Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 16, Issue 2, 2020

Background: Styrylquinolines are characteristic fully aromatic compounds with flat, rather lipophilic structures. The first reports on their synthesis and biological activity were published roughly a century ago. However, their low selectivity, unfavorable toxicity and problems with their mechanism of action significantly hampered their development. As a result, they have been abandoned for most of the time since they were discovered. Objective: Their renaissance was observed by the antiretroviral activity of several styrylquinoline derivatives that have been reported to be HIV integrase inhibitors. Subsequently, other activities such as their antifungal and anticancer abilities have also been revisited. Methods: In the present review, the spectrum of the activity of styrylquinolines and their use in drug design is presented and analyzed. Results: New properties and applications that were reported recently have re-established styrylquinolines within medicinal and material chemistry. The considerable increase in the number of published papers regarding their activity spectrum will ensure further discoveries in the field. Conclusion: Styrylquinolines have earned a much stronger position in medicinal chemistry due to the discovery of their new activities, profound mechanisms of action and as drug candidates in clinical trials.

Background: Three dimensional quantitative structure activity relationship and pharmacophore modeling are studied for tacrine derivatives as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Methods: The three dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationship and pharmacophore methods were used to model the 68 derivatives of tacrine as human acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. The effect of the docked conformer of each molecule in the enzyme cavity was investigated on the predictive ability and statistical quality of the produced models. Results: The whole data set was divided into two training and test sets using hierarchical clustering method. 3D-QSAR model, based on the comparative molecular field analysis has good statistical parameters as indicated by q2 =0.613, r2 =0.876, and r2pred =0.75. In the case of comparative molecular similarity index analysis, q2, r2 and r2pred values were 0.807, 0.96, and 0.865 respectively. The statistical parameters of the models proved that the inhibition data are well fitted and they have satisfactory predictive abilities. Conclusion: The results from this study illustrate the reliability of using techniques in exploring the likely bonded conformations of the ligands in the active site of the protein target and improve the understanding over the structural and chemical features of AChE.

Background: Staphylococus epidermidis coagulase negative and gram positive streptococci have emerged as major nosocomial pathogens associated with the infection of implanted medical devices and dandruff on human scalp. S. epidermidis filamenting temperature-sensitive mutant Z (FtsZ) gene encoded FtsZ protein that assembles at future bacterial cell division site that forms Z-ring structure. FtsZ is a tubulin homolog protein with low sequence similarity; this makes it possible to inhibit bacterial FtsZ protein without affecting the eukaryote cell division. Objective: In the present study, phytochemicals of Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Punica granatum and Glycyrrhiza glabra were virtually screened for their antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis cell division protein, FtsZ. Methods: Molecular docking method was used to investigate new lead inhibitor against bacterial cell division protein FtsZ. SwissADME and ProTox tool were used to evaluate the toxicity of the lead molecule. Results: Molecular docking based screening confirmed that among 122 phytochemicals, β- sitosterol and glabrol showed the highest inhibitory activity against FtsZ. SwissADME tool showed β-sitosterol and glabrol as the ideal antibacterial agents. Conclusion: Structure based drug design strategy has been broadly used to optimize antimicrobial activity of small molecule/ligand against large protein receptor of disease, causing pathogens which gives a major breakthrough in pharmaceuticals industries. The molecular docking and SwissADME tool showed that β-sitosterol and glabrol may be developed to be potential topical and sublingual antibacterial agents, respectively.

Background: Purine isosteres are often endowed with interesting pharmacological properties, due to their involvement in cellular processes replacing the natural purines. Among these compounds, pyrazolopyridines are under active investigation for potential anticancer properties. Objectives: Based on previously discovered substituted pyrazolopyridines with promising antiproliferative activity, we designed and synthesized new, suitably substituted analogues aiming to investigate their potential activity and contribute to SAR studies of this class of bioactive compounds. Methods: The new compounds were synthesized using suitably substituted 2-amino-4-picolines, which upon ring-closure provided substituted pyrazolo[3,4-c] pyridine-5-carbonitriles that served as key intermediates for the preparation of the target 3,5,7 trisubstituted derivatives. The antiproliferative activity of 31 new target derivatives was evaluated against three cancer cell lines (MIA PaCa-2, PC-3 and SCOV3), whereas cell-cycle perturbations of exponentially growing PC-3 cells, using three selected derivatives were also performed. Results: Eight compounds displayed IC50 values in the low μM range, allowing the extraction of interesting SAR’s. Two of the most potent compounds against all cell lines share a common pattern, by accumulating cells at the G0/G1 phase. From this project, a new carboxamidine-substituted hit has emerged. Conclusion: Among the new compounds, those possessing the 3-phenylpyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine scaffold, proved to be worth investigating and the majority of them showed strong cytotoxic activity against all cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 0.87-4.3 μM. A carboxamidine analogue that resulted from the synthetic procedure, proved to be highly active against the cancer cells and could be considered as a useful lead for further optimization.

