Novel 3-(pyrazol-4-yl)-2-(1H-indole-3-carbonyl)acrylonitrile derivatives induce intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic death mediated P53 in HCT116 colon carcinoma.

A novel series of α-cyano indolylchalcones was prepared, and their chemical structures were confirmed based on the different spectral data. Among them, compound 7f was observed to be the most effective bioactive chalcone with distinguished potency and selectivity against colorectal carcinoma (HCT116) with IC50 value (6.76 µg/mL) relative to the positive control (5 FU) (77.15 µg/mL). In a preliminary action study, the acrylonitrile chalcone 7f was found to enhance apoptotic action via different mechanisms like inhibition of some anti-apoptotic protein expression, regulation of some apoptotic proteins, production of caspases, and cell cycle arrest. All mechanisms suggested that compound 7f could act as a professional chemotherapeutic agent. Also, a molecular docking study was achieved on some selected proteins implicated in cancer (Caspase 9, XIAP, P53 mutant Y220C, and MDM2) which showed variable interactions with compound 7f with good Gibbs free energy scores.

Novel Tetrahydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinoline Chalcones Suppress Breast Carcinoma through Cell Cycle Arrests and Apoptosis.

Chalcones are interesting anticancer drug candidates which have attracted much interest due to their unique structure and their extensive biological activity. Various functional modifications in chalcones have been reported, along with their pharmacological properties. In the current study, novel chalcone derivatives with the chemical base of tetrahydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinolin-3-yl)-3-arylprop-2-en-1-one were synthesized, and the structure of their molecules was confirmed through NMR spectroscopy. The antitumor activity of these newly synthesized chalcone derivatives was tested on mouse (Luc-4T1) and human (MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cell lines. The antiproliferative effect was evaluated through SRB screening and the MTT assay after 48 h of treatment at different concentrations. Interestingly, among the tested chalcone derivatives, chalcone analogues with a methoxy group were found to have significant anticancer activity and displayed gradient-dependent inhibition against breast cancer cell proliferation. The anticancer properties of these unique analogues were examined further by cytometric analysis of the cell cycle, quantitative PCR, and the caspases-Glo 3/7 assay. Chalcone methoxy derivatives showed the capability of cell cycle arrest and increased Bax/Bcl2 mRNA ratios as well as caspases 3/7 activity. The molecular docking analysis suggests that these chalcone methoxy derivatives may inhibit anti-apoptotic proteins, particularly cIAP1, BCL2, and EGFRK proteins. In conclusion, our findings confirm that chalcone methoxy derivatives could be considered to be potent drug candidates against breast cancer.

Theoretical and molecular mechanistic investigations of novel (3-(furan-2-yl)pyrazol-4-yl) chalcones against lung carcinoma cell line (A549).

A new chalcone series has been developed that may be useful in the treatment of lung cancer. The new series was confirmed by the different spectral tools. MTT assay was used to detect the cytotoxic effect of the novel chalcones against lung cancer cell line (A549). Molecular docking studies were performed on the most two effective chalcones 7b and 7c. Different molecular techniques were utilized to study the activity and the effect of two chalcones 7b and 7c on apoptosis of A549 cell line.

Differential expression of cystathionine beta synthase in adolescents with Down syndrome: impact on adiposity.

Purpose: Obesity is more prevalent among people with Down Syndrome (DS) compared to general population. In this pilot study, we investigated the effect of cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) overdosage on the regulation of transsulfuration pathway and the obesity phenotype in fifty adolescents (25 obese/overweight and 25 lean) with trisomy 21. Methods: The transcriptional levels of CBS in leukocytes and its translational levels in plasma were quantified using real time polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay respectively. Meanwhile, ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used to determine the plasma concentrations of methionine, homocysteine, cystathionine and cysteine. Fasting plasma lipid profiles were assessed by colorimetric assays. The anthropometric measurements and indices of all subjects were recorded. Results: Both DS groups had comparable levels of CBS transcripts (p = 0.2734). The plasma levels of the enzyme were significantly higher in the lean DS cases (p = 0.0174) compared to the obese/overweight participants. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, methionine, homocysteine, cystathionine and cysteine showed similar plasma levels in both groups. However, the plasma cysteine levels exceeded the normal range in all DS cases. We reported a statistically significant inverse association between CBS enzyme levels and weight (r= - 0.3498, p = 0.0128), hip circumference (r= - 0.3584, p = 0.0106), body mass index (r= - 0.3719, p = 0.0078) and body adiposity index (r= - 0.3183, p = 0.0243). Conclusions: Our data suggests that the high concentrations of CBS enzyme together with cysteine modulate the DS obesity presumably through increased hydrogen sulfide production which has recently showed anti-adiposity effects.

