Novel cyanothiouracil and cyanothiocytosine derivatives as concentration-dependent selective inhibitors of U87MG glioblastomas: Adenosine receptor binding and potent PDE4 inhibition.

Thiouracil and thiocytosine are important heterocyclic pharmacophores having pharmacological diversity. Antitumor and antiviral activity is commonly associated with thiouracil and thiocytosine derivatives, which are well known fragments for adenosine receptor affinity with many associated pharmacological properties. In this respect, 33 novel compounds have been synthesized in two groups: 24 thiouracil derivatives (4a-x) and 9 thiocytosine derivatives (5a-i). Antitumor activity of all the compounds was determined in the U87 MG glioblastoma cell line. Compound 5e showed an anti-proliferative IC50 of 1.56 µM, which is slightly higher activity than cisplatin (1.67 µM). The 11 most active compounds showed no signficant binding to adenosine A1, A2A or A2B receptors at 1 µM. Brain tumors express high amounts of phosphodiesterases. Compounds were tested for PDE4 inhibition, and 5e and 5f showed the best potency (5e: 3.42 µM; 5f: 0.97 µM). Remakably, those compounds were also the most active against U87MG. However, the compounds lacked a cytotoxic effect on the HEK293 healthy cell line, which encourages further investigation.

Design, Synthesis, Molecular Modeling, and Biological Evaluation of Novel Thiouracil Derivatives as Potential Antithyroid Agents.

Hyperthyroidism is the result of uncontrolled overproduction of the thyroid hormones. One of the mostly used antithyroid agents is 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil (PTU). The previously solved X-ray crystal structure of the PTU bound to mammalian lactoperoxidase (LPO) reveals that the LPO-PTU binding site is basically a hydrophobic channel. There are two hydrophobic side chains directed towards the oxygen atom in the C-4 position of the thiouracil ring. In the current study, the structural activity relationship (SAR) was performed on the thiouracil nucleus of PTU to target these hydrophobic side chains and gain more favorable interactions and, in return, more antithyroid activity. Most of the designed compounds show superiority over PTU in reducing the mean serum T4 levels of hyperthyroid rats by 3% to 60%. In addition, the effect of these compounds on the levels of serum T3 was found to be comparable to the effect of PTU treatment. The designed compounds in this study showed a promising activity profile in reducing levels of thyroid hormones and follow up experiments will be needed to confirm the use of the designed compounds as new potential antithyroid agents.

Synthesis, characterization and molecular docking studies of thiouracil derivatives as potent thymidylate synthase inhibitors and potential anticancer agents.

Thymidylate synthase (TS), one of folate-dependent enzymes, is a key and well-recognized target for anticancer agents. In this study, a series of 6-aryl-5-cyano thiouracil derivatives were designed and synthesized in accordance with essential pharmacophoric features of known TS inhibitors. Nineteen compounds were screened in vitro for their anti-proliferative activities toward HePG-2, MCF-7, HCT-116, and PC-3 cell lines. Compounds [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and 24 exhibited high anti-proliferative activity, comparable to that of 5-fluorouracil. Additionally, ten compounds with potent anti-proliferative activities were further evaluated for their ability to inhibit TS enzyme. Six compounds ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], 22, 23 and 24) demonstrated potent dose-related TS inhibition with [Formula: see text] values ranging from 1.57 to [Formula: see text]. The in vitro TS activity results were consistent with those of the cytotoxicity assay where the most potent anti-proliferative compounds of the series showed good TS inhibitory activity comparable to that of 5-fluorouracil. Furthermore, molecular docking studies were carried out to investigate the binding pattern of the designed compounds with the prospective target, TS (PDB-code: 1JU6).

Design, synthesis and antibacterial activities of thiouracil derivatives containing acyl thiourea as SecA inhibitors.

A series of novel thiouracil derivatives containing an acyl thiourea moiety (7a-7x) have been synthesized by structural modification of a lead SecA inhibitor, 2. All the compounds have been evaluated for their antibacterial activities against Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. Compounds 7c, 7m, 7u, 7v exhibited promising activities against above bacteria. Such four compounds were further tested for their inhibitory activity against SecA ATPase, and the results showed that compounds 7c and 7u had higher inhibitory activities than that of compound 2. Molecular docking work suggests that compound 7u might bind at a pocket close to the ATPase ATP-binding domain.