Background: Novel bicycloheptylamines were designed and synthesized. These compounds were found to be selective for sigma-2 receptors. These receptors have been found to be up to 10 fold over-expressed in certain cancer cell lines, leading to investigation of possible uses as a biomarker in diagnosis and/or treatment especially in cancers with poor prognosis. Objectives: The aim was to conjugate a novel sigma-2 receptor ligand to doxorubicin to examine anticancer activities, with and without conjugation, and therefore possibilities in drug delivery. Methods: Conjugation was conducted using N-(3-Dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide HCl as a coupling agent. Affinity towards the sigma-2 receptor was tested using ligand-receptor binding studies. Anticancer activities against cancer cell lines were carried out using cell viability assays. Caspase dependency was tested using Z-VAD-FMK, a pan-caspase inhibitor, to begin to investigate mechanisms of action. Results: The target compound retained affinity towards the sigma-2 receptor and exhibited potent anticancer activities on cancer cell lines expressing the sigma-2 receptor. The potencies exceeded those of doxorubicin, the lead sigma-2 receptor ligand, as well as non-covalent combination of both drugs. The activity was also found to be caspase-dependent. Conclusion: The conjugation of target bicycloheptylamines with cytotoxic moieties may yield potent and selective molecules for detection and/or treatment of certain cancers.

Background: The inhibition of transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1) has emerged as a novel approach for the treatment of various pain states. Pyrrolidinyl urea, SB 705498 with pKb = 7.3 in guinea pig TRPV1 receptor has been investigated in Phase II clinical trials for pain and chronic cough. Another heteroaryl urea derivative, A-425619 1, has been reported to be a potent and selective TRPV1 antagonist of capsaicin-evoked receptor activation with an IC50 value of 4 nM in hTRPV1. Objective: A series of thirteen A-425619 1 analogues with modifications centered around the Cregion were synthesized to understand the binding site characteristics of TRPV1 receptors. Methods: We synthesized a series of isoquinoline ureas and evaluated their antagonist potency using smooth muscle assay using guinea pig trachea along with the evaluation of the molecular properties and molecular modeling using CoMFA studies. Results: p-Chloro 4, p-bromo 5, m-isothiocyanate 15, and p-isothiocyanate 16 derivatives were found to be the most potent members of the series with pKb values in the range of 7.3-7.4 in the functional assay using guinea pig trachea. The lead compound A-425619 1 exhibited a pKb value of 8.1 in this assay. Conclusion: The para-substituted analogues were found to be more potent than the ortho- and meta- analogues in the biological assay. This observation was further supported by molecular modeling studies using CoMFA.

Background: Novel 4-[3-(6/7/8-Substituted 4-Oxo-4H-chromen-3-yl)acryloyl]phenylboronic acid derivatives (5a-h) as well as other 6/7/8-substituted-3-(3-oxo-3-(4-substitutedphenyl) prop-1-enyl)-4H-chromen-4-one derivatives (3a-u) have been designed as p53-MDM2 pathway inhibitors and reported to possess significant cytotoxic properties against several cancer cell lines. Objectives: The current project aims to frame the structure-anticancer activity relationship of chromen-4-on-3-yl chalcones (3a-u/5a-h). In addition, docking studies were performed on these chromeno-chalcones in order to have an insight into their interaction possibilities with MDM2 protein. Methods: Twenty-nine chromen-4-on-3-yl chalcone derivatives (3a-u/5a-h) were prepared by utilizing silica supported-HClO4 (green route with magnificent yield) and tested against four cancer cell lines (HCT116, MCF-7, THP-1, NCIH322). Results: Among the series 3a-u, compound 3b exhibited the highest anticancer activity (with IC50 values ranging from 8.6 to 28.4 μM) overall against tested cancer cell lines. Interestingly, para- Boronic acid derivative (5b) showed selective inhibition against colon cancer cell line, HCT-116 with an IC50 value of 2.35 μM. Besides the emblematic hydrophobic interactions of MDM2 inhibitors, derivative 5b was found to exhibit extra hydrogen bonding with GLN59 and GLN72 residues of MDM2 in molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. All the compounds were virtually nontoxic against normal fibroblast cells. Conclusion: Novel compounds were obtained with good anticancer activity especially 6- Chlorochromen-4-one substituted boronic acid derivative 5b. The molecular docking study proposed good activity as a MDM-2 inhibitor suggesting hydrophobic as well as hydrogen bonding interactions with MDM2.

