New [1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-c]quinazolines as intercalative Topo II inhibitors: Design, synthesis, biological evaluation, and in silico studies.

Fifteen quinazoline derivatives were designed and synthesized as DNA intercalators. The cytotoxicity of the designed members was assessed against HCT-116 and HepG2 cancer cell lines. In addition, the topoisomerase II (Topo II) inhibitory effect was assessed. Compound 16 was the most cytotoxic and Topo II inhibitor with low cytotoxicity against Vero cells. Compounds 16, 17, and 18 showed significant DNA binding affinities. Compound 16 showed Topo II catalytic inhibitory effect at a concentration of 10 µM. Further mechanistic investigations revealed the capability of compound 16 to induce apoptosis in HCT-116 cells and arrest the growth at the S and G2/M phases. Also, compound 16 showed a significant increase in the level of BAX (2.18-fold) and a marked decrease in the level of Bcl-2 (1.9-fold) compared to the control cells. In silico studies revealed the ability of the synthesized members to bind to the DNA-Topo II complex.

Discovery of new 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives as anticancer agents targeting EGFRWT and EGFRT790M.

New 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine derivatives were designed and synthesised to act as epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors (EGFRIs). The synthesised derivatives were assessed for their in vitro anti-proliferative activities against A549 and HCT-116 cancer cells. Compounds 8, 10, 12a, and 12b showed potent anti-proliferative activities. Compound 12b was the most promising member with IC50 values of 8.21 and 19.56 µM against A549 and HCT-116, respectively. Compounds 8, 10, 12a, and 12b were evaluated for their kinase inhibitory activities against wild EGFR (EGFRWT). Compound 12b was the most potent member showing an IC50 value of 0.016 µM. In addition, compound 12b showed noticeable activity against mutant EGFR (EGFRT790M) (IC50 = 0.236 µM). Flow cytometric analyses revealed that compound 12b is a good apoptotic inducer and can arrest the cell cycle at S and G2/M phases. Furthermore, it produced an 8.8-fold increase in BAX/Bcl-2 ratio. Molecular docking studies were carried out against EGFRWT and EGFRT790M.

Unravelling the anticancer potency of 1,2,4-triazole-N-arylamide hybrids through inhibition of STAT3: synthesis and in silico mechanistic studies.

The discovery of potent STAT3 inhibitors has gained noteworthy impetus in the last decade. In line with this trend, considering the proven biological importance of 1,2,4-triazoles, herein, we are reporting the design, synthesis, pharmacokinetic profiles, and in vitro anticancer activity of novel C3-linked 1,2,4-triazole-N-arylamide hybrids and their in silico proposed mechanism of action via inhibition of STAT3. The 1,2,4-triazole scaffold was selected as a privilege ring system that is embedded in core structures of a variety of anticancer drugs which are either in clinical use or still under clinical trials. The designed 1,2,4-triazole derivatives were synthesized by linking the triazole-thione moiety through amide hydrophilic linkers with diverse lipophilic fragments. In silico study to predict cytotoxicity of the new hybrids against different kinds of human cancer cell lines as well as the non-tumor cells was conducted. The multidrug-resistant human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MDA-MB-231) was found most susceptible to the cytotoxic effect of synthesized compounds and hence were selected to evaluate the in vitro anticancer activity. Four of the designed derivatives showed promising cytotoxicity effects against selected cancer cells, among which compound 12 showed the highest potency (IC50 = 3.61 µM), followed by 21 which displayed IC50 value of 3.93 µM. Also, compounds 14 and 23 revealed equipotent activity with the reference cytotoxic agent doxorubicin. To reinforce these observations, the obtained data of in vitro cytotoxicity have been validated in terms of ligand-protein interaction and new compounds were analyzed for ADMET properties to evaluate their potential to build up as good drug candidates. This study led us to identify two novel C3-linked 1,2,4-triazole-N-arylamide hybrids of interesting antiproliferative potentials as probable lead inhibitors of STAT3 with promising pharmacokinetic profiles.

Novel 1,2,4-triazole derivatives: Design, synthesis, anticancer evaluation, molecular docking, and pharmacokinetic profiling studies.