Design, synthesis and antimicrobial activities of thiouracil derivatives containing triazolo-thiadiazole as SecA inhibitors.

A series of novel thiouracil derivatives containing a triazolo-thiadiazole moiety (7a-7l) have been synthesized by structural modifications on a lead SecA inhibitor, 2. All the compounds have been evaluated for their antibacterial activities against Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. Compounds 7d and 7g were also tested for their inhibitory activities against SecA ATPase due to their promising antimicrobial activities. The inhibitory activity of compound 7d was found to be higher than that of 2. Molecular docking work suggests that compound 7d might bind at a pocket close to the ATPase ATP-binding domain.

Nanoformulation and antimicrobial evaluation of newly synthesized thiouracil derivatives.

The present work reports the synthesis of a new series of pyridopyrimidine derivatives. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by various analytical and spectral techniques. In addition, their antimicrobial activity was evaluated as well as modeling studies were performed to investigate their ability to recognize and bind to the biotin carboxylase (BC)-active site. The results showed a broad spectrum antibacterial and antifungal profile of the synthesized derivatives. Docking results demonstrated that all members of this class of new derivatives were able to recognize the active site of Escherichia coli BC and form different types of bonding interactions with key active site amino acid residues. Besides the compounds with promising antimicrobial activity in addition to 6-aminothiouracil, as control, were incorporated into polycaprolactone nanoparticles to improve their water solubility, permeability through physiological barriers and consequently enhanced therapeutic efficacy. The compounds-loaded nanoparticles were prepared using single emulsion-solvent evaporation technique, and their diameters were found to be in the range 136 ± 30 to 213 ± 28 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed a spherical and dense morphology of the nanoparticles. The results also showed high entrapment efficiency of the synthesized bioactive compounds in the nanoparticles (85 ± 5% to 91 ± 2%) with a desirable in vitro biodegradation and release profiles.

Design, syntheses and evaluation of 4-oxo-5-cyano thiouracils as SecA inhibitors.

Protein translocation is essential for bacterial survival and the most important translocation mechanism is the secretion (Sec) pathway in which SecA is a central core driving force. Thus targeting SecA is a promising strategy for developing novel antibacterial therapeutics. Herein, we report the syntheses and evaluation of a series of nearly 60 4-oxo-5-cyano thiouracil derivatives based upon our previously reported core pyrimidine structure. Introduction of polar group such as -N3 and linker groups such as -CH2-O- enhanced the potency several fold. Apart from being potential antibacterial agents, these inhibitors can be indispensable tools for biologists to probe the mechanism of protein translocation via the SecA machinery in bacteria.

A general approach to the synthesis of 5-S-functionalized pyrimidine nucleosides and their analogues.

A general and efficient approach was developed for the introduction of S-functionality at the C-5 position of cytosine and uracil nucleosides and their analogues. The key step is a palladium-catalyzed C-S coupling of the corresponding 5-bromo nucleoside derivative and alkyl thiol. The butyl 3-mercaptopropionate coupling products were further converted to the corresponding disulphides, the stable precursors of 5-mercaptopyrimidine nucleosides.

Synthesis, antimicrobial, antioxidant activities of novel 6-aryl-5-cyano thiouracil derivatives.

A series of 6-aryl-5-cyano thiouracil derivatives (2a-c to 11a-c) was synthesized from 6-aryl-4-hydrazino-2-thioxo-1,2-dihydropyrimidine-5-carbonitriles (1a-c). The products were characterized by analytical and spectral data (IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and mass spectra). All compounds were screened for their in-vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities. Compounds 7a, 7g and 9a-c showed pronounced antimicrobial activity than standards. Some of the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for antioxidant activity. Compounds 1c, 5c and 8c displayed promising free radical scavenging activity and found to be more potent than standard, ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

Synthesis and evaluation of thiouracil derivatives as dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors.

