A novel tubulin inhibitor, 6h, suppresses tumor-associated angiogenesis and shows potent antitumor activity against non-small cell lung cancers.

Tumor angiogenesis is closely associated with the metastasis and progression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a highly vascularized solid tumor. However, novel therapeutics are lacking for the treatment of this cancer. Here, we developed a series of 2-aryl-4-(3,4,5-trimethoxy-benzoyl)-5-substituted-1,2,3-triazol analogs (6a-6x) as tubulin colchicine-binding site inhibitors, aiming to find a novel promising drug candidate for NSCLC treatment. We first identified 2-(2-fluorophenyl)-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoyl)-5-(3-hydroxyazetidin-1-yl)-2H-1,2,3-triazole (6h) as a hit compound, which inhibited angiogenesis induced by NSCLC cells both in vivo and in vitro. In addition, our data showed that 6h could tightly bind to the colchicine-binding site of tubulin and inhibit tubulin polymerization. We also found that 6h could effectively induce G2/M cell cycle arrest of A549 and H460 cells, inhibit cell proliferation, and induce apoptosis. Furthermore, we showed 6h had the potential to inhibit the migration and invasion of NSCLC cells, two basic characteristics of tumor metastasis. Finally, we found 6h could effectively inhibit tumor progression in A549 xenograft mouse models with minimal toxicity. Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence for the development of 6h as a promising microtubule colchicine-binding site inhibitor for NSCLC treatment.

1-(4-((5-chloro-4-((2-(isopropylsulfonyl)phenyl)amino)pyrimidin-2-yl)amino)-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)imidazolidin-2-one (ZX-42) inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis via inhibiting ALK and its downstream pathways in Karpas299 cells.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) belongs to the family of receptor tyrosine kinases. Recently, the incidence of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) with ALK rearrangement has raised considerably. The application of ALK-targeted inhibitors such as ceritinib provides an effective therapy for the treatment of ALK-positive cancers. However, with the prolongation of treatment time, the emergence of resistance is inevitable. We found that 1-(4-((5-chloro-4-((2-(isopropylsulfonyl)phenyl)amino)pyrimidin-2-yl)amino)-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)imidazolidin-2-one (ZX-42), a novel ceritinib derivative, could inhibit the proliferation of ALK-positive ALCL cells, induce the apoptosis of Karpas299 cells through the mitochondrial pathway in a caspase-dependent manner. In addition, ZX-42 could suppress ALK and downstream pathways including PI3K/Akt, Erk and JAK3/STAT3 and reduce the nuclear translocation of NFκB by inhibiting TRAF2/IKK/IκB pathway. Taken together, our findings indicate that ZX-42 shows more effective activity than ceritinib against ALK-positive ALCL. We hope this study can provide a direction for the structural modification of ceritinib and lay the foundation for the further development of clinical research in ALK-positive ALCL.

Novel microtubule inhibitor SQ overcomes multidrug resistance in MCF-7/ADR cells by inhibiting BCRP function and mediating apoptosis.

The occurrence of multidrug resistance (MDR) is one of the impediments in the clinical treatment of breast cancer, and MDR breast cancer has abnormally high breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2) expression. However, there are currently no clinical drugs that inhibit this target. Our previous study found that 2-Methoxy-5((3,4,5-trimethosyphenyl)seleninyl) phenol (SQ0814061/SQ), a small molecule drug with low toxicity to normal tissues, could target microtubules, inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer, and reduce its migration and invasion abilities. However, the effect and the underlying mechanism of SQ on MDR breast cancers are still unknown. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of SQ on adriamycin-resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/ADR) cells and explored the underlying mechanism. The MTT assay showed that SQ had potent cytotoxicity to MCF-7/ADR cells. In particular, the results of western blot and flow cytometry proved that SQ could effectively inhibit the expression of BCRP in MCF-7/ADR cells to decrease its drug delivery activity. In addition, SQ could block the cell cycle at G2/M phase in parental and MCF-7/ADR cells, thereby mediating cell apoptosis, which was related with the inhibition of PI3K-Akt-MDM2 pathway. Taken together, our findings indicate that SQ overcomes multidrug resistance in MCF-7/ADR cells by inhibiting BCRP function and mediating apoptosis through PI3K-Akt-MDM2 pathway inhibition.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of colchicine glycoconjugates as tubulin polymerization inhibitors.