Generation and Selection of Specific Aptamers Targeting Brucella Species through an Enhanced Cell-SELEX Methodology.

Brucellae are Gram-negative, aerobic, non-motile coccobacilli causing brucellosis in man and animals. The disease is one of the most significant yet neglected global zoonoses. Especially in developing countries, brucellosis is causing public health problems and economic losses to private animal owners and national revenues. Composed of oligonucleotides, aptamers are chemical analogues of antibodies that are promising components for developing aptamer-based rapid, sensitive, and specific tests to identify the Brucella group of bacteria. For this purpose, aptamers were generated and selected by an enhanced protocol of cell systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (cell-SELEX). This enhanced cell-SELEX procedure involved the combination of both conventional and toggle cell-SELEX to boost the specificity and binding affinity to whole Brucella cells. This procedure, combined with high-throughput sequencing of the resulting aptamer pools, comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, and wet lab validation assays, led to the selection of a highly sensitive and specific aptamer for those Brucella species known to circulate in Egypt. The isolated candidate aptamer showed dissociation constant (KD) values of 43.5 ± 11, 61.5 ± 8, and 56 ± 10.8 nM for B. melitensis, B. abortus, and B. suis, respectively. This is the first development of a Brucella-specific aptamer using an enhanced combination of conventional and toggle cell-SELEX to the authors' best knowledge.

Bee venom and its active component Melittin synergistically potentiate the anticancer effect of Sorafenib against HepG2 cells.

There are current attempts to find a safe substitute or adjuvant for Sorafenib (Sorf), the standard treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), as it triggers very harsh side effects and drug-resistance. The therapeutic properties of Bee Venom (BV) and its active component, Melittin (Mel), make them suitable candidates as potential anti-cancer agents per-se or as adjuvants for cancer chemotherapy. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the combining effect of BV and Mel with Sorf on HepG2 cells and to investigate their molecular mechanisms of action. Docking between Mel and different tumor-markers was performed. The cytotoxicity of BV, Mel and Sorf on HepG2 and THLE-2 cells was conducted. Combinations of BV/Sorf and Mel/Sorf were performed in non-constant ratios on HepG2. Expression of major cancer-related genes and oxidative stress status was evaluated and the cell cycle was analyzed. The computational analysis showed that Mel can bind to and inhibit XIAP, Bcl2, MDM2, CDK2 and MMP12. Single treatments of BV, Mel and Sorf on HepG2 showed lower IC50than on THLE-2. All combinations revealed a synergistic effect at a combination index (CI) < 1. Significant upregulation (p < 0.05) of p53, Bax, Cas3, Cas7 and PTEN and significant downregulation (p < 0.05) of Bcl-2, Cyclin-D1, Rac1, Nf-κB, HIF-1a, VEGF and MMP9 were observed. The oxidative stress markers including MDA, SOD, CAT and GPx showed insignificant changes, while the cell cycle was arrested at G2/M phase. In conclusion, BV and Mel have a synergistic anticancer effect with Sorf on HepG2 that may represent a new enhancing strategy for HCC treatment.

Computational studies and sever apoptotic bioactivity of new heterocyclic cyanoacrylamide based p-fluorophenyl and p-phenolic compounds against liver carcinoma (Hepg2).

