Design, Synthesis and Molecular Docking Analysis of Flavonoid Derivatives as Potential Telomerase Inhibitors.

Based on the structural scaffolds of natural products, two series of flavonoid derivatives, for a total of twelve compounds, were designed and synthesized as potential human telomerase inhibitors. Using a modified TRAP-PCR assay, compound 5c exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity against human telomerase with an IC50 value of less than 50 µM. In vitro, the results demonstrated that compound 5c had potent anticancer activity against five classes of tumor cell lines. The molecular docking and molecular dynamics analyses binding to the human telomerase holoenzyme were performed to elucidate the binding mode of active compound 5c. This finding helps the rational design of more potent telomerase inhibitors based on the structural scaffolds of natural products.

Synthesis, biological evaluation and structure-activity relationship studies of hederacolchiside E and its derivatives as potential anti-Alzheimer agents.

Inspired by the previously reported neuroprotective activity of hederacolchiside E (1), we synthesized hederacolchiside E for the first time along with eleven of its derivatives. The neuroprotective effects of these compounds were further evaluated against H2O2- and Aß1-42-induced injury using cell-based assays. The derivatives showed obvious differences in activity due to structural variations, and two of them exhibited better neuroprotective effects than 1 in the Aß1-42-induced injury model. Compound 7 was the most active derivative and had a relatively simple chemical structure. Moreover, 1 and 7 can significantly reduce the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), level of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and extent of malondialdehyde (MDA) increase resulting from Aß1-42 treatment, which demonstrated that these kinds of compounds show neuroprotective effects in Alzheimer's disease (AD) models via modulating oxidative stress. Compound 7 could be used as promising lead for the development of a new type of neuroprotective agent against AD.

Design, Synthesis, Molecular Docking Analysis, and Carbonic Anhydrase IX Inhibitory Evaluations of Novel N-Substituted-ß-d-Glucosamine Derivatives that Incorporate Benzenesulfonamides.

A series of novel N-substituted-ß-d-glucosamine derivatives that incorporate benzenesulfonamides were designed using a fragment-based drug design strategy. Each derivative was synthesized and evaluated in vitro for its inhibitory activity against human carbonic anhydrase (hCA) IX; several derivatives displayed desirable potency profiles against this enzyme. The molecular docking studies provided the design rationale and predicted potential binding modes for carbonic anhydrase (CA) IX and three target compounds, including the most potent inhibitor, compound 7f (IC50 = 10.01 nM). Moreover, the calculated Log P (cLog P) values showed that all the compounds tended to be hydrophilic. In addition, topological polar surface area (TPSA) value-based predictions highlighted the selectivity of these carbohydrate-based inhibitors for membrane-associated CA IX.