Concise syntheses of N-aryl-5,6,7-trimethoxyindoles as antimitotic and vascular disrupting agents: application of the copper-mediated Ullmann-type arylation.

In an attempt to mimic the 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl-Z-stilbene moiety of combretastatin A-4, a series of N-aryl-5,6,7-trimethoxyindoles were synthesized via copper-catalyzed Ullmann-type N-arylation through the corresponding 5,6,7-trimethoxyindole and aryl halides. These synthesized compounds demonstrated potent antiproliferative activity providing a novel skeleton for potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors.

MPT0B098, a novel microtubule inhibitor that destabilizes the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α mRNA through decreasing nuclear-cytoplasmic translocation of RNA-binding protein HuR.

Microtubule inhibitors have been shown to inhibit hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) expression through inhibition translation or enhancing protein degradation. Little is known of the effect of microtubule inhibitors on the stability of HIF-1α mRNA. We recently discovered a novel indoline-sulfonamide compound, 7-aryl-indoline-1-benzene-sulfonamide (MPT0B098), as a potent microtubule inhibitor through binding to the colchicine-binding site of tubulin. MPT0B098 is active against the growth of various human cancer cells, including chemoresistant cells with IC50 values ranging from 70 to 150 nmol/L. However, normal cells, such as human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), exhibit less susceptibility to the inhibitory effect of MPT0B098 with IC50 of 510 nmol/L. Similar to typical microtubule inhibitors, MPT0B098 arrests cells in the G2-M phase and subsequently induces cell apoptosis. In addition, MPT0B098 effectively suppresses VEGF-induced cell migration and capillary-like tube formation of HUVECs. Distinguished from other microtubule inhibitors, MPT0B098 not only inhibited the expression levels of HIF-1α protein but also destabilized HIF-1α mRNA. The mechanism of causing unstable of HIF-1α mRNA by MPT0B098 is through decreasing RNA-binding protein, HuR, translocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Notably, MPT0B098 effectively suppresses tumor growth and microvessel density of tumor specimens in vivo. Taken together, our results provide a novel mechanism of inhibiting HIF-1α of a microtubule inhibitor MPT0B098. MPT0B098 is a promising anticancer drug candidate with potential for the treatment of human malignancies.

5-Amino-2-aroylquinolines as highly potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors. Part 2. The impact of bridging groups at position C-2.

A variety of studies on the modification of combretastatin A-4 triggered our interest in the impact of the linkers between the 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl ring and 5-amino-6-methoxyquinoline on biological activity. The replacement of the carbonyl group with bond, amine, ether, sulfide, and sulfone groups was evaluated in this study. The results showed that compounds 14 and 15 containing sulfide and sulfone groups between the 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl ring (A-ring) and 5-amino-6-methoxyquinoline exhibited substantial antiproliferative activity against KB, HT29, and MKN45 cells with mean IC50 values of 42 and 12 nM, respectively. 15 inhibited the tubulin polymerization with an IC50 value of 2.0 µM, similar to that with CA4. The continued work on the C-5 substituents of 3',4',5'-trimethoxybenzoyl-6-methoxyquinoline derivatives demonstrated that compound 7 possessing OH at C-5 exhibited excellent antiproliferative activity with mean IC50 values of 3.4 nM and microtubule destabilizing potency with an IC50 of 1.5 µM, comparable to that of CA4 (IC50=1.9 µM). It also exhibited substantial vascular disrupting effects. Compounds 7 and 15 exhibited significant efficacy against MDR/MRP-related drug-resistant cell lines (KB-vin10, KB-S15, and KB-7D) with mean IC50 values of 6.7 and 2.6 nM, respectively.