An efficient route for the preparation of new heterocyclic cyanoacrylamides based p-fluorophenyl and p-phenolic compounds was depicted. All structures were confirmed based on the different spectral tools and elemental analyses. MTT assay for the novel synthesized series was performed against four different cell lines (A549, MCF7, Hepg2, and Wi38). Among all tested groups, the p-phenolic compound 10 (207.1 µg/ml) and the corresponding p-fluorophenyl derivative 6 (325.7 µg/ml) were selected for further simulation and molecular studies against liver carcinoma. Compounds 6 and 10 were investigated theoretically to different protein sets as (cdk2, Bcl2-xl, cIAP1-BIR3, and MDM2) and they illustrated different binding affinities. The computational studies and different molecular techniques (e.g. cell cycle analysis, DPA assay, relative gene expression, and ELISA assay) were utilized in this report.

Novel [l,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinoline chalcones as new chemotherapeutic agents: Block IAP tyrosine kinase domain and induce both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis.

Two novel chemotherapeutic chalcones were synthesized and their structures were confirmed by different spectral tools. Theoretical studies such as molecular modeling were done to detect the mechanism of action of these compounds. In vitro cytotoxicity showed a strong effect against all tested cell lines (MCF7, A459, HepG2, and HCT116), and low toxic effect against normal human melanocytes (HFB4). The lung carcinoma cell line was chosen for further molecular studies. Real-time PCR demonstrated that the two compounds upregulated gene expression of (BAX, p53, casp-3, casp-8, casp-9) genes and decreased the expression of anti-apoptotic genes bcl2, CDK4, and MMP1. Flow-cytometry indicated that cell cycle arrest of A459 was induced at the G2/M phase and the apoptotic percentage increased significantly compared to the control sample. Cytochrome c oxidase and VEGF enzyme activity were detected by ELISA assay. SEM tool was used to follow the morphological changes that occurred on the cell surface, cell granulation, and average roughness of the cell surface. The change in the number and morphology of mitochondria, cell shrinkage, increase in the number of cytoplasmic organelles, membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation, and apoptotic bodies were observed using TEM. The obtained data suggested that new chalcones exerted their pathways on lung carcinoma through induction of two pathways of apoptosis. Graphical abstract Novel chalcones were prepared and confirmed by different spectral tools. Docking simulations were done to detect the mechanism of action. In vitro cytotoxicity indicated a strong effect against different cancer cell lines and low toxic effects against normal human melanocytes (HFB4). The lung carcinoma cell line was chosen for further molecular studies that include Real-time PCR, Flow-cytometry, Cytochrome c oxidase, and ELISA assay. SEM and TEM tool were used to follow the morphological changes occurred on the cell surface.

Attacking the mitochondria of colorectal carcinoma by novel 2-cyanoacrylamides linked to ethyl 1,3-diphenylpyrazole-4-carboxylates moiety as a new trend for chemotherapy.

A novel set of 2-cyanoacrylamides linked to ethyl 1,3-diphenylpyrazole-4-carboxylates moiety were synthesized and elucidated by different spectroscopic tools. In vitro cytotoxic assay was carried out against different cell lines (Hct116, A549, MDA-MB231, and HFB4). Ethyl 5-(2-cyano-3-(furan-2-yl)acrylamido)-1,3-diphenylpyrazole-4-carboxylate 5 achieved the potent cytotoxic effect toward all tested cancer cell lines especially colon cancer (HCT116) with IC50 value (30.6 µg/ml) relative to the lead compound 3 and the standard positive control 5-FU. Additionally, it exhibited less toxic effect toward the normal human melanocytes (HFB4) cell line. Compound 5 was theoretically investigated and compared for its binding affinity to a model of protein markers relative to the lead compound 3 using two different molecular docking programs. More investigations were performed in an attempt to find out the molecular mechanism of this novel compound inside colon cancer cells, as real time PCR analysis, Elisa assay, flow cytometry, and morphological characterizations using TEM and SEM tools.Herein, we showed that compound 5 interferes with the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis at the mitochondrial level in response to an apoptogenic stimulus as cytochromec, caspase-9 and caspases-3 which were triggered by our novel compound 5. All molecular investigations proved that intrinsic apoptotic pathway of colorectal carcinoma was strongly initiated by the effect of compound 5 through upregulation of mitochondrial apoptosis related genes as (Caspase-3, caspase-9, BAX, P53, and cytochrome-c) and down-regulated anti-apoptotic proteins (BCL2, MMP1, CDK4, and VEGFR). Further studies proved cell cycle arrest of HCT116 cell lines at G2/M phase after treatment. In addition, our data revealed that our novel efficiently damage the genomic DNA of colorectal cells involving P53 dependent mechanism using DPA assay. Sever morphological and ultrastructural changes were detected in colorectal cells treated by compound 5 compared to control using both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

