Discovery of novel pyrazole based Urea/Thiourea derivatives as multiple targeting VEGFR-2, EGFRWT, EGFRT790M tyrosine kinases and COX-2 Inhibitors, with anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activities.

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).

New pyrazolyl-thiazolidinone/thiazole derivatives as celecoxib/dasatinib analogues with selective COX-2, HER-2 and EGFR inhibitory effects: design, synthesis, anti-inflammatory/anti-proliferative activities, apoptosis, molecular modelling and ADME studies.

Two new series of pyrazolyl-thiazolidinone/thiazole derivatives 16a-b and 18a-j were synthesised, merging the scaffolds of celecoxib and dasatinib. Compounds 16a, 16b and 18f inhibit COX-2 with S.I. 134.6, 26.08 and 42.13 respectively (celecoxib S.I. = 24.09). Compounds 16a, 16b, 18c, 18d and 18f inhibit MCF-7 with IC50 = 0.73-6.25 µM (dasatinib IC50 = 7.99 µM) and (doxorubicin IC50 = 3.1 µM) and inhibit A549 with IC50 = 1.64-14.3 µM (dasatinib IC50 = 11.8 µM and doxorubicin IC50 = 2.42 µM) with S.I. (F180/MCF7) of 33.15, 7.13, 18.72, 13.25 and 8.28 respectively higher than dasatinib (4.03) and doxorubicin (3.02) and S.I. (F180/A549) of 14.75, 12.96, 4.16, 7.07 and 18.88 respectively higher than that of dasatinib (S.I. = 2.72) and doxorubicin (S.I = 3.88). Derivatives 16a, 18c, 18d, 18f inhibit EGFR and HER-2 IC50 for EGFR of 0.043, 0.226, 0.388, 0.19 µM respectively and for HER-2 of 0.032, 0.144, 0.195, 0.201 µM respectively.

Design, synthesis, and pharmacological evaluation of novel and selective COX-2 inhibitors based on celecoxib scaffold supported with in vivo anti-inflammatory activity, ulcerogenic liability, ADME profiling and docking study.

Four new series of 1,2,4 triazole derivatives 4a,b 5a-d, 6a-f, and 7a,b possessing methylsulphonylphenyl moiety as COX-2 pharmacophore were designed and synthesized. The target compounds were prepared and evaluated in-vitro against COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. Compounds 4a, 5b, 6a, and 7a showed the highest selectivity towards the COX-2 enzyme (S.I. = 8.64-14.58) in comparison to celecoxib (S.I. = . 6.44). Interestingly, compounds 4a, 6a, and 7a showed good anti-inflammatory activity with edema inhibition (54.17, 53.03, and 50.29 %, in order) relative to the reference drug celecoxib (49.60%) after 3 h. Additionally, these potent derivatives 4a, 5b, 6a and 7a were significantly less ulcerogenic (U.I. = 2.27-2.97) than both reference drugs celecoxib (U.I. = 2.99) and indomethacin (U.I. = 20.25). Besides, a histopathological study of the stomach was also included. Moreover, docking simulation for the most selective compounds 4a, 5b, 6a, and 7a inside COX-2 active site was performed to explain their binding mode. Finally, an ADME study was applied and proved the promising activity of the new compounds as a new oral anti-inflammatory agent. In conclusion, the above findings reveal that newly developed compounds 4a, 6a, and 7a represent a potential selective COX-2 NSAID candidate with minimum gastrointestinal risks.

Optimization of pyrazole-based compounds with 1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol moiety as selective COX-2 inhibitors cardioprotective drug candidates: Design, synthesis, cyclooxygenase inhibition, anti-inflammatory, ulcerogenicity, cardiovascular evaluation, and molecular modeling studies.

The cardiovascular side effects associated with COX-2 selective drugs were the worst for coxibs leading to their withdrawal from the market a few years after their discovery. Therefore, the design of new series of pyrazole (4a,b 5a,b, 7a,b, 9a,b, 10a-h, and 11a-f) substituted with a triazole moiety as selective COX-2 inhibitors with cardioprotective effect was aimed in this paper. The target compounds were prepared and evaluated in-vitro against COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes. Compound 5-(5-Methyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (7a) showed the highest selectivity towards COX-2 enzyme (S.I. = 27.56) and was the most active anti-inflammatory agent. Interestingly, its cardiovascular profile showed the cardiac biomarkers (ALP, AST, CK-MB, and LDH), as well as inflammatory cytokines named (TNF-α and IL-6) nearly similar to the control. Besides, a histopathological study of the heart muscle and the stomach was also included. The results confirmed that compound 7a has a more favorable cardio profile than celecoxib. Moreover, docking simulation for the most selective compounds 4b, 7a, 10e, 11c, and 11e inside COX-2 active site was performed to explain their binding mode. Finally, an ADME study was applied and proved the promising activity of the new compounds as a new oral anti-inflammatory agent. In conclusion, the newly developed compound 7a represents a potential selective COX-2 NSAID candidate with minimum cardiovascular risks.