RESUMEN
Due to the central role of tubulin in various cellular functions, it is a validated target for anti-cancer therapeutics. However, many of the current tubulin inhibitors are derived from complex natural products and suffer from multidrug resistance, low solubility, toxicity issues, and/or the lack of multi-cancer efficacy. As such, there is a continued need for the discovery and development of new anti-tubulin drugs to enter the pipeline. Herein we report on a group of indole-substituted furanones that were prepared and tested for anti-cancer activity. Molecular docking studies showed positive correlations between favorable binding in the colchicine binding site (CBS) of tubulin and anti-proliferative activity, and the most potent compound was found to inhibit tubulin polymerization. These compounds represent a promising new structural motif in the search for small heterocyclic CBS cancer inhibitors.
Asunto(s)
Antineoplásicos , Tubulina (Proteína) , Tubulina (Proteína)/metabolismo , Antineoplásicos/química , Simulación del Acoplamiento Molecular , Relación Estructura-Actividad , Proliferación Celular , Línea Celular Tumoral , Moduladores de Tubulina/química , Colchicina/química , Sitios de Unión , Indoles/química , Ensayos de Selección de Medicamentos AntitumoralesRESUMEN
Analogs of diarylpyrrolinone lead compound 1 were prepared and tested for anti-proliferative activity in U-937 cancer cells. Alterations of 1 focused on modifying the two nitrogen atoms: a) the pyrrolinone nitrogen atom was substituted with a propyl group or replaced with an oxygen atom (furanone), and b) the substituents on the indole nitrogen were varied. These changes led to the discovery of a furanone analog 3b with sub-micromolar anti-cancer potency and tubulin polymerization inhibition activity.