Synthesis, Cytotoxicity and Docking Simulation of Novel Annulated Dihydroisoquinoline Heterocycles.

OBJECTIVE: Coupling of ethyl 2-(6,7-dimethoxy-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1-yl)acetate 2 with diazotized anilines in ethanol in the presence of sodium acetate yielded 2-(2-arylhydrazono)-2-(6,7- dimethoxy-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1-yl)acetate (4a-f). METHODS: Treatment of 2 with α-bromoketones 6a-f in dry benzene at reflux gave the corresponding isoquinolinium bromides 7a-f. Refluxing of each of the salts 7a-f in dry benzene and in the presence of triethylamine yielded 2-arylpyrrolo-[2,1-a]isoquinoline structures 8a-f, that converted to ethyl (E)-8,9- dimethoxy-3-(phenyldiazen-yl)-2-(aryl)-5,6-dihydropyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline-1-carboxylate (9a-f) upon treatment with diazotized anilines 3 in ethanol in the presence of sodium acetate. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Cytotoxic assay was performed for in vitro antitumor screening against caucasian breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7), hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) cell lines. The results were compared with the standard anticancer drug (doxorubicin). Molecular docking using MOE 2014.09 software was carried out for the most potent compound 4d, which showed the highest binding affinity towards the four tested proteins and thus initiated apoptosis of cancer cells.

Molecular Docking Study, Cytotoxicity, Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptotic Induction of Novel Chalcones Incorporating Thiadiazolyl Isoquinoline in Cervical Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Chalcones are naturally occurring compounds found in various plant species which are widely used for the traditional popular treatments. Chalcones are distinguished secondary metabolites reported to display diverse biological activities such as antiviral, antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial and antioxidant agents. The presence of a,ß-unsaturated carbonyl group in chalcones is assumed to be responsible for their bioactivity. In addition, heterocyclic compounds having nitrogen such as isoquinolines are of considerable interest as they constitute the core structural element of many alkaloids that have enormous pharmacological activities. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is the synthesis and biological activity of novel chalcones incorporating thiadiazolyl isoquinoline as potential anticancer candidates. Different genetic tools were used in an attempt to know the mechanism of action of this compound against breast cancer. METHODS: An efficient one pot synthesis of novel chalcones incorporating thiadiazolyl isoquinoline was developed. The cytotoxic activity of the novel synthesized compounds was performed against four different kinds of cancer cell lines. RESULTS: Among all the tested derivatives, chalcone 3 has the best cytotoxic profile against A549, MCF7, and HeLa cell lines, with IC50s 66.1, 51.3, and 85.1µM, respectively. Molecular docking studies for chalcone 3 revealed that CDK2, and EGFRTK domains have strong binding affinities toward the novel chalcone 3, while tubulin-colchicine-ustiloxin, and VEGFRTK domains illustrated moderate mode of binding. CONCLUSION: We have developed an efficient method for the synthesis of novel chalcones incorporating thiadiazolyl isoquinoline. All compounds showed better cytotoxicity results against four kinds of cancer cell lines (A549, MCF7, HCT116, and HELA cells). The results depicted that chalcone 3 has a high and promising cytotoxic effect against HELA cell line and the mechanism of cytotoxicity was widely studied through different theoretical and experimental tools. Thus, the newly synthesized derivative 3 can be utilized as a novel chemotherapeutic compound for cervical carcinoma.