A series of new colchicine glycoconjugates as tubulin polymerization inhibitors were designed by targeting strategy based on Warburg effect. All of the colchicine glycoconjugates were synthesized and then evaluated for their antiproliferative activities against three human cancer lines HT-29, MCF-7 and Hep-3B. Among them, 1e exhibited greater than 10 times selectivity between GLUT1 highly expressed cells (HT-29 and MCF-7) and GLUT1 lowly expressed cells (Hep-3B), and also showed lower cytotoxicity against HUVECs compared with colchicine. Moreover, 1e significantly inhibited tubulin polymerization and disrupted microtubule networks. GLUT1 inhibitor-dependent cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that the uptake of 1e was regulated via GLUT1. Molecular docking studies showed that 1e could be a substrate of GLUT1 and bind to the colchicine site of tubulin.

2-Methoxy-5((3,4,5-trimethosyphenyl) seleninyl) phenol causes G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in NSCLC cells through mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and MDM2 inhibition.

Nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common malignancies and needs novel and effective chemotherapy. In this study, our purpose is to explore the anticancer effects of 2-methoxy-5((3,4,5-trimethosyphenyl) seleninyl) phenol (SQ) on human NSCLC (A549 and H460) cells. We found that SQ suppressed the proliferation of NSCLC cells in time- and dose-dependent manners, and blocked the cells at G2/M phase, which was relevant to microtubule depolymerization. Additionally, SQ induced A549 and H460 cell apoptosis by activating the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Further, we demonstrated that SQ enhanced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and pretreatment with N-acetyl- L-cysteine (NAC) attenuated SQ-induced cell apoptosis. Meanwhile, SQ mediated-ROS generation caused DNA damage in A549 and H460 cells. Our data also revealed that SQ-induced apoptosis was correlated with the inhibition of mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) in A549 and H460 cells. In summary, our research indicates that the novel compound SQ has great potential for therapeutic treatment of NSCLC in future.

Harmine-inspired design and synthesis of benzo[d]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole derivatives bearing 1,3,4-oxadiazole moiety as potential tumor suppressors.

Standard chemotherapy and personalized target therapies are commonly used in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, multidrug resistance (MDR) and tumor metastasis lead to the decline of therapeutic efficacy, which are closely related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Twist1, an EMT transcription factor, plays an essential role in promoting EMT, MDR and tumor metastasis. In view of the essential role of Twist1 in the tumorigenesis of NSCLC, developing antitumor small molecules that can suppress the expression of Twist1 is of far-reaching significance for the treatment of NSCLC. A series of novel benzo[d]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole derivatives possessing 1,3,4-oxadiazole moiety were designed based on the structure of the first-in-class Twist1 inhibitor harmine. Among the synthetic twenty-two compounds, the compound containing 2-(piperidine-1-yl) ethyl exhibited remarkable anti-proliferative activity with IC50 value of 2.03 µM and 9.80 µM against A549 and H2228 cell lines superior to harmine (IC50 = 17.12 µM against A549, IC50 = 31.06 µM against H2228). Meanwhile, western blot assay showed that the optimal compound significantly down-regulated Twist1 protein expression in a dose-dependent manner and reduced Twist1 level better than harmine. Collectively, the promising compound was identified a potential antineoplastic lead with the ability of down-regulating Twist1 level.

W436, a novel SMART derivative, exhibits anti-hepatocarcinoma activity by inducing apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest in vitro and in vivo and induces protective autophagy.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered one of the most common primary liver cancers and the second leading cause of cancer-associated mortality around the world annually. Therefore, it is urgent to develop novel drugs for HCC therapy. We synthesized a novel 4-substituted-methoxybenzoyl-aryl-thiazole (SMART) analog, (5-(4-aminopiperidin-1-yl)-2-phenyl-2H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl) (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl) methanone (W436), with higher solubility, stability, and antitumor activity than SMART against HCC cells in vivo. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanisms by which W436 inhibited cell growth in HCC cells. We observed that W436 inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 and Hep3B cells in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, the anticancer activity of W436 against HCC cells was even higher than that of SMART in vivo. In addition, the antiproliferative effects of W436 on HCC cells were associated with G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis via the activation of reactive oxygen species-mediated mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. W436 also induced protective autophagy by inhibiting the protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway. At the same time, W436 treatment inhibited the cell adhesion and invasion as well as the process of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition Taken together, our results showed that W436 had the promising potential for the therapeutic treatment of HCC with improved solubility, stability, and bioavailability.