Three novel series of 1,2,4-triazole derivatives were designed and synthesized as potential adenosine A2B receptor antagonists. The design of the new compounds depended on a virtual screening of a previously constructed library of compounds targeting the human adenosine A2B protein. Spectroscopic techniques including 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and 13 C NMR, and infrared and mass spectroscopy were used to confirm the structures of the synthesized compounds. The in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation was carried out against a human breast adenocarcinoma cell line (MDA-MB-231) using the MTT assay, and the obtained results were compared with doxorubicin as a reference anticancer agent. In addition, in silico studies to propose how the two most active compounds interact with the adenosine A2B receptor as a potential target were performed. Furthermore, a structure-activity relationship analysis was performed, and the pharmacokinetic profile to predict the oral bioavailability and other pharmacokinetic properties was also explained. Four of our designed derivatives showed promising cytotoxic effects against the selected cancer cell line. Compound 15 showed the highest activity with an IC50 value of 3.48 µM. Also, compound 20 revealed an equipotent activity with the reference cytotoxic drug, with an IC50 value of 5.95 µM. The observed IC50 values were consistent with the obtained in silico docking scores. The newly designed compounds revealed promising pharmacokinetic profiles as compared with the reference marketed drug.

Design, synthesis, and antitumor activity of novel compounds based on 1,2,4-triazolophthalazine scaffold: Apoptosis-inductive and PCAF-inhibitory effects.

The antitumor activity of newly synthesised triazolophthalazines (L-45 analogues) 10-32 was evaluated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HePG-2), breast cancer (MCF-7), prostate cancer (PC3), and colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) cells. Compounds 17, 18, 25, and 32 showed potent antitumor activity (IC50, 2.83-13.97 µM), similar to doxorubicin (IC50, 4.17-8.87 µM) and afatinib (IC50, 5.4-11.4 µM). HePG2 was inhibited by compounds 10, 17, 18, 25, 26, and 32 (IC50, 3.06-10.5 µM), similar to doxorubicin (IC50, 4.50 µM) and afatinib (IC50, 5.4 µM). HCT-116 and MCF-7 were susceptible to compounds 10, 17, 18, 25, and 32 (IC50, 2.83-10.36 and 5.69-11.36 µM, respectively), similar to doxorubicin and afatinib (IC50 = 5.23 and 4.17, and 11.4 and 7.1 µM, respectively). Compounds 17, 25, and 32 exerted potent activities against PC3 (IC50, 7.56-12.28 µM) compared with doxorubicin (IC50, 8.87 µM) and afatinib (IC50 7.7 µM). Compounds 17 and 32 were the strongest PCAF inhibitors (IC50, 5.31 and 10.30 µM, respectively) and compounds 18 and 25 exhibited modest IC50 values (17.09 and 32.96 µM, respectively) compared with bromosporine (IC50, 5.00 µM). Compound 17 was cytotoxic to HePG2 cells (IC50, 3.06 µM), inducing apoptosis in the pre-G phase and arresting the cell cycle in the G2/M phase. Molecular docking for the most active PCAF inhibitors (17 and 32) was performed.

Novel triazolophthalazine-hydrazone hybrids as potential PCAF inhibitors: Design, synthesis, in vitro anticancer evaluation, apoptosis, and molecular docking studies.

Three novel series of triazolophthalazine derivatives bearing hydrazone moiety were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their anticancer activity against four human cancer cell lines by MTT assay. Six derivatives demonstrated comparable activity with Doxorubicin reference drug against the selected cancer cells. Especially, compound 16 showed the most potent activity with IC50 values of 5.70, 8.04, 11.15, and 4.25, µM against HePG2, MCF-7, PC3, and HCT-116 respectively. Also, compound 26 exhibited comparable inhibitory effect with that of Doxorubicin against the selected cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 6.45, 8.63, 12.28, and 7.03 µM against HePG2, MCF-7, PC3, and HCT-116 respectively. Investigation of the apoptotic activity of the two most active compounds revealed that compounds 16 and 26 could induce both the early and the late apoptosis of HePG2. Further mechanistic study of the HePG2 cell cycle confirmed the spectacular cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of both compounds. Compounds 16 and 26 showed a pronounced increase in cells in G2/M and Pre G1 phases with a concomitant reduction of cells in G0-G1 and S phases. A follow up enzymatic assay indicated that these two compounds have comparable activities with that of bromosporine as PCAF inhibitors with IC50 values of 8.13 and 5.31 µM respectively. Moreover, molecular docking study for all the synthesized compounds was performed to predict their binding affinities toward the active site of histone acetyltransferase GCN5. Results of molecular docking were strongly correlated with that of the cytotoxicity study.