Biological Activity, Apoptotic Induction and Cell Cycle Arrest of New Hydrazonoyl Halides Derivatives.

BACKGROUND: The hydrazonoyl halides are presently an important target in the field of medicinal chemistry. The interest in the chemistry of hydrazonoyl halides is a consequence of the fact that they undergo a wide variety of reactions which provide routes to a myriad of both heterocyclic and acyclic compounds. In addition, they have diverse biological activities such as antiviral, anthelmintic, antiarthropodal, fungicidal, herbicidal, insecticidal, pesticidal, acaricidal and miticidal Activity correlated to the presence of hydrazonoyl halides. Moreover, many applications in both industrial and pharmaceutical fields have been found to be associated with these halides. Depending on the above facts and continuation to our work, we herein report on the evaluation of the anticancer activity of these two halides prepared according to the published work and trying to know their molecular mechanism that they proceed to stop proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells by molecular tools such as real time PCR using different apoptotic genes, and cell cycle assay. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this present study is to bring attention to the biological activities of hydrazonoyl halides and the molecular pathway they follow to exert their role in apoptotic death of cancer cell. METHODS: Synthesis of hydrazonoyl halides 2c and 2f. The cytotoxic effect against different human cancer cell lines PC3, HepG-2, HCT-116, MCF-7 and also on normal human cell lines as MCF-10 and MCF-12 in a monolayer culture model was evaluated. Their mechanism of action inside cancer cell was evaluated using different molecular tools. CONCLUSION: Strong and promising chemotherapeutic hydrazonoyl halides (2a-2f) were evaluated for their different biological activities. As antimicrobial agents, results indicated that three compounds 2a, 2e and 2f exhibited high activity against two tested gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, and gram negative ones Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the rest of the compounds were found to be moderately active against the tested microorganisms. Regarding their antifungal effect, compound 2c exhibited potent and promising effect against Candida albicans, while 2b was the most potent toward Aspergillus flavus Link. The compound 2f has repellent effect. With respect to the in vitro antitumor screening, this was done on different human cancer cell lines; namely PC3, HepG-2, HCT-116, MCF-7 and also on normal human cell lines; as MCF-10 and MCF-12 (normal breast epithelial cell and non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cell line) in a monolayer culture model where screening has been conducted at 100µg/ml (single dose test). Single dose test (100µg/ml) showed that, in case of PC3, all compounds have cytotoxic activity over 90% inhibition, 4 compounds have cytotoxic activity with 100% inhibition with Human colon cancer cell line, 4 compounds showed over 90% inhibition with MCF7 cell line and 4 compounds showed cytotoxic activity over 90% inhibition with HepG-2. Results of IC50 values for most promising compounds showed compounds with values lower than 20µM for all tested human cancer cell line. The promising hydrazonoyl halide 2c and 2f were selected for molecular study to know how they could act inside cancer cell causing death. Two biochemical tests were performed using the two halides 2c and 2f to predict their mechanism of action against breast carcinoma. Real time PCR analysis indicates that the two compounds induced the apoptosis of MCF7 cells through the up regulation of caspase-3, BAX mediated P53 mechanism but unfortunately, they promote the expression of anti-apoptotic protein BCL2. Also, cell cycle assay was performed using two different cell lines MCF7 and HCT116 and data revealed that the two compounds 2c and 2f induced apoptotic cells death of both lines via cell growth arrest at G2/M phase. In addition, it was noted that 2c induced arrest in the two lines more efficiently than 2f at G2/M phase.

