Design and synthesis of novel isatin-based derivatives targeting cell cycle checkpoint pathways as potential anticancer agents.

In recent years, cell cycle and checkpoint pathways regulation are offering new therapeutic approaches against cancer. Isatin, is a well exploited scaffold in the anticancer domain. Accordingly, the current work describes the design and synthesis of two series of (Z)-3-substituted-2-(((E/Z)-5-substituted-2-oxo-1-substituted-indolin-3-ylidene)hydrazinylidene)-thiazolidin-4-ones, 4(a-s) and (E/Z)-1-substituted-3-(((Z)-3-substituted-4-methylthiazol-2(3H)-ylidene)hydrazineylidene)-5-substituted-indolin-2-ones, 5(a-s). The structures of the synthesized molecules were confirmed by spectral and elemental methods of analyses. Pure diastereomers were further identified with 1H-1H-NOESY and confirmed with X-ray crystallography. The target compounds were tested in vitro for their cytotoxicity against three human epithelial cell lines, liver (HepG2), breast (MCF-7), and colon (HT-29) in addition to the diploid human normal cells (WI-38) compared to doxorubicin as a reference drug. Variable cytotoxic effects (IC50 3.29-100 µmol) were reported on the three cancer cell lines with pronounced selectivity compared to the normal one WI-38. The potency of the most active compounds, 4o, 4s, 5e, 5f, 5l, 5m and 5o (IC50 3.29-9.92 µmol), in both series associated with the (Z) configurations of N = thiazolidin/ene or one, however, the configuration of the N = isatin moiety seemed to be of no importance to the activity. The tested compounds were grouped for their possible mechanism of action into 4 categories. Compound 4o with no apparent effect on all genes examined. Compounds 4s and 5o affected all genes investigated and seem to have multiple cellular targets; induced the expression of p53 and caspases, and downregulated that of CDK1. Compounds 5l and 5m directly elevated the expression of initiator and effector caspases without going through p53 pathway. Finally, compounds 5e and 5f elevated the expression of p53 and inhibited CDK1. Compounds 4s, 5e, 5f, 5l, 5m, and 5o caused a significant elevation in the activity of cleaved caspase 3 as well. Docking studies on CDK1 revealed that the active molecules bind to the tested enzyme by the same manner of the co-crystallized ligands and the isatin-thiazoldinone/ene scaffold is essential for binding of these molecules.

Phenylthiomethyl Ketone-Based Fragments Show Selective and Irreversible Inhibition of Enteroviral 3C Proteases.

Lead structure discovery mainly focuses on the identification of noncovalently binding ligands. Covalent linkage, however, is an essential binding mechanism for a multitude of successfully marketed drugs, although discovered by serendipity in most cases. We present a concept for the design of fragments covalently binding to proteases. Covalent linkage enables fragment binding unrelated to affinity to shallow protein binding sites and at the same time allows differentiated targeted hit verification and binding location verification through mass spectrometry. We describe a systematic and rational computational approach for the identification of covalently binding fragments from compound collections inhibiting enteroviral 3C protease, a target with high therapeutic potential. By implementing reactive groups potentially forming covalent bonds as a chemical feature in our 3D pharmacophore methodology, covalent binders were discovered by high-throughput virtual screening. We present careful experimental validation of the virtual hits using enzymatic assays and mass spectrometry unraveling a novel, previously unknown irreversible inhibition of the 3C protease by phenylthiomethyl ketone-based fragments. Subsequent synthetic optimization through fragment growing and reactivity analysis against catalytic and noncatalytic cysteines revealed specific irreversible 3C protease inhibition.

Synthesis, biological investigation and molecular docking study of N-malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline derivatives as brain specific and shelf-stable MAO inhibitors.

