Identification of novel ureido benzothiophenes as dual VEGFR-2/EGFR anticancer agents.

Presently, dual-targeting by a single small molecule stands out as a fruitful cancer-fighting strategy. Joining the global effort to fight cancer, a leading cause of death worldwide, we report in this study a novel set for benzothiophene-based aryl urea derivatives as potential anti-proliferative candidates endowed with dual VEGFR-2/EGFR inhibitory activities. The prepared ureido benzothiophenes 6a-r have been evaluated for their anticancer action on a panel of tumor cell lines, namely PanC-1, MCF-7, and HepG2 cells. Most newly synthesized benzo[b]thiophene ureas disclosed effective cytotoxic activities against the examined cancer cell lines. In particular, compound 6q, with an appended 4-trifluoromethoxy group on the terminal phenyl ring, exhibited the most significant cytotoxic activity in MCF-7 with IC50 3.86 ± 0.72 ug/mL; IC50 of 3.65 ± 0.18 ug/ml in PanC-1 cell line and an IC50 of 4.78 ± 0.06 ug/ml in HepG2. After that, derivatives that exhibited the most potent cytotoxic activities (6g, 6j, 6q, and 6r) were further evaluated as VEGFR-2 and EGFR inhibitors. Fortunately, they displayed low nanomolar IC50 values against both enzymes, where compound 6q emerged to possess superior inhibitory effects towards both EGFR and VEGFR-2 with IC50 46.6 nM and 11.3 nM simultaneously compared to the reference medications Erlotinib and Sorafenib, respectively. The docked structure of 6q within the catalytic region of VEGFR-2 and EGFR kinases was acquired and studied so that we could investigate potential binding mechanisms for the target ureido benzothiophenes. Hence, the benzothiophene-based aryl urea scaffold has great potential for advancing the development of highly effective dual inhibitors targeting both EGFR and VEGFR-2, which can serve as effective candidates for anticancer therapy.

Biphenylurea/thiourea derivatives tagged with heteroarylsulfonamide motifs as novel VEGFR2 inhibitors; Design, synthesis and anti-angiogenic activity.

Anti-angiogenesis targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) has emerged as a vital tool for cancer treatment. In this study, a new series of biphenylurea/thiourea derivatives tagged with heteroarylsulfonamide motifs (3a-l) was designed and synthesized as novel VEGFR2 inhibitors. The biochemical profiles of the target compounds were investigated using viability of human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs), migration assay and Western blot using sorafenib as reference antiangiogenic drug. Most of the tested compounds exhibited significant antiproliferative activity against HUVECs, where compounds 3a, 3e, 3g, 3h and 3l exhibited better antiproliferative activity than sorafenib. All compounds significantly inhibited VEGF stimulated migration of HUVECs at 10 µM dose with (3a, 3e, 3g, 3h and 3l) showing better or comparable inhibitory activities to that of sorafenib. Moreover, Western blotting analysis confirmed antiangiogenic effect of those compounds with significant reduction in the level of VEGFR-2 compared to sorafenib. Finally, cytotoxicity screening of these derivatives against four cancer cells and RPE1 as normal cell line was performed. The mechanistic effectiveness in cell cycle progression and apoptotic induction were evaluated for the promising compound 3e due to its remarkable cytotoxic activity against tested cancer cell lines and significant VEGFR-2 inhibition. Flow cytometric analysis showed that compound 3e induced cell growth arrest at G2/M phase and stimulated the apoptotic death of HepG2 cells.

Development of 3-methyl/3-(morpholinomethyl)benzofuran derivatives as novel antitumor agents towards non-small cell lung cancer cells.

As one of the most lethal malignancies, lung cancer is considered to account for approximately one-fifth of all malignant tumours-related deaths worldwide. This study reports the synthesis and in vitro biological assessment of two sets of 3-methylbenzofurans (4a-d, 6a-c, 8a-c and 11) and 3-(morpholinomethyl)benzofurans (15a-c, 16a-b, 17a-b and 18) as potential anticancer agents towards non-small cell lung carcinoma A549 and NCI-H23 cell lines, with VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity. The target benzofuran-based derivatives efficiently inhibited the growth of both A549 and NCI-H23 cell lines with IC50 spanning in ranges 1.48-47.02 and 0.49-68.9 µM, respectively. The three most active benzofurans (4b, 15a and 16a) were further investigated for their effects on the cell cycle progression and apoptosis in A549 (for 4b) and NCI-H23 (for 15a and 16a) cell lines. Furthermore, benzofurans 4b, 15a and 16a displayed good VEGFR-2 inhibitory activity with IC50 equal 77.97, 132.5 and 45.4 nM, respectively.