Moringa peregrina Leaves Extracts Induce Apoptosis and Cell Cycle Arrest of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Moringa grows in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The genus Moringa belongs to family Moringaceae. It is found to possess various medicinal uses including hypoglycemic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, and antioxidant activities. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial and the anticancer activity of the Moringa peregrina as well as Moringa oleifera leaves extracts grown locally in Egypt. Results indicated that most of the extracts were found to possess high antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and fungus. The survival rate of cancer cells was decreased in both hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines when treated with Moringa leaves extracts. In addition, the cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and cancer-related genes confirmed its anticancer effect. The toxicity of each extract was also tested using the normal melanocytes cell line HFB4. The toxicity was low in both Moringa peregrina and Moringa oleifera leaves extracts. Furthermore, GC/MS analysis fractionized the phytochemicals content for each potential extract. In conclusion, results suggested that the Moringa peregrina and Moringa oleifera leaves extracts possess antimicrobial and anticancer properties which could be attributed to the bioactive phytochemical compounds present inside the extracts from this plant. These findings can be used to develop new drugs, especially for liver cancer chemotherapy.

Recent Synthetic Approaches and Biological Evaluations of Amino Hexahydroquinolines and Their Spirocyclic Structures.

In this review, the recent synthetic approaches of amino hexahydroquinolines and their spirocyclic structures were highlighted. The synthetic routes include, two-components, three-components or fourcomponents reactions. The two-component [3+3] atom combination reaction represents the simplest method. It involves Michael addition of the electron rich ß-carbon of ß-enaminones to the activated double bond of cinnamonitriles followed by cyclization to yield hexahydroquinoline compounds. The bioactivity profiles and SAR studies of these compounds were also reviewed with emphasis to the utility of these substances as antimicrobial, anticancer and antitubercular agents, as well as calcium channel modulators.

Synthesis, Cytotoxicity, Antimicrobial and Docking Simulation of Novel Pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine and pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-c] pyrimidine Derivatives.

BACKGROUND: Isobutyrohydrazonoyl bromide 1 was used as a precursor for the synthesis of 4-imino-3-isopropyl-1-(4-nitrophenyl)-1,4-dihydro-5H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidin-5-amine 4, which was converted into hydrazino derivative 5 by heating with hydrazine hydrate at reflux. Hydrazino, as well as imino-amino derivatives, underwent condensation and cyclization reactions to give pyrazolo[ 3,4-d]pyrimidine and pyrazolo[4,3-e][1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-c]pyrimidine derivatives, respectively. METHOD: Antimicrobial studies are performed using two-gram positive bacteria and two-gram negative bacteria. RESULTS: Data revealed that compound 9a is the most promising antibacterial agent with high efficiency (low MIC value (48 µg/ml)). The cytotoxic assay was investigated for in vitro antitumor screening against Caucasian breast adenocarcinoma MCF7, hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 and colon carcinoma HCT-116 cell lines. CONCLUSION: The results are compared with doxorubicin standard anticancer drugs as well as normal cell lines like MCF10 and MCF12. Molecular docking was carried out for the highest potent compound 8c with the binding site of dihydrofolate reductase enzyme DHFR PDB:ID (1DLS).

Molecular Studies on Novel Antitumor Bis 1,4-Dihydropyridine Derivatives Against Lung Carcinoma and their Limited Side Effects on Normal Melanocytes.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a complex genetic disease which is characterized by an abnormal cell growth, invasion and spreading to other parts of the body. There are several factors that lead to cancer by causing DNA damage and the impairment of its repair. Treatment of cancer using the chemotherapeutic drugs have adverse side effects such as toxicity as they lose their specificity toward cancer cells and affect also normal cells. Moreover, the cancer cells can resist the chemotherapeutic agents and make them ineffective. For these reasons, much attentions have been paid to develop new drugs with limited side effects on normal cells and to diminish cancer resistance to drug chemotherapy. Recently, some 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives were reported to act as Multi-Drug Resistance (MDR) modulators that inhibit p-glycoprotein which is responsible for the inability of drugs to enter the cancer cells. Also 1,4-DHPs have antimutagenic properties against chemicals via modulating DNA repair when studied on drosophila. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is the synthesis of bis 1,4-DHPs incorporating ester as well as ether linkages and evaluate the anticancer activity of new compounds for synergistic purpose. Different genetic tools were used in an attempt to know the mechanism of action of this compound against lung cancer. METHOD: An efficient one pot synthesis of bis 1,4-DHPs using 3-aminocrotononitrile and bis(aldehydes) has been developed. The cytotoxic effect against human cell lines MCF7, and A549 cell lines was evaluated. RESULTS: All compounds exhibited better cytotoxicity toward lung carcinoma cells than breast cancer cells. With respect to lung carcinoma cell line (A549), compound 10 was the most active compound and the three other compounds 7, 8, and 9 showed comparable IC50 values. In case of breast cancer cell line (MCF7), the most active one was compound 7, while compound 8 recorded the least activity. CONCLUSION: we have developed an efficient method for the synthesis of novel bis 1,4-dihydropyridine derivatives incorporating ester or ether linkage. All compounds showed better cytotoxicity results against A549 than MCF7, so that lung carcinoma cell line was chosen to perform the molecular studies on it. The results showed that all compounds (7, 8, 9 and 10) caused cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. The molecular docking study on CDK2 confirmed the results of cell cycle assay which showed good binding energy between the compounds and the active site of enzyme indicating the inhibition of the enzyme.