A group of N-malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline derivatives were synthesized and investigated as brain specific and shelf-stable MAO inhibitors. N-malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline redox carrier system was linked through amidic bond to 4-chloro and 4-nitrobenzylidenehydrazines (9a-b), as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and ß-phenethylamine (14), as a model drug, to afford a novel group of N-malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline chemical delivery systems (DHIQCDSs) (13a-b and 18). These systems are expected to be stable against air oxidation due to the presence of the carbonyl group close to nitrogen of the dihydroisoquinoline. The synthesized DHIQCDS (18) was subjected to various chemical and biological investigations to evaluate its stability and prove its ability to cross the blood brain barrier and "lock-in" the brain. The in vitro chemical and enzymatic oxidation studies showed reasonable stability and adequate rate of conversion of DHIQCDS (18) to its corresponding quaternary metabolites. In vivo distribution study in rats revealed preferential concentration of the active moiety in the brain. Moreover, compounds (9a-b, 12a-b and 17) were screened for their in vitro MAO inhibitory activity compared to clorgyline as a reference compound. The inhibition profile was found to be competitive for both MAO-A and MAO-B isozymes with more selectivity toward MAO-A. Molecular docking study of compounds (9a-b, 12a-b and 17) and the suggested metabolites was carried out on both MAO-A and MAO-B isozymes. Observation of the docked poses revealed many interactions with many residues previously reported to have an effect on the inhibition of MAO enzyme.

Design, synthesis and anticancer activity of nitric oxide donating/chalcone hybrids.

A group of nitric oxide (NO) donating chalcone derivatives was prepared by binding amino chalcones with different NO-donating moieties including; nitrate esters, oximes and furoxans. Screening of the anticancer activity of the target compounds revealed that the selected NO-donating compounds exhibited from mild to strong cytotoxic activity. The NO/chalcone hybrids 3a and 3b exhibited remarkable activity against different types of cancer cell lines especially against the colon and melanoma cancer cell lines. The nitrate ester 3a exhibited moderate selectivity toward colon cancer subpanel with selectivity ratio of 5.87 at TGI level.

Synthesis, anti-inflammatory activity and ulcerogenic liability of novel nitric oxide donating/chalcone hybrids.

A group of novel nitric oxide (NO) donating chalcone derivatives was prepared by binding various amino chalcones with different NO donating moieties including; nitrate ester, oximes and furoxans. Most of the prepared compounds showed significant anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced rat paw edema method compared with indomethacin. The prepared compounds exhibited more protection than indomethacin in regard to gastric toxicity. Histopathological investigation confirmed the beneficial effects of the NO releasing compounds in reducing ulcer formation. The incorporation of the NO-donating group into the parent chalcone derivatives caused a moderate increase in the anti-inflammatory activity with a marked decrease in gastric ulcerations compared to their parent chalcone derivatives.

N-malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline as a novel carrier for specific delivery of drugs to the brain.

N-Malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline derivatives were synthesized and investigated as a novel carrier system for site-specific and sustained delivery of drugs to the brain. Such carriers are expected to be stable against air oxidation due to the presence of the carbonyl group close to nitrogen of the dihydroisoquinoline. Reduction of the prepared isoquinolinium quaternary derivatives with sodium dithionite afforded a novel group of N-malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline chemical delivery systems (CDS). The synthesized N-malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline chemical delivery systems were subjected to various chemical and biological investigations to evaluate their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and to be oxidized biologically into their corresponding quaternary derivatives. The in-vitro oxidation studies showed that the designed N-malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline chemical delivery system could be oxidized into its corresponding quaternary derivatives at an adequate rate. The in-vivo distribution studies showed that these N-malonyl-1,2-dihydroisoquinoline chemical delivery systems were able to cross the blood-brain barrier at detectable concentrations.

Design, synthesis and biological investigation of certain pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid derivatives as novel carriers for nitric oxide.