Recent Advancements in the Development of Anti-Breast Cancer Synthetic Small Molecules.

Among all cancer types, breast cancer (BC) still stands as one of the most serious diseases responsible for a large number of cancer-associated deaths among women worldwide, and diagnosed cases are increasing year by year worldwide. For a very long time, hormonal therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy were used for breast cancer treatment. However, these treatment approaches are becoming progressively futile because of multidrug resistance and serious side effects. Consequently, there is a pressing demand to develop more efficient and safer agents that can fight breast cancer belligerence and inhibit cancer cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Currently, there is an avalanche of newly designed and synthesized molecular entities targeting multiple types of breast cancer. This review highlights several important synthesized compounds with promising anti-BC activity that are categorized according to their chemical structures.

Novel [(N-alkyl-3-indolylmethylene)hydrazono]oxindoles arrest cell cycle and induce cell apoptosis by inhibiting CDK2 and Bcl-2: synthesis, biological evaluation and in silico studies.

As a continuation for our previous work, a novel set of N-alkylindole-isatin conjugates (7, 8a-c, 9 and 10a-e) is here designed and synthesised with the prime aim to develop more efficient isatin-based antitumor candidates. Utilising the SAR outputs from the previous study, our design here is based on appending four alkyl groups with different length (ethyl and n-propyl), bulkiness (iso-propyl) and unsaturation (allyl) on N-1 of indole motif, with subsequent conjugation with different N-unsubstituted isatin moieties to furnish the target conjugates. As planned, the adopted strategy achieved a substantial improvement in the growth inhibitory profile for the target conjugates in comparison to the reported lead VI. The best results were obtained with N-propylindole -5-methylisatin hybrid 8a which displayed broad spectrum anti-proliferative action with efficient sub-panel GI50 (MG-MID) range from 1.33 to 4.23 µM, and promising full-panel GI50 (MG-MID) equals 3.10 µM, at the NCI five-dose assay. Also, hybrid 8a was able to provoke cell cycle disturbance and apoptosis in breast T-47D cells as evidenced by the DNA flow cytometry and Annexin V-FITC/PI assays. Furthermore, hybrid 8a exhibited good inhibitory action against cell cycle regulator CDK2 protein kinase and the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein (IC50= 0.85 ± 0.03 and 0.46 ± 0.02 µM, respectively). Interestingly, molecular docking for hybrid 8a in CDK2 and Bcl-2 active sites unveiled that N-propyl group is involved in significant hydrophobic interactions. Taken together, the results suggested conjugate 8a as a promising lead for further development and optimisation as an efficient antitumor drug.

Marine-Inspired Bis-indoles Possessing Antiproliferative Activity against Breast Cancer; Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation.

Diverse indoles and bis-indoles extracted from marine sources have been identified as promising anticancer leads. Herein, we designed and synthesized novel bis-indole series 7a-f and 9a-h as Topsentin and Nortopsentin analogs. Our design is based on replacing the heterocyclic spacer in the natural leads by a more flexible hydrazide linker while sparing the two peripheral indole rings. All the synthesized bis-indoles were examined for their antiproliferative action against human breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) cell lines. The most potent congeners 7e and 9a against MCF-7 cells (IC50 = 0.44 ± 0.01 and 1.28 ± 0.04 µM, respectively) induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells (23.7-, and 16.8-fold increase in the total apoptosis percentage) as evident by the externalization of plasma membrane phosphatidylserine detected by Annexin V-FITC/PI assay. This evidence was supported by the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio augmentation (18.65- and 11.1-fold compared to control) with a concomitant increase in the level of caspase-3 (11.7- and 9.5-fold) and p53 (15.4- and 11.75-fold). Both compounds arrested the cell cycle mainly in the G2/M phase. Furthermore, 7e and 9a displayed good selectivity toward tumor cells (S.I. = 38.7 and 18.3), upon testing of their cytotoxicity toward non-tumorigenic breast MCF-10A cells. Finally, compounds 7a, 7b, 7d, 7e, and 9a were examined for their plausible CDK2 inhibitory action. The obtained results (% inhibition range: 16%-58%) unveiled incompetence of the target bis-indoles to inhibit CDK2 significantly. Collectively, these results suggested that herein reported bis-indoles are good lead compounds for further optimization and development as potential efficient anti-breast cancer drugs.

Synthesis, Biological Evaluation and In Silico Studies of Certain Oxindole-Indole Conjugates as Anticancer CDK Inhibitors.

On account of their overexpression in a wide range of human malignancies, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are among the most validated cancer targets, and their inhibition has been featured as a valuable strategy for anticancer drug discovery. In this study, a hybrid pharmacophore approach was adopted to develop two series of oxindole-indole conjugates (6a-i and 9a-f) and carbocycle-indole conjugates (11a,b) as efficient antitumor agents with potential inhibitory action toward CDK4. All oxindole-indole conjugates, except 6i, 9b, and 9c efficiently affected the growth of the human breast cancer MCF-7 (IC50: 0.39 ± 0.05-21.40 ± 1.58 µM) and/or MDA-MB-231 (IC50: 1.03 ± 0.04-22.54 ± 1.67 µM) cell lines, whereas bioisosteric replacement of the oxindole nucleus with indane or tetralin rings (compounds 11a,b) diminished the anti-proliferative activity. In addition, hybrids 6e and 6f displayed effective cell cycle disturbance and proapoptotic capabilities in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, the efficient anti-proliferative agents towards MCF-7 and/or MDA-MB-231 cell lines (6a-h, 9a, and 9e) were investigated for their potential inhibitory action toward CDK4. Hybrids 6a and 6e displayed good CDK4 inhibitory activity with IC50s equal 1.82 and 1.26 µM, respectively. The molecular docking study revealed that oxindole moiety is implicated in two H-bonding interactions via both (NH) and (C=O) groups with the key amino acids Glu94 and Val96, respectively, whereas the indole framework is stably accommodated in a hydrophobic sub-pocket establishing hydrophobic interactions with the amino acid residues of Ile12, Val20, and Gln98 lining this sub-pocket. Collectively, these results highlighted hybrids 6a and 6e as good leads for further optimization as promising antitumor drugs toward breast malignancy and CDK inhibitors.

Novel [(3-indolylmethylene)hydrazono]indolin-2-ones as apoptotic anti-proliferative agents: design, synthesis and in vitro biological evaluation.

On account of their significance as apoptosis inducing agents, merging indole and 3-hydrazinoindolin-2-one scaffolds is a logic tactic for designing pro-apoptotic agents. Consequently, 27 hybrids (6a-r, 9a-f and 11a-c) were synthesised and evaluated for their cytotoxicity against MCF-7, HepG-2 and HCT-116 cancer cell lines. SAR studies unravelled that N-propylindole derivatives were the most active compounds such as 6n (MCF-7; IC50=1.04 µM), which displayed a significant decrease of cell population in the G2/M phase and significant increase in the early and late apoptosis by 19-folds in Annexin-V-FTIC assay. Also, 6n increased the expression of caspase-3, caspase-9, cytochrome C and Bax and decreased the expression of Bcl-2. Moreover, compounds 6i, 6j, 6n and 6q generated ROS by significant increase in the level of SOD and depletion of the levels of CAT and GSH-Px in MCF-7.

Synthesis and in vitro anti-proliferative activity of some novel isatins conjugated with quinazoline/phthalazine hydrazines against triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells as apoptosis-inducing agents.

Treatment of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is challenging due to the absence of well- defined molecular targets and the heterogeneity of such disease. In our endeavor to develop potent isatin-based anti-proliferative agents, we utilized the hybrid-pharmacophore approach to synthesize three series of novel isatin-based hybrids 5a-h, 10a-h and 13a-c, with the prime goal of developing potent anti-proliferative agents toward TNBC MDA-MB-231 cell line. In particular, compounds 5e and 10g were the most active hybrids against MDA-MB-231 cells (IC50 = 12.35 ± 0.12 and 12.00 ± 0.13 µM), with 2.37- and 2.44-fold increased activity than 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (IC50 = 29.38 ± 1.24 µM). Compounds 5e and 10g induced the intrinsic apoptotic mitochondrial pathway in MDA-MB-231; evidenced by the reduced expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, the enhanced expression of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax and the up-regulated active caspase-9 and caspase-3 levels. Furthermore, 10g showed significant increase in the percent of annexin V-FITC positive apoptotic cells from 3.88 to 31.21% (8.4 folds compared to control).

