A Novel MDM2-Binding Chalcone Induces Apoptosis of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) represents ~90% of all oral cancers, being the eighth most common cancer in men. The overall 5-year survival rate is only 39% for metastatic cancers, and currently used chemotherapeutics can cause important side effects. Thus, there is an urgency in developing new and effective anti-cancer agents. As both chalcones and 1,2,3-triazoles are valuable pharmacophores/privileged structures in the search for anticancer compounds, in this work, new 1,2,3-triazole-chalcone hybrids were synthesized and evaluated against oral squamous cell carcinoma. By using different in silico, in vitro, and in vivo approaches, we demonstrated that compound 1f has great cytotoxicity and selectivity against OSCC (higher than carboplatin and doxorubicin) and other cancer cells in addition to showing minimal toxicity in mice. Furthermore, we demonstrate that induced cell death occurs by apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. Moreover, we found that 1f has a potential affinity for MDM2 protein, similar to the known ligand nutlin-3, and presents a better selectivity, pharmacological profile, and potential to be orally absorbed and is not a substrate of Pg-P when compared to nutlin-3. Therefore, we conclude that 1f is a good lead for a new chemotherapeutic drug against OSCC and possibly other types of cancers.

Synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular modeling studies of novel 1,2,3-triazole-linked menadione-furan derivatives as P2X7 inhibitors.

The P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) is an ion channel that promotes the passage of ions through the membrane through brief stimulation once activated by ATP, its endogenous opener. However, prolonged stimulation with ATP, which occurs in pathological processes, opens a nonselective pore in the plasma membrane, allowing the passage of large molecules and leading to cytokine release or even cell death. In this sense, the search for new inhibitors for this receptor has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. Considering the booming of biomass upgrading reactions in recent years and the continued efforts to synthesize biologically active molecules containing the 1,2,3-triazole ring, in the present work, we aimed to investigate whether triazole-linked menadione-furan derivatives could present P2X7R inhibitory activity. The novel compounds were tested for their inhibitory activity on ATP-induced dye uptake in peritoneal macrophages. Some have shown promising results, having displayed IC50 values lower than that of the P2X7R inhibitor BBG. Molecular docking studies also indicated that the active compounds bind to an allosteric site on P2X7R, presenting potential P2X7R inhibition.

Drug repurposing for the treatment of COVID-19: Pharmacological aspects and synthetic approaches.

In December 2019, a new variant of SARS-CoV emerged, the so-called acute severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This virus causes the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and has been plaguing the world owing to its unprecedented spread efficiency, which has resulted in a huge death toll. In this sense, the repositioning of approved drugs is the fastest way to an effective response to a pandemic outbreak of this scale. Considering these facts, in this review we provide a comprehensive and critical discussion on the chemical aspects surrounding the drugs currently being studied as candidates for COVID-19 therapy. We intend to provide the general chemical community with an overview on the synthetic/biosynthetic pathways related to such molecules, as well as their mechanisms of action against the evaluated viruses and some insights on the pharmacological interactions involved in each case. Overall, the review aims to present the chemical aspects of the main bioactive molecules being considered to be repositioned for effective treatment of COVID-19 in all phases, from the mildest to the most severe.

Antileishmanial activity of aldonamides and N-acyl-diamine derivatives.

A number of lipophilic N-acyl-diamines and aldonamides have been synthesized and tested for their in vitro antiproliferative activity against Leishmania amazonensis and L. chagasi. Ribonamides, having one amino group, displayed good to moderate inhibition of parasite growth. The best result was obtained for compounds 10 and 15 with IC50 against L. chagasi below 5 microM.