Background: Urease enzyme catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea into ammonia and CO2, excess ammonia causes global warming and crop reduction. Ureases are also responsible for certain human diseases such as stomach cancer, peptic ulceration, pyelonephritis, and kidney stones. New urease inhibitors are developed to get rid of such problems. Objective: This article describes the synthesis of a series of novel 1-aroyl-3-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-4- yl)thiourea derivatives (5a-j) as Jack bean urease inhibitors. Methods: Freshly prepared aryl isothiocyanates were reacted with 4-aminocoumarin in the same pot in an anhydrous medium of acetone. The structures of the title thioureas (5a-j) were ascertained by their spectroscopic data. The inhibitory effects against jack bean urease were determined. Results: It was found that compounds 5i and 5j showed excellent activity with IC50 values 0.0065 and 0.0293, μM respectively. Compound 5i bearing 4-methyl substituted phenyl ring plays a vital role in enzyme inhibitory activity. The kinetic mechanism analyzed by Lineweavere-Burk plots revealed that compound 5i inhibits the enzyme non-competitively. The Michaelis-Menten constant Km and inhibition constants Ki calculated from Lineweavere-Burk plots for compound 5i are 4.155mM and 0.00032μM, respectively. The antioxidant activity results displayed that compound 5j showed excellent radical scavenging activity. The cytotoxic effects determined against brine shrimp assay showed that all of the synthesized compounds are non-toxic to shrimp larvae. Molecular docking studies were performed against target protein (PDBID 4H9M) and it was determined that most of the synthesized compounds exhibited good binding affinity with the target protein. Molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) results revealed that compound 5i forms a stable complex with target protein showing little fluctuation. Conclusions: Based upon our investigations, it is proposed that 5i derivative may serve as a lead structure for devising more potent urease inhibitors.

Background: Peptic ulcer and urolithiasis are largely due to infection caused by ureaseproducing bacteria. Therefore, the discovery of urease inhibitors is an important area of medicinal chemistry research. Objective: The main aim of the work was to identify novel urease inhibitors with no cytotoxicity. Methods: During the current study, a series of β-ketosulfones 1-26 was synthesized in two steps and evaluated for their in vitro urease inhibition potential. Results: Out of twenty-six compounds, seventeen have shown good to significant urease inhibitory activity with IC50 values ranging between 49.93-351.46 μM, in comparison to standard thiourea (IC50 = 21 ± 0.11 μM). Moreover, all compounds found to be non-cytotoxic against normal 3T3 cell line. Conclusion: This study has identified β-ketosulfones as novel and non-cytotoxic urease inhibitors.

Background: The well-known antibacterial agent Triclosan (TCL) that targets bacterial enoylacyl protein reductase has been described to inhibit human fatty acid synthase (FASN) via the enoylacyl reductase domain. A Literature survey indicates that TCL is selectively toxic to cancer cells and furthermore might indeed reduce cancer incidence in vivo. A recent study found that TCL inhibits FASN by acting as an allosteric protein-protein interface (PPI) inhibitor. It induces dimer orientation changes that effect in a downstream reorientation of catalytic residues in the NADPH binding site proposing TCL as a viable scaffold to design a superior molecule that might have more inhibitory potential. This unveils tons of potential interaction space to take advantage of future inhibitor design. Objectives: Synthesis of TCL mimicking novel diphenyl ether derivatives, biological evaluation as potential antiproliferative agents and molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies. Methods: A series of novel N-(1-(3-hydroxy-4-phenoxyphenyl)-3-oxo-3-phenylpropyl)acetamides (3a-n) and N-(3(3-hydroxy-4phenoxyphenyl)-3-oxo-1-phenylpropyl) acetamides (6a-n) were designed, synthesized, characterized and evaluated against HepG2, A-549, MCF-7 and Vero cell lines. The induction of antiproliferative activity of selected compounds (3d and 6c) was done by AO/EB (acridine orange/ethidium bromide) nuclear staining method, DNA fragmentation study, and cell cycle analysis was performed by flow cytometry. Molecular docking and dynamics simulation study was also performed. Results: Among the tested compounds, compound 3d was most active (IC50 13.76 ± 0.43 μM) against A-549 cell line. Compounds 3d and 3g were found to be moderately active with IC50 30.56 ± 1.1 μM and 25.05 ± 0.8 μM respectively against MCF-7 cell line. Morphological analysis of A-549 cells treated with 3d and 6c clearly demonstrated the reduction of cell viability and induction of apoptosis. DNA fragmentation was observed as a characteristic of apoptosis in treated cells. Further, cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry confirmed that compounds 3d and 6c significantly arrested the cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase. Molecular docking study demonstrated that these compounds exhibit high affinity for the human fatty acid synthase (hFASN) target. Molecular dynamics simulation study of the most active compound 3d was performed for calculating binding free energies using Molecular Mechanics–Generalized Born Surface Area (MM/GBSA). Conclusion: Compound 3d (IC50 13.76 ± 0.43 μM) has been identified as a potential lead molecule for anticancer activity against A-549 cells followed by 3l, 6c, and 3g. Thus, the design of diphenyl ether derivatives with enhanced affinity to the binding site of hER may lead to the discovery of potential anticancer agents.