A series of thiouracil derivatives were designed, synthesized and screened for in vitro inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase IV. The SAR study indicated the influence of substituted chemical modifications on thiouracil scaffold. Compounds 8 (IC(50) = 0.32 µM), 9 (IC(50) = 0.29 µM), and 12 (IC(50) = 0.25 µM) showed excellent dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibition having heterocyclic substituted piperazine with acetamide linker resulted as most potent dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors among all the compounds screened. Single dose (10 mg/kg) of the compounds 8, 9, and 12 significantly reduced glucose excursion during oral glucose tolerance test in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat model. The present study on substituted thiouracil derivatives shows good-to-moderate inhibitory potential of dipeptidyl peptidase IV enzyme.

Synthesis and anti-hepatitis B activity of new substituted uracil and thiouracil glycosides.

A number of N- and S-substituted uracil and thiouracil glycosides were synthesized by coupling reaction of 5,6-dibenzyle pyrimidine derivatives with the corresponding acetobromosugar. The synthesized compounds were tested for their antiviral activity against hepatitis B virus. Plaque reduction infectivity assay was used to determine virus count reduction as a result of treatment with tested compounds which showed moderate to high antiviral activities.

Synthesis of new 2-thiouracil-5-sulphonamide derivatives with antibacterial and antifungal activity.

2-Thiouracil-5-sulphonic acid N-(4-acetylphenyl) Amide (1) was reacted with a series of aromatic aldehydes giving chalcones 2 (Claisen-Schemidt reaction), some of these chalcones were reacted with urea and thiourea giving pyrimidine-2-one and pyrimidine-2 thione derivatives respectively of the type 3a,b and 4a,b. In addition many chalcones were reacted with hydroxylamine hydrochloride giving isoxazoline derivatives 5a,b. They could also reacted with phenylhydrazine to give pyrazoline derivatives 6a,b, chalcones also were reacted withethylcyano acetate and/or malononitryl in pyridine giving pyran derivatives 7a,c and 8a,c. In another pathway chalcones were epoxidised by H2O2 giving epoxides 9a,c which in turn were reacted with phenylhydrazine giving 4-hydroxypyrazoline derivatives 10a,c. In another reaction chalcones were reacted with ethylcyanoacetate in presence of amm.acetate giving pyridone derivatives 11a,d which could be prepared also in exellent yield from compound 1 by its reaction with certain aromatic aldehydes and ethylcyanoacetate in presence of ammonium acetate. Finally, compound 1 was reacted with semicarbazide giving semicarbazone intermediate 12 which in turn was reacted with thionyl chloride giving thiadiazole derivative 13. The biological effects of some of the new synthesized compounds were also investigated.

Synthesis of new 2-thiouracil-5-sulfonamide derivatives with biological activity.

2-Thiouracil-5-sulfonylchloride 1 reacted with a series of aromatic and heterocyclic amines to give 2a-j. The same compound 1 was reacted with a series of sulphonamides giving different sulphonamides of type 3a-e. On the other hand compound 1 was allowed to react with p-aminoacetophenone givining compound 4 which in turn was allowed to react with derivatives of alkyl thiosemicarbazides to give thiosemicarbazones of type 5a-e, also compound 4 was monobrominated to give compound 6 which in turn was reacted thiosemicarbazones of some aldehydes to give the corresponding thiazole derivatives 7a-f. In the same time compound 4 was reacted with a series of aromatic and heterocyclic aldehydes givining chalcones 8a-g (Claisen-Schemidt reaction). Also compound 4 was allowed to react with a series of aromatic and heterocyclic aldehydes, ethyl cyano acetate and/or malononitrile, and ammonium acetate giving pyridine derivatives 9a-d and 10a-e respectively. The biological effects of some of the new synthesized compounds was also investigated.

Synthesis and characterization of cobalt and nickel chelates of 5-dimethylaminomethyl-2-thiouracil and their evaluation as antimicrobial and anticancer agents.