The novel ALK inhibitor ZX-29 induces apoptosis through inhibiting ALK and inducing ROS-mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress in Karpas299 cells.

It is a well-known fact that 60%-85% of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is mainly driven by the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) fusion protein. Although ALK-positive ALCL patients respond significantly to ALK inhibitors, the development of resistance is inevitable, which requires the development of new therapeutic strategies for ALK-positive ALCL. Here, we investigated the anticancer activities of N-(2((5-chloro-2-((2-methoxy-6-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)pyridin-3yl)amino)pyrimidin-4-yl)amino)phenyl)methanesulfonamide (ZX-29), a newly synthesized ALK inhibitor, against nucleophosmin-ALK-positive cell line Karpas299. We demonstrated that ZX-29 decreased Karpas299 cells growth and had better cytotoxicity than ceritinib, which was mediated through downregulating the expression of ALK and related proteins, inducing cell cycle arrest, and promoting cell apoptosis. Moreover, ZX-29-induced cell apoptosis by inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS). In addition, ZX-29 increased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and cells pretreatment with N-acetyl- l-cysteine could attenuate ZX-29-induced cell apoptosis and ERS. Taken together, ZX-29 inhibited Karpas299 cell proliferation and induced apoptosis through inhibiting ALK and its downstream protein expression and inducing ROS-mediated ERS. Therefore, our results provide evidence for a novel antitumor candidate for the further investigation.

Design, synthesis and anticancer activity of 5-aryl-4-(4-arylpiperazine-1-carbonyl)-1,2,3-thiadiazoles as microtubule-destabilizing agents.

Hereby, we report our efforts on discovery and optimization of a new series of 5-aryl-4-(4-arylpiperazine-1-carbonyl)-1,2,3-thiadiazoles as new microtubule-destabilizing agents along our previous study. Guided by docking model analysis, we introduced the 1,2,3-thiadiazole moiety containing the hydrogen-bond acceptors as B-ring of XRP44X analogues. Extensive structure modifications were performed to investigate the detailed structure and activity relationships (SARs). Some compounds exhibited potent antiproliferative activities against three human cancer cell lines (SGC-7901, A549 and HeLa). The compound 5m exhibited the highest potency against the three cancer cell lines. The tubulin polymerization experiments indicated that compound 5m effectively inhibited the tubulin polymerization, and immunostaining assay revealed that it significantly disrupted microtubule dynamics. Moreover, cell cycle studies revealed that compound 5m dramatically arrested cell cycle progression at G2/M phase.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 1-Aryl-5-(4-arylpiperazine-1-carbonyl)-1H-tetrazols as novel microtubule destabilizers.

A series of 1-aryl-5-(4-arylpiperazine-1-carbonyl)-1H-tetrazols as microtubule destabilizers were designed, synthesised and evaluated for anticancer activity. Based on bioisosterism, we introduced the tetrazole moiety containing the hydrogen-bond acceptors as B-ring of XRP44X analogues. The key intermediates ethyl 1-aryl-1H-tetrazole-5-carboxylates 10 can be simply and efficiently prepared via a microwave-assisted continuous operation process. Among the compounds synthesised, compound 6-31 showed noteworthy potency against SGC-7901, A549 and HeLa cell lines. In mechanism studies, compound 6-31 inhibited tubulin polymerisation and disorganised microtubule in SGC-7901 cells by binding to tubulin. Moreover, compound 6-31 arrested SGC-7901cells in G2/M phase. This study provided a new perspective for development of antitumor agents that target tubulin.

3-(3-Methoxyphenyl)-6-(3-amino-4-methoxyphenyl)-7H-[1,2,4] triazolo [3,4-b][1,3,4] thiadiazine, a novel tubulin inhibitor, evokes G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in SGC-7901 and HeLa cells.