Some novel pyrazole-NO hybrid molecules 5a-e, 6, 8 and 10 were prepared through binding of the pyrazole-3-carboxylic acid derivatives with nitric oxide donor moiety like oxime or nitrate ester. The prepared compounds were evaluated for nitric oxide release, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities. The organic nitrate 10 exhibited the highest percentage of NO release using Griess diazotization method. Some of the prepared compounds exhibited remarkable antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli C-600, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subitilis and Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 6571 compared to ciprofloxacin. Most of the tested compounds showed significant anti-inflammatory activity compared to indomethacine using carrageenan induced paw edema method. In general, structural modification of compound 2 either to nitrate ester or oxime hybrids showed better anti-inflammatory with less ulcerogenic liability than their corresponding starting intermediates.

Chlorzoxazone esters of some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAI) carboxylic acids as mutual prodrugs: design, synthesis, pharmacological investigations and docking studies.

The discovery of the inducible isoform of cyclooxygenase enzyme (COX-2) spurred the search for anti-inflammatory agents devoid of the undesirable effects associated with classical NSAIDs. New chlorzoxazone ester prodrugs (6-8) of some acidic NSAIDs (1-3) were designed, synthesized and evaluated as mutual prodrugs with the aim of improving the therapeutic potency and retard the adverse effects of gastrointestinal origin. The structure of the synthesized mutual ester prodrugs (6-8) were confirmed by IR, (1)H NMR, mass spectroscopy (MS) and their purity was ascertained by TLC and elemental analyses. In vitro chemical stability revealed that the synthesized ester prodrugs (6-8) are chemically stable in hydrochloric acid buffer pH 1.2 as a non-enzymatic simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and in phosphate buffer pH 7.4 as non-enzymatic simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). In 80% human plasma, the mutual prodrugs were found to be susceptible to enzymatic hydrolysis at relatively faster rate (t(1/2) approximately 37 and 34 min for prodrugs 6 and 7, respectively). Mutual ester prodrugs (6-8) were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxation activities. Scanning electromicrographs of the stomach showed that the ester prodrugs induced very little irritancy in the gastric mucosa of rats after oral administration for 4days. In addition, docking of the mutual ester prodrugs (6-8) into COX-2 active site was conducted in order to predict the affinity and orientation of these prodrugs at the enzyme active site.

1-Malonyl-1,4-dihydropyridine as a novel carrier for specific delivery of drugs to the brain.

A group of 1-malonyl-1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives were synthesized as novel carrier systems for site-specific and sustained drug delivery to the brain. Such carriers are expected to be stable against air oxidation due to the presence of the carbonyl group close to nitrogen of the dihydropyridine. These carrier systems were attached to a group of different aldehydes to afford novel quaternary pyridinium derivatives 9a-e, 11a-d, 13 and 18a-b. Reduction of the prepared quaternary pyridinium derivatives with sodium dithionite afforded a novel group of 1-malonyl-1,4-dihydropyridine chemical delivery systems (CDSs) 10a-e, 12a-d, 14 and 19a-b. The synthesized 1-malonyl-1,4-dihydropyridine CDSs were subjected to various chemical and biological investigations to evaluate their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, and to be oxidized biologically into their corresponding quaternary derivatives. The in vitro oxidation studies showed that most of the 1-malonyl-1,4-dihydropyridine CDSs could be oxidized into their corresponding quaternary derivatives at an adequate rate. The in vivo studies showed that compounds 10c and 14 were able to cross the blood-brain barrier at detectable concentrations. Moreover, the pyridinium quaternary intermediates 9a, 9c, 13, 18a and their corresponding dihydro derivatives 10a, 10c, 14 and 19a were screened for their antidepressant activity using tail suspension behavioral despair test compared to imipramine as a reference at a dose level of 10mg/kg. The results indicated that compounds 13, 14 and 19a induced remarkable antidepressant activity comparable to imipramine. Compounds 10a, 10c and 18a exhibited good antidepressant activity, their activities nearly equal to 92.8%, 86.7% and 90.20% of the activity of imipramine, respectively. The other derivatives 9a and 9c exhibited moderate antidepressant activity compared with imipramine.