Cancer stem cells CD133 inhibition and cytotoxicity of certain 3-phenylthiazolo[3,2-a]benzimidazoles: design, direct synthesis, crystal study and in vitro biological evaluation.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been objects of intensive study since their identification in 1994. Adopting a structural rigidification approach, a novel series of 3-phenylthiazolo[3,2-a]benzimidazoles 4a-d was designed and synthesised, in an attempt to develop potent anticancer agent that can target the bulk of tumour cells and CSCs. The anti-proliferative activity of the synthesised compounds was evaluated against two cell lines, namely; colon cancer HT-29 and triple negative breast cancer MDA-MB-468 cell lines. Also, their inhibitory activity against the cell surface expression of CD133 was examined. In particular, compound 4b emerged as a promising hit molecule as it manifested good antineoplastic potency against both tested cell lines (IC50 = 9 and 12 µM, respectively), beside its ability to inhibit the cell surface expression of CD133 by 50% suggesting a promising potential of effectively controlling the tumour by eradicating the tumour bulk and inhibiting the proliferation of the CSCs. Moreover, compounds 4a and 4c showed moderate activity against HT-29 (IC50 = 21 and 29 µM, respectively) and MDA-MB-468 (IC50 = 23 and 24 µM, respectively) cell lines, while they inhibited the CD133 expression by 14% and 48%, respectively. Finally, a single crystal X-ray diffraction was recorded for compound 4d.

Synthesis, Crystal Study, and Anti-Proliferative Activity of Some 2-Benzimidazolylthioacetophenones towards Triple-Negative Breast Cancer MDA-MB-468 Cells as Apoptosis-Inducing Agents.

On account of its poor prognosis and deficiency of therapeutic stratifications, triple negative breast cancer continues to form the causative platform of an incommensurate number of breast cancer deaths. Aiming at the development of potent anticancer agents as a continuum of our previous efforts, a novel series of 2-((benzimidazol-2-yl)thio)-1-arylethan-1-ones 5a-w was synthesized and evaluated for its anti-proliferative activity towards triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) MDA-MB-468 cells. Compound 5k was the most active analog against MDA-MB-468 (IC50 = 19.90 ± 1.37 µM), with 2.1-fold increased activity compared to 5-fluorouracil (IC50 = 41.26 ± 3.77 µM). Compound 5k was able to induce apoptosis in MDA-MB-468, as evidenced by the marked boosting in the percentage of florecsein isothiocyanate annexin V (Annexin V-FITC)-positive apoptotic cells (upper right (UR) + lower right (LR)) by 2.8-fold in comparison to control accompanied by significant increase in the proportion of cells at pre-G1 (the first gap phase) by 8.13-fold in the cell-cycle analysis. Moreover, a quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) model was established to investigate the structural requirements orchestrating the anti-proliferative activity. Finally, we established a theoretical kinetic study.

An updated review of fatty acid residue-tethered heterocyclic compounds: synthetic strategies and biological significance.

Heterocyclic compounds have been featured as the key building blocks for the development of biologically active molecules. In addition to being derived from renewable raw materials, fatty acids possess a variety of biological properties. The two bioactive ingredients are being combined by many researchers to produce hybrid molecules that have a number of desirable properties. Biological activities and significance of heterocyclic derivatives of fatty acids have been demonstrated in a new class of heterocyclic compounds called heterocyclic fatty acid hybrid derivatives. The significance of heterocyclic-fatty acid hybrid derivatives has been emphasized in numerous research articles over the past few years. In this review, we emphasize the development of synthetic methods and their biological evaluation for heterocyclic fatty acid derivatives. These reports, combined with the upcoming compilation, are expected to serve as comprehensive foundations and references for synthetic, preparative, and applicable methods in medicinal chemistry.

Design and synthesis of 6-arylpyridine-tethered sulfonamides as novel selective inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase IX with promising antitumor features toward the human colorectal cancer.