Gastric cancer and cervical cancer are two major malignant tumors that threaten human health. The novel chemotherapeutic drugs are needed urgently to treat gastric cancer and cervical cancer with high anticancer activity and metabolic stability. Previously we have reported the synthesis, characterization and identification of a novel combretastatin A-4 analog, 3-(3-methoxyphenyl)-6-(3-amino-4- methoxyphenyl) -7H-[1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-b][1,3,4] thiadiazine (XSD-7). In this study, we sought to investigate its anticancer mechanisms in a human gastric cancer cell line (SGC-7901 cells) and human cervical carcinoma cell line (HeLa cells). The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay showed that XSD-7 induced cytotoxicity in SGC-7901 and HeLa cells with inhibitory concentration 50 values of 0.11 ± 0.03 and 0.12 ± 0.05 µM, respectively. Immunofluorescence studies proved that XSD-7 inhibited microtubule polymerization during cell division in SGC-7901 and HeLa cells. Then, these cells were arrested at G2/M cell cycle and subsequently progressed into apoptosis. In further study, mitochondrial membrane potential analysis and Western blot analysis demonstrated that XSD-7 treatment-induced SGC-7901 cell apoptosis via both the mitochondria-mediated pathway and the death receptor-mediated pathway. In contrast, XSD-7 induced apoptosis in HeLa cells mainly via the mitochondria-mediated pathway. Hence, our data indicate that XSD-7 exerted antiproliferative activity by disrupting microtubule dynamics, leading to cell cycle arrest, and eventually inducing cell apoptosis. XSD-7 with novel structure has the potential to be developed for therapeutic treatment of gastric cancer and cervical cancer.

PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-related long non-coding RNAs: roles and mechanisms in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common tumors worldwide with high prevalence and lethality. The oncogenic phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/AKT/mTOR) pathway is a classic dysregulated pathway involved in the pathogenesis of HCC. However, the underlying mechanism for how PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway aberrantly activates HCC has not been entirely elucidated. The recognition of the functional roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling axis sheds light on a new dimension to our understanding of hepatocarcinogenesis. In this review, we comprehensively summarize 67 dysregulated PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway-related lncRNAs in HCC. Many studies have indicated that the 67 dysregulated lncRNAs show oncogenic or anti-oncogenic effects in HCC by regulation on epigenetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels and they play pivotal roles in the initiation of HCC in diverse biological processes like proliferation, metastasis, drug resistance, radio-resistance, energy metabolism, autophagy and so on. Besides, many of these lncRNAs are associated with clinicopathological features and clinical prognosis in HCC, which may provide a potential future application in the diagnosis and therapy of HCC.

Design, synthesis and evaluation of antiproliferative and antitubulin activities of 5-methyl-4-aryl-3-(4-arylpiperazine-1-carbonyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazoles.

A series of novel 5-methyl-4-aryl-3-(4-arylpiperazine-1-carbonyl)-4H-1,2,4-triazoles possessing 1,2,4-triazole as the hydrogen-bond acceptor were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their antiproliferative and tubulin polymerization inhibitory activities. Some of them exhibited moderate activities in vitro against the three cancer cell lines including SGC-7901, A549 and HeLa. Compound 6e exhibited the highest potency against the three cancer cell lines. Moreover, the tubulin polymerization experiments indicated that compound 6e could inhibit the tubulin polymerization. Immunofluorescence study and cell cycle analysis clearly revealed compound 6e could disrupt intracellular microtubule organization, arrest cell cycle at the G2/M phase. In addition, molecular docking analysis demonstrated the interaction of compound 6e at the colchicine-binding site of tubulin. These preliminary results suggested that compound 6e is a new colchicine binding site inhibitor and worthy of further investigation.

A novel ALK inhibitor ZYY inhibits Karpas299 cell growth in vitro and in a mouse xenograft model and induces protective autophagy.