Synthesis and investigation of anti-inflammatory activity and gastric ulcerogenicity of novel nitric oxide-donating pyrazoline derivatives.

A group of 3,5-diaryl-2-pyrazoline derivatives were prepared via the reaction of various chalcones with hydrazine hydrate in ethanol. A group of NO-donating-2-pyrazoline derivatives were synthesized by carrying a nitrate ester group or an oxime group onto the prepared pyrazoline derivatives through different spacers. The prepared compounds were evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced rat paw edema and compared to a well-known NSAID, indomethacin as a reference drug. The ability of the prepared compounds to induce gastric toxicity was also evaluated. Most of the prepared compounds showed significant anti-inflammatory activity at the injected dose (100mg/kg) but they were safer than indomethacin in regard to gastric toxicity. The incorporation of the NO-donating group into the parent pyrazoline derivatives caused a non-significant reduction in the anti-inflammatory activity while a marked decrease in gastric ulcerations induced by their parent pyrazolines was observed.

Microwave assisted synthesis of triazoloquinazolinones and benzimidazoquinazolinones.

BACKGROUND: Benzimidazoquinazolinones and related quinazolines are classes of heterocycles that are of considerable interest because of the diverse range of their biological properties. Although numerous classes of quinazolines have been conventionally synthesized, their syntheses have been suffered due to the multiple steps that sometimes have described in their preparation and also their chemical transformations that have been taken hours or even days to be completed. However, microwave energy can offer numerous benefits for performing synthesis of organic compounds including reduced pollution, increased reaction rates, yield enhancements, and cleaner chemistries. RESULTS: Synthesis of a series of triazoloquinazolinones and benzimidazoquinazolinones has been achieved under microwave irradiation. The products were obtained in nearly quantitative yields within few minutes during the reaction of aromatic aldehydes with 5-amino-1(H)-1,2,4-triazole (or 2-aminobenzimidazole) and dimedone in DMF. CONCLUSION: Microwave irradiation can be used as a facile and general method for the construction of a wide variety of triazoloquinazolinones and benzimidazoquinazolinones. The reaction involves a three component condensation (with potential for combinatorial work) being carried out with almost productive yields by microwave irradiation and considerably shortened reaction time.

Brain delivery of HIV protease inhibitors.

To overcome the problems of peptidomimetic drug delivery to the specific organs, the use of dihydropyridine <--> pyridinium chemical delivery systems to deliver peptides to the brain is considered in this work. An HIV protease inhibitor lead compound; KNI 279 was selected for the study. The N-alkylated dihydroisoquinoline derivatives of KNI-279 were synthesized and tested for their ability to be oxidized by brain homogenate and showed good results with reasonable half-life times specially for the N-alkoxycarbonyl-methyl derivative 8. The in-vivo distribution of compound 8 proved the brain delivery and locked in property of HIV PR inhibitors in the brain. All the prepared compounds (both quaternary and dihydro derivatives) showed between 51 and 86 % HIV PR inhibitory activity compared to the parent compound.

In vitro and in vivo evaluations of dihydroquinoline- and dihydroisoquinoline-based targetor moieties for brain-specific chemical delivery systems.

Brain-targeted delivery of various drugs can be successfully achieved by chemical delivery systems (CDS) that contain a 1,4-dihydropyridine-based redox targetor moiety and undergo a sequential metabolism. However, the susceptibility of this moiety toward hydration in acidic media may limit the shelf-life of such compounds in aqueous formulation. Here, a systematic investigation of the chemical stability toward oxidation and hydration of ester and amide derivatives of 3-substituted 1,4-dihydropyridine, 1,4-dihydroquinoline, and 4-substituted 1,2-dihydroisoquinoline is reported, together with the in vitro stability and in vivo (rat) distribution of isoquinoline-based testosterone and hydrocortisone chemical delivery systems, which were selected as having the most suitable acid-resistant targetor moieties.