A new antimetabolite of adenine, viz. 5-dimethylaminomethyl-2-thiouracil, was synthesized using the Mannich reaction. Owing to the biological importance of metalloelements in many biological processes, especially metabolic processes, cobalt(II) and nickel(II) complexes were also synthesized and examined for their antimicrobial and anticancer activities. These new compounds were characterized structurally by various techniques ranging from micro-elemental analyses to spectral analyses. Cobalt(II) complexes were found to be four coordinate, among which the bromo, iodo, and nitrato complexes were polymeric. The nickel(II) isothiocyanato complex exhibited four-coordinate geometry and the remaining nickel(II) complexes were six coordinate. Thermodynamic and kinetic parameters evaluated based on TG/DSC suggested that the initial stage of thermal decomposition follows a diffusion-controlled mechanism and the final stage a chemically controlled mechanism. Antibacterial, antifungal, and antitumor studies undertaken for the above compounds indicated structure-activity relationships. These metalloderivatives were more active than the parent compound. The order of activity was influenced by the chelate geometry and thermal stability. Activity increased with a decrease in coordination number and increase in thermal lability.

Design, synthesis, and characterization of the antitumor activity of novel ceramide analogues.

A deficiency in apoptosis is one of the key events in the proliferation and resistance of malignant cells to antitumor agents; for these reasons, the search for apoptosis-inducing drugs represents a valuable approach for the development of novel anticancer therapies. In this study we report the first example of conformationally restrained analogues of ceramide (compounds 1-4), where the polar portion of the molecule has been replaced by a thiouracil (1, 3) or uracil (2, 4) ring. The evaluation of their biologic activity on CCRF-CEM human leukemia cells demonstrated that the most active was compound 1 followed by compound 2 (mean 50% inhibition of cell proliferation [IC(50)] 1.7 and 7.9 microM, respectively), while compounds 3 and 4 were inactive, as were uracil, thiouracil, and 5,6-dimethyluracil, the pyrimidine moieties of compounds 1-4. For comparison, the IC(50) of the reference substance, the cell-permeable C2-ceramide, was 31.6 microM. Compounds 1 and 2 and C2-ceramide were able to trigger apoptosis, as shown by the occurrence of DNA and nuclear fragmentation, and to release cytochrome c from treated cells. The treatment of female CD-1 nu/nu athymic mice bearing a WiDr human colon xenograft with the most active compound 1 at 2, 10, 50, and 200 mg/kg ip daily for 10 days resulted in an antitumor effect that was equivalent at 50 mg/kg or superior (200 mg/kg) to that of cyclophosphamide, 20 mg/kg ip daily, delivered on the same schedule, with markedly lower systemic toxicity. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that the new ceramide analogues 1 and 2 are characterized by in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity and low toxicity.

5-phenylthioacyclouridine: a potent and specific inhibitor of uridine phosphorylase.

5-Phenylthioacyclouridine (PTAU or 1-[(2-hydroxyethoxy)methyl]-5-phenylthiouracil) was synthesized as a highly specific and potent inhibitor of uridine phosphorylase (UrdPase, EC 2.4.2.3). PTAU has inhibition constant (K(is)) values of 248 and 353 nM towards UrdPase from mouse and human livers, respectively. PTAU was neither an inhibitor nor a substrate for thymidine phosphorylase (EC 2.4.2.4), uridine-cytidine kinase (EC 2. 7.1.48), thymidine kinase (EC 2.7.1.21), dihydrouracil dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.1.2), orotate phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.10), or orotidine 5'-monophosphate decarboxylase (EC 4.1.2.23), the enzymes that could utilize the substrate (uridine or thymidine) or products (uracil or thymine) of UrdPase. Different isomers of 5-tolylthiouracil also were synthesized and tested as inhibitors of UrdPase. The meta-substituted isomer was 3- to 4-fold more potent as an inhibitor of UrdPase than the para- or ortho-substituted isomers. These data indicate that the hydrophobic pocket in the active site of UrdPase adjacent to the 5-position of the pyrimidine ring can accommodate the meta-substituted 5-phenyluracils better than the other isomers, leading to improved inhibition. Therefore, it is anticipated that the potency of PTAU can be increased further by the addition of certain hydrophobic groups at the meta position of the phenyl ring. PTAU has potential usefulness in the therapy of cancer and AIDS as well as other pathological and physiological disorders that can be remedied by the administration of uridine.