Hypoxia, a characteristic feature of solid tumors, develops as a result of excessive cell proliferation and rapid tumor growth exceeding the oxygen supply, and can result in angiogenesis activation, increased invasiveness, aggressiveness, and metastasis, leading to improved tumor survival and suppression of anticancer drug therapeutic impact. SLC-0111, a ureido benzenesulfonamide, is a selective human carbonic anhydrase (hCA) IX inhibitor in clinical trials for the treatment of hypoxic malignancies. Herein, we describe the design and synthesis of novel 6-arylpyridines 8a-l and 9a-d as structural analogues of SLC-0111, in the aim of exploring new selective inhibitors for the cancer-associated hCA IX isoform. The para-fluorophenyl tail in SLC-0111 was replaced by the privileged 6-arylpyridine motif. Moreover, both ortho- and meta-sulfonamide regioisomers, as well as an ethylene extended analogous were developed. All 6-arylpyridine-based SLC-0111 analogues were screened in vitro for their inhibitory potential against a panel of hCAs (hCA I, II, IV and IX isoforms) using stopped-flow CO2 hydrase assay. In addition, the anticancer activity was firstly explored against a panel of 57 cancer cell lines at the USA NCI-Developmental Therapeutic Program. Compound 8g emerged as the best anti-proliferative candidate with mean GI% value equals 44. Accordingly, a cell viability assay (MTS) for 8g was applied on colorectal HCT-116 and HT-29 cancer cell lines as well as on the healthy HUVEC cells. Thereafter, Annexin V-FITC apoptosis detection, cell cycle, TUNEL, and qRT-PCR, colony formation, and wound healing assays were applied to gain mechanistic insights and to understand the behavior of colorectal cancer cells upon the treatment of compound 8g. Also, a molecular docking analysis was conducted to provide in silico insights into the reported hCA IX inhibitory activity and selectivity.

Type IIA - Type IIB protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors hybridization as an efficient approach for potent multikinase inhibitor development: Design, synthesis, anti-proliferative activity, multikinase inhibitory activity and molecular modeling of novel indolinone-based ureides and amides.

Pursuing on our efforts regarding development of novel multikinase inhibitors, herein we report the design and synthesis of novel 2-indolinone-based ureides 6a-u and amides 10a-j. In this work we adopt a hybridization strategy between type IIA PTK inhibitor (sorafenib) and type IIB PTK inhibitors (sunitinib and nintedanib). This was implemented via linking the indolinone core, in both sunitinib and nintedanib, which is well-fitted in the hinge region in the kinase domain front cleft and the biaryl urea extension, in sorafenib, which is accommodated in the gate area and the hydrophobic back pocket. Molecular docking of the designed hybrid compounds in VEGFR-2 and FGFR-1 active sites revealed, as planned, their ability to establish the binding interactions achieved by both original type IIA and type IIB inhibitors. The designed compounds were evaluated for their multikinase inhibitory activity towards VEGFR-2, PDGFR-b and FGFR-1 and anti-proliferative activity towards HepG2, MCF-7, A549 and A498 cancer cell lines. The ureido analogue 6u emerged as the most potent multikinase inhibitor in the ureido series with VEGFR-2, FGFR-1 and PDGFR-b IC50 of 0.18, 0.23 and 0.10 µM, respectively. Whereas, the amido congener 10j emerged as the most potent multikinase inhibitor in the amide series with VEGFR-2, FGFR-1 and PDGFR-b IC50 of 0.28, 0.46 and 0.09 µM, respectively. While, indolinone 6u was the most potent derivative towards HepG2 cells (IC50 = 2.67 ±â€¯0.14 µM), 6r stood out as the most potent indolinone against A498 cells (IC50 = 0.78 ±â€¯0.02 µM). Additionally, the target indolinones displayed non-significant cytotoxic impact towards human normal melanocyte (HFB4). ADME prediction study of the designed compounds showed that they are not only with promising multikinase inhibitory activity but also with favorable pharmacokinetic and drug-likeness properties. Compounds 6r and 10j are revealed to be the best compounds in terms of multikinase activity and pharmacokinetics.

Eco-friendly synthesis of novel cyanopyridine derivatives and their anticancer and PIM-1 kinase inhibitory activities.