DNA Fragmentation, Cell Cycle Arrest, and Docking Study of Novel Bis Spiro-cyclic 2-oxindole of Pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline-4,6-dione Derivatives Against Breast Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Recently, it is reported that heterocycles containing pyrimidoquinoline moiety show a broad spectrum of medicinal and pharmacological properties including anticancer, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory activities, analgesic and antiviral. In additions, spirocyclicoxindole containing compounds represent an important class of compounds that exhibit wide range of biological properties. The asymmetric chiral spiro carbon is considered to be the main criteria of the bioactivities. Spirooxindole structures represent the main skeleton for various alkaloids and pharmaceutically important compounds. Among them, the naturally occurring pyrrolidinylespirooxindole alkaloid, horsifiline that exhibits anticancer activity against human brain cancer cell lines. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is the synthesis of novel bis spiro-cyclic 2-oxindole of pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline derivatives and evaluate the anticancer activity of new compounds for synergistic purpose. Different genetic tools were used in an attempt to know the mechanism of action of this compound against breast cancer. METHOD: An efficient one pot synthesis of bis spiro-cyclic 2-oxindole derivatives of pyrimido[4,5- b]quinoline-4,6-dione using 6-aminouracil, bis-isatin and dimedone has been developed. The cytotoxic effect against different human cell lines MCF7, HCT116 and A549 cell lines was evaluated. The derivative 6a, was found the most encouraging compound in this series and it was selected for molecular studies against MCF7. RESULTS: Our data indicated that compound 6a is an attractive target for breast cancer, as it inhibits proliferation, cell cycle progression and induces apoptosis of tumor cells. This inhibition is mediated by fragmentation of genomic DNA, up-regulation of [caspase-3, tumor suppressor gene p53, and pro-apoptotic gene BAX], and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic BCL2 gene. In additions it caused cell cycle arrest in S phase. This work provides an evidence of the potent effect of the new compound 6a and assists in the progress of new healing agents for cancer. CONCLUSION: We have developed an efficient method for the synthesis of novel bioactive bis spirocyclic 2-oxindole derivatives incorporating pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline derivatives. Most of our new derivatives give potent cytotoxic effect more than the standard drug Fluorouracil (5-FU) especially, compound 6a which was the most active and promising one in this series against MCF7, HCT116, and A549 cell lines.

Cytotoxicity, molecular modeling, cell cycle arrest, and apoptotic induction induced by novel tetrahydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinoline chalcones.