Synthesis and sedative-hypnotic effects of N3-allyl- and N1-allyl-5,6-substituted 2-thiouracil derivatives in mice.

Twenty four thiouracil derivatives, including N3-allyl- (19) and N1-allyl-2-thiouracil (20) were synthesized and their pharmacological effects [sedative-hypnotic activity (loss of righting reflex and spontaneous activity), convulsant activity, effect on pentobarbital (PB)-induced sleep and mortality] were evaluated in mice at doses of 320 mg/kg, i.p. and 2 mumol/mouse by intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injections, respectively. N3-Allyl-6-propyl-2-thiouracil (3), N3-allyl-5,6-dimethyl-2-thiouracil (10), N3-allyl-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9-nonahydro-4-oxo-2-thiocyclohepta [d]pyrimidine (16) and N3-allyl-5-methyl-2-thiouracil (18) exhibited sedative-hypnotic activity, whereas N3-allyl-6-ethyl-5-methyl-2-thiouracil (11), N1-allyl-5-methyl-2-thiouracil (21), N1-allyl-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9-nonahydro-4-oxo-2-thiocyclohepta[ d]pyrimidine (23) and N1-allyl-5,6-dimethyl-2-thiouracil (24) conversely displayed clonic- and/or tonic-convulsant seizures. N3-Allyl-6-propyl-2-thiouracil (3) and N3-allyl-5-methyl-2-thiouracil (18) decreased spontaneous activity. Other compounds examined were inactive, or only slightly active in the sedative-hypnotic assay even at high doses. Fifteen compounds (1-4, 7, 10, 11, 14-16, 18-21, and 23) significantly prolonged the PB-induced sleeping time. Interestingly, only N1-allyl-5,6-dimethyl-2-thiouracil (24) shortened the PB-induced sleeping time. These results showed that these thiouracils possessed many different effects such as sedative-hypnotic, anticonvulsant and/or convulsant, and that N3-allyl-5-methyl-2-thiouracil (18) and N1-allyl-5,6-dimethyl-2-thiouracil (24) had the most potent hypnotic activity and antagonistic effect against PB, respectively.

Synthesis of (S)-1-(2',3'-dihydroxypropyl)-2-alkylthiouracils as new antiviral agents.

2-Alkylthiouracils 1a-f have been prepared. Nucleoside coupling of 2 with sodium salt of 1a-f gave the corresponding dioxolane derivatives 3a-f which were treated with 80% acetic acid at reflux temperature to give (S)-1-(2',3'-dihydroxypropyl)-2-alkylthiouracil derivatives 4a-f. Treatment of 4d with 1 mol tosyl chloride gives the corresponding monotosylate 5. On the other hand, with 2 mol it gives the ditosylate 6. Treatment of 5 and/or 6 with sodium azide/dimethylformamide give 7 and 8 which could be reduced to the corresponding amino derivatives 9 and 10 by using triphenylphosphine/pyridine.

Anti-HIV active naphthyl analogues of HEPT and DABO.

5-Ethyl-6-(1-naphthylmethyl)uracil and 5-ethyl-6-(1-naphthylmethyl)-2-thiouracil were alkylated to give, respectively. N-1 and S2, ethoxymethyl and methylthiomethyl uracil derivatives. 5-Ethyl-6-(1-naphthylmethyl)-2-thiouracil was also S2 alkylated with methyl bromoacetate. The products showed activity against HIV-1, and the N-1 alkylated derivatives were indeed highly active.

Boron-containing thiouracil derivatives for neutron-capture therapy of melanoma.

Boron-containing derivatives of 2-thiouracil and 2,4-dithiouracil and the corresponding 6-propyl compounds, containing a dihydroxyboryl group in the 5-position, have been prepared. These compounds accumulate in B16 melanoma in mice in concentrations up to 30 micrograms of boron per gram tissue. The uptake persists. The toxicity of both 2-thiouracil derivatives is low. These compounds are therefore good candidates for boron neutron-capture therapy of malignant melanoma.