Targeting Pim-1 kinase recently proved to be profitable for conquering cancer proliferation. In the current study, we report the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of two novel series of 2-amino cyanopyridine series (5a-g) and 2-oxocyanopyridine series (6a-g) targeting Pim-1 kinase. All of the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro anticancer activity against a panel of three cell lines, namely, the liver cancer cell line (HepG2), the colon cancer cell line (HCT-116) and the breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). Most of the compounds showed good to moderate anti-proliferative activity against HepG2 and HCT-116 cell lines while only few compounds showed significant cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cell line. Further, the Pim-1 kinase inhibitory activity for the two series was evaluated where most of the tested compounds showed marked Pim-1 kinase inhibitory activity (26%-89%). Moreover, determination of the IC50 values unraveled very potent molecules in the submicromolar range where compound 6c possessed an IC50 value of 0.94 µM. Moreover, apoptosis studies were conducted on the most potent compound 6c to evaluate the proapoptotic potential of our compounds. Interestingly, it induced the level of active caspase 3 and boosted the Bax/Bcl2 ratio 22704 folds in comparison to the control. Finally, a molecular docking study was conducted to reveal the probable interaction with the Pim-1 kinase active site.

Novel indolin-2-one-based sulfonamides as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: Synthesis, in vitro biological evaluation against carbonic anhydrases isoforms I, II, IV and VII and molecular docking studies.

Herein we present the design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of three different series of novel sulfonamides (3a-f, 6a-f and 9a-f) incorporating substituted indolin-2-one moieties (as tails) linked to benzenesulfonamide (as zinc anchoring moieties) through aminoethyl or (4-oxothiazolidin-2-ylidene)aminoethyl linkers. The synthesized sulfonamides were evaluated in vitro for their inhibitory activity against the following human (h) carbonic anhydrase (hCA, EC 4.2.1.1) isoforms, hCA I, II, IV and VII. All these isoforms were inhibited by the sulfonamides reported here in variable degrees. hCA I was inhibited with KIs in the range of 42-8550.9 nM, hCA II in the range of 5.9-761 nM; hCA IV in the range of 4.0-2069.5 nM, whereas hCA VII in the range of 13.2-694 nM. Molecular docking studies were carried out for some of the tested compounds within the hCA II active site, allowed us to rationalize the obtained inhibition results.

Analogue based drug design, synthesis, molecular docking and anticancer evaluation of novel chromene sulfonamide hybrids as aromatase inhibitors and apoptosis enhancers.

Twenty novel chromene derivatives carrying different sulfonamide moieties (3-22) were designed and synthesized. All the newly prepared compounds were evaluated for their in vitro anticancer activity against breast cancer cell line (T47D). Most of the synthesized compounds showed good to moderate activity (IC50 = 8.8-108.9 µM), where compound 16 (IC50 = 8.8 µM) exhibited higher activity compared to doxorubicin (IC50 = 9.8 µM). In order to determine the mechanism of the anticancer activity in T47D cells, the effect of the most potent compounds (5-8, 11-14, and 16-18) on the aromatase activity was tested. Most of the selected compounds showed significant inhibitory effect on the aromatase activity, with compound 18 showing IC50 = 4.66 µM. Furthermore, apoptosis studies were conducted on two of the most potent compounds (8 & 16) to estimate the proapoptotic potential of our compounds. Both induced the levels of active caspase 3, caspase 8 and caspase 9. Moreover, they surprisingly boosted the Bax/Bcl2 ratio 5936 & 33,000 folds, respectively compared to the control. Moreover, they showed mild cytotoxic effect (IC50 = 183.8 µM & 172.04 µM, respectively) in normal breast cells 184A1. Finally, a molecular docking study was performed to investigate the probable interaction with the aromatase enzyme.

Molecular design and synthesis of HCV inhibitors based on thiazolone scaffold.

A series of thiazolone derivatives was designed and synthesized as potential HCV NS5B allosteric polymerase inhibitors at the allosteric site thumb II. Their antiviral activity was evaluated and molecular modeling was utilized to give further envision on their probable binding modes in the allosteric binding site. Among the tested molecules, compound 9b displayed sub-micromolar inhibitory activity with an EC50 of 0.79 µM indicating excellent potency profile. It also showed good safety profile (CC50≥75 µM and SI≥94.3).