In recent years, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) has rising morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, no ALK inhibitor has been approved by the FDA for single treatment of ALK rearrangement-positive ALCL. In this study, we investigated the antitumor effect of ZYY, a novel ALK inhibitor, showing a strong growth inhibitory effect on Karpas299 cells in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, ZYY significantly reduced the mRNA and protein expression of ALK and its downstream signaling proteins in Karpas299 cells. Furthermore, ZYY induced G1 phase arrest and promoted apoptosis in Karpas299 cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that ZYY-induced apoptosis was mainly related to the mitochondria-dependent endogenous pathway. In vitro studies further showed that ZYY induced autophagy in Karpas299 cells, along with increased levels of the autophagy-related proteins, including LC3II and Beclin-1. Moreover, knockdown Beclin-1 and application of autophagy inhibitor chloroquine potentiated ZYY-induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis in vitro, indicating that cytoprotective autophagy might be triggered by ZYY in Karpas299 cells. Taken together, the novel ALK inhibitor ZYY has tremendous potential for treating human ALCL, and a combination of autophagy and ALK inhibition could effectively elicit potent antitumor effects.

An exploration of solvent-front region high affinity moiety leading to novel potent ALK & ROS1 dual inhibitors with mutant-combating effects.

The pyrimidine-2,4-diamine analogs exerted excellent activities in down-regulation of ALK phosphorylation. However, the prevalent drug-resistant site-mutation has gradually prevented the agents from being widely used. Herein, we conducted an exploration of high affinity moiety that bound to the solvent-front region (G1202R located) within the ATP binding site of ALK leading to the synthesis of thirty-five pyrimidine-2,4-diamine derivatives. Among these compounds, urea group was extensively derivatized which finally resulted in the identification of the 'semi-free urea' compound 39. All compounds were assayed cytotoxicity and enzymatic activities and 39 turned out to be the most potent one with IC50 values of 2.1, 0.91, 4.3 and 0.73 nM towards ALKwt, ALKL1196M, ALKG1202R and ROS1, respectively. The performances of 39 on ALK- & ROS1-dependent cell lines were in good accordance with enzymatic activities with IC50 values below 0.06 µM. Besides, 39 induced cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in H2228 cells. Finally, the binding models of 39 with ALKwt, ROS1, ALKL1196M and ALKG1202R were ideally established which further clearly elucidated their mode of action within the active site.

Discovery and optimization of tetrahydropyrido[4,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives as novel ATX and EGFR dual inhibitors.

In order to discovery autotaxin (ATX) and EGFR dual inhibitors with potential therapeutic effect on IPF-LC, a series of novel tetrahydropyrido[4,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives possessing semicarbazones moiety were designed and synthesized. The preliminary investigation at the cellular level indicated six compounds (7h, 8a, 8c, 8d, 9a and 9d) displayed preferable anti-tumor activities against A549, H1975, MKN-45 and SGC cancer cells. Further enzymatic assay against EGFR kinase identified 8a and 9a as promising hits with IC50 values of 18.0 nM and 24.2 nM. Meanwhile, anti-inflammatory assessment against cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) cell and RAW264.7 macrophages led to the discovery of candidate 9a, which exhibited considerable potency both on inhibition rate of 77% towards CFs and on reducing NO production to 1.05 µM at 10 µg/mL. Simultaneously, 9a indicated preferable potency towards ATX with IC50 value of 29.1 nM. Significantly, a RT-PCR study revealed the function of 9a to down-regulate the mRNA expression of TGF-ß and TNF-α in a dose-dependent manner. The molecular docking analysis together with the pharmacological studies validated 9a as a potential ATX and EGFR dual inhibitor for IPF-LC treatments.

A role for the locus coeruleus in the analgesic efficacy of N-acetylaspartylglutamate peptidase (GCPII) inhibitors ZJ43 and 2-PMPA.

