agents.

A series of pyrazolo-triazole hybrids were designed and synthesized by combining the 1,3-diphenyl pyrazole and triazole scaffolds to obtain (1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)(1,3-diphenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)methanones. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their anticancer activity against four tumor cell lines, viz. HT-29 (colon), PC-3 (prostate), A549 (lung), and U87MG (glioblastoma) cells. Most of the tested compounds showed moderate to potent cell growth inhibition on different cancer cells, in particular, the compounds 17, 23, and 29 exhibited promising cytotoxicity against these cell lines with the IC50 values in the range of 0.86-3.72 µM. In addition, the potential mechanism of cell growth inhibition and apoptotic induction by these compounds was investigated in U87MG cancer cells using cell-based assays, including wound healing assay, flow cytometry, Hoechst staining, acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining, Annexin V-FITC/propidium Iodide dual staining, Rhodamine 123 staining, and carboxy-DCFDA staining. The results indicate that the compounds induce apoptosis in U87MG cells via mitochondrial pathway through up-regulation of pro-apoptotic (Bax) and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2) genes. Based on these studies, three compounds 17, 23 and 29 have been identified as promising new molecules that have the potential to be developed as leads.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 4-aza-2,3-dihydropyridophenanthrolines as tubulin polymerization inhibitors.

A series of novel 4-aza-2,3-dihydropyridophenanthrolines 12(a-t) were synthesized by a one-step three component condensation of 1,10-phenanthroline amine, tetronic acid and various aromatic aldehydes. These were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against three human cancer cell lines (MIAPACA, MCF-7 and HeLa) using SRB assay. Majority of the tested compounds exhibited significant anticancer activity on these cell lines and interestingly compounds 12h and 12i were more potent than etoposide and podophyllotoxin against all three tested cancer cell lines with GI50 values in the range of 0.01-0.5 µM. Furthermore, these compounds showed significant inhibition of tubulin polymerization which is comparable to that of podophyllotoxin and disrupted microtubule network by accumulating tubulin in the soluble fraction. The flow cytometry analysis confirmed that the synthesized compounds led to cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. Moreover, the structure activity relationship studies in this series are also discussed.