Novel tetrahydro-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinolin-3-yl)-3-arylprop-2-en-1-one derivatives were synthesized and their structures were confirmed by different spectral tools. Cytotoxicity test revealed that some compounds exhibited strong to moderate effect, while others showed weak action against different cancer cell lines (MCF7, A549, HCT116, and Hepg2). Breast carcinoma revealed higher sensitivity toward all derivatives especially compounds 5 and 8 which offered the lowest IC50 values (50.05, and 27.15 µg/ml) respectively, relative to the positive control 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (IC50 = 178 µg/ml). In addition, the two compounds exhibited less toxic effect toward normal melanocytes (HFB4). Several theoretical and experimental studies were done to reveal the molecular mechanisms that control breast carcinoma metastasis using the two promising novels 5 and 8. Docking simulation studies against the two proteins EGFR and DHFR demonstrate that compound 8 showed higher binding affinity toward the two proteins more than compound 5, suggesting that trimethoxy groups may be responsible for this higher activity through the formation of five hydrogen bonding with the active domain (4r3r) and other four interactions with the active domain (1dls). Real time PCR assay illustrates that the two compounds up regulated BAX, p53, caspase-3 genes and down regulated BCL2, MMP1, CDK4 ones. In addition, it was noted that compound 8 was more effective in gene regulation and apoptotic induction than compound 5. Also, flow cytometer analysis demonstrates that both compounds 5 and 8 induced cell growth arrest at G1 phase and thus, inhibit G1/S transition and cell cycle progression. In addition, both compounds stimulate apoptotic death of breast cells significantly to reach 8.72%, and 17.28% respectively, compared to their control (0.55%). Apoptotic induction of breast cells was enhanced effectively through activation of caspase-3 by compound 8 using Elisa assay.

Apoptotic induction mediated p53 mechanism and Caspase-3 activity by novel promising cyanoacrylamide derivatives in breast carcinoma.

New cyanoacrylamide derivatives were theoretically examined for their binding abilities to a protein model of apoptosis inhibitor proteins x-IAP and c-IAP1 using molecular modeling. The two compounds 5a and 5b proved promising IAP antagonists, where they have good binding affinity toward the selected active domains. Anticancer activity of all derivatives was performed on different human cancer cell lines (HCT116, Caco2, and MCF7) as well as normal line (HBF4). Data revealed that breast carcinoma was more sensitive to the novel compounds than other lines especially compounds 5a and 5b, but all derivatives lost their cytotoxic effect in case of Caco2 cell line and they showed low cytotoxic effect toward HCT116 cells except compound 3. The flow cytometric analysis revealed that the two compounds 5a and 5b induced apoptosis to 46.5% and 54.8% respectively, relative to control 8.06%. In addition, PCR results indicated that the two compounds 5a and 5b induced the expression of p53 gene and decreased induction of BCL2 (anti-apoptotic gene), while the two compounds have no effect on the protein expression of Caspase-9. By monitoring the presence of Caspase-3 which was a mean to detect apoptotic death in breast carcinoma, the two compounds have stimulated the induction of apoptosis by increasing the production of Caspase-3 protein. Finally, it was concluded that the two compounds 5b and 5a have the most promising anti-cancer activity against human breast carcinoma (MCF7), and it is believed that the anticancer activities of these two compounds were due to being the most effective in the inhibition of a member of IAPs groups, leading to activation of p53 gene and the Caspase-3 dependent apoptosis.

Expression of Reactive Oxygen Species-Related Transcripts in Egyptian Children With Autism.

The molecular basis of the pathophysiological role of oxidative stress in autism is understudied. Herein, we used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array to analyze transcriptional pattern of 84 oxidative stress genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cell pools isolated from 32 autistic patients (16 mild/moderate and 16 severe) and 16 healthy subjects (each sample is a pool from 4 autistic patients or 4 controls). The PCR array data were further validated by quantitative real-time PCR in 80 autistic children (55 mild/moderate and 25 severe) and 60 healthy subjects. Our data revealed downregulation in GCLM, SOD2, NCF2, PRNP, and PTGS2 transcripts (1.5, 3.8, 1.2, 1.7, and 2.2, respectively; P < .05 for all) in autistic group compared with controls. In addition, TXN and FTH1 exhibited 1.4- and 1.7-fold downregulation, respectively, in severe autistic patients when compared with mild/moderate group (P = .005 and .0008, respectively). This study helps in a better understanding of the underlying biology and related genetic factors of autism, and most importantly, it presents suggested candidate biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis purposes as well as targets for therapeutic intervention.