N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) is the third most prevalent and widely distributed neurotransmitter in the mammalian nervous system. NAAG activates a group II metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR3) and is inactivated by an extracellular enzyme, glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) in vivo. Inhibitors of this enzyme are analgesic in animal models of inflammatory, neuropathic and bone cancer pain. NAAG and GCPII are present in the locus coeruleus, a center for the descending noradrenergic inhibitory pain system. In the formalin footpad model, systemic treatment with GCPII inhibitors reduces both phases of the inflammatory pain response and increases release of spinal noradrenaline. This analgesic efficacy is blocked by systemic injection of a group II mGluR antagonist, by intrathecal (spinal) injection of an alpha 2 adrenergic receptor antagonist and by microinjection of an α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptor antagonist directly into the contralateral locus coeruleus. Footpad inflammation increases release of glutamate in the contralateral locus coeruleus and systemic treatment with a GCPII inhibitor blocks this increase. Direct injection of GCPII inhibitors into the contralateral or ipsilateral locus coeruleus reduces both phases of the inflammatory pain response in a dose-dependent manner and the contralateral effect also is blocked by intrathecal injection of an alpha 2 adrenergic receptor antagonist. These data support the hypothesis that the analgesic efficacy of systemically administered GCPII inhibitors is mediated, at least in part, by the contralateral locus coeruleus via group II mGluR, AMPA and alpha 2 adrenergic receptors.

Synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular modeling of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine derivatives as potent antitubulin agents.

Two series of novel 5,7-diarylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-8-carbonitrile derivatives (3a-3q and 7a-7n) were designed by modification of CA-4 pharmacophore to develop colchicine targeted antitubulin agents. All compounds were efficiently synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxicity against five selected cancer cell lines (HT-29, H460, A549, MKN-45 and SMMC-7721) which got an insight in structure and activity relationships (SARs). Several molecules (7e, 7f, 7h-7j and 7m) were disclosed to exhibit promising antiproliferative activity with IC50 values in double-digit nanomolar degree. Optimization toward these compounds led to the discovery of a promising lead 7e, which showed noteworthy potency with IC50 value ranging from 0.01 to 3.2µM superior to CA-4 and Crolibulin. Importantly, immunofluorescence staining and colchcine competitive binding assay revealed that microtubule dynamics was disrupted by 7e by binding at the colchicine site of tubulin. Moreover, molecular docking studies suggested the binding of this mimic at colchcine-binding site is similar to Crolibulin, as was in conformity with the observed SARs for these compounds.

Microwave-assisted synthesis and biological evaluation of 3,4-diaryl maleic anhydride/N-substituted maleimide derivatives as combretastatin A-4 analogues.

A series of new CA-4 analogues bearing maleic anhydride/N-substituted maleimide moiety were synthesized via a microwave-assisted process. They were evaluated for the anti-proliferative activities against three tumor cell lines (SGC-7901, HT-1080 and KB). Most compounds showed moderate potencies in micromolar range, with the most promising analogue 6f showing active at submicromolar concentration against HT-1080 cancer cells which was selected to investigate the antitumor mechanisms. In addition, molecular docking studies within the colchicine binding site of tubulin were also in good agreement with the tubulin polymerization inhibitory data and provided a basis for further structure-guided design of novel CA-4 analogues.

COH-203, a novel microtubule inhibitor, exhibits potent anti-tumor activity via p53-dependent senescence in hepatocellular carcinoma.

5-(3-Hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)-4-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)-3H-1,2-dithiol-3-one (COH-203) is a novel synthesized analogue of combretastatin A-4 that can be classified as a microtubule inhibitor. In this study, we evaluated the anti-hepatoma effect of COH-203 in vitro and in vivo and explored the underlying molecular mechanisms. COH-203 was shown to be more effective in inhibiting the proliferation of liver cancer cells compared with normal liver cells. COH-203 also displayed potent anti-tumor activity in a hepatocellular carcinoma xenograft model without significant toxicity. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that treatment with COH-203 induced mitotic arrest by inhibiting tubulin polymerization in BEL-7402 liver cancer cells. Long-term COH-203 treatment in BEL-7402 cells led to mitotic slippage followed by senescence via the p14(Arf)-p53-p21 and p16(INK4α)-Rb pathways. Furthermore, suppression of p53 via pifithrin-α (p53 inhibitor) and p53-siRNA attenuated COH-203-induced senescence in BEL-7402 cells, suggesting that COH-203 induced senescence p53-dependently. In conclusion, we report for the first time that COH-203, one compound in the combretastatin family, promotes anti-proliferative activity through the induction of p-53 dependent senescence. Our findings will provide a molecular rationale for the development of COH-203 as a promising anti-tumor agent.