In-vitro antiproliferative activity of benzopyranone derivatives in comparison with standard chemotherapeutic drugs

1-Aryl-3-Ethyl-3-Methyl- and 1-Aryl-3-Methylsuccinimides as Drug Candidates for Cancer: Toxicity Prediction, Molecular Docking, and In Vitro Assessment

Twenty-four succinimide derivatives were tested for their antiproliferative effect toward steroid hormone-responsive carcinoma cell lines: estrogen positive human breast carcinoma (MCF-7), lung carcinoma (A549), colon carcinoma (HT-29), and cervix carcinoma (HeLa). In addition, their antiproliferative effect was analyzed against late-stage estrogen and progesterone negative breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-231) and for safety were also investigated against normal fetal lung (MRC-5) cell lines. Molecular docking studies were conducted to observe their binding affinity for steroid hormone receptors and BCRP/ABCG2 transporter. All analyzed succinimides exhibited antiproliferative effects on at least one carcinoma cell line and were safe toward normal fetal lung cells. Their safety was confirmed based on in silico predictions. The succinimides were binding through the same π-stock interactions for the same Phe-778 of the progesterone receptor as the proven ligand and the same Phe-439 of the BCRP as the proven substrate and inhibitor. In addition, interactions with crucial amino acid residues for ligand antagonistic effects on estrogen receptors were observed. The QSAR analysis revealed that the succinimides' binding affinity for sex hormone receptors was governed by their flatness, polarity, size, and polarizability, while the affinity to bind for BCRP was lipophilicity dependent. The succinimides antiproliferative effect on A549 cell line given as IC50 was statistically significant associated with their molar refractivity (p = 0.033), and lipophilicity (XlogP3, p = 0.043), respectively. Finally, the most promising drug candidate with the most pronounced anticancer activity was compound D11 against lung carcinoma (A549) cell lines with an IC50 comparable to doxorubicin.

Heteroaromatization of Coumarin Part I: Design, Synthesis, Reactions, Antitumor Activities of Novel Pyridine and Naphthyridine Derivatives

INTRODUCTION

A novel series of chromen-3-yl-pyridine moieties were synthesized. IR, NMR, and MS spectroscopy were used to confirm the structure of these novel compounds and study antitumor activity of these compounds. The structure-activity relationship investigation demonstrated that 2,4-diamino- 5-(3-methoxyphenyl)-7-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)-1,8-naphthyridine-3-carbonitrile (16), naphthyridine- 3-carbonitrile derivatives 17, 18 and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivative 12 were found to be more effective, while compounds 5a,b, 9c, 11, 13 and 14 showed moderate activity for antitumor activities.

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to design a series of new chromen-3-yl-pyridine and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives and study the antitumor of these compounds.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The condensation reaction of 3-acetyl-2H-chromen-2-one with 3-methoxy benzaldehyde and malononitrile or ethyl cyanoacetate in the presence of ammonium acetate and acetic acid under reflux to give the corresponding chromen-3-yl pyridine-3-carbonitrile derivatives.

RESULTS

In this study, the antitumor activity of the synthesized compounds chromen-3-yl-pyridine derivatives has been determined for the broad spectrum of cytotoxic activity toward the investigated three cell lines and 5-Fluorouracil, as reference drugs.

CONCLUSION

A series of new chromen-3-yl-pyridine and pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives were synthesized in this work. All compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic activity.

In silico screening and in vitro validation of phytocompounds as multidrug efflux pump inhibitor against E. coli

Multiple drug resistance (MDR) in bacteria has increased globally in recent times. This has reduced the efficacy of antibiotics and increasing the rate of therapeutic failure. Targeting efflux pump by natural and synthetic compounds is one of the strategies to develop an ideal broad-spectrum resistance-modifying agent. Very few inhibitors of AcrB from natural sources have been reported till date. In the current study, 19 phytocompounds were screened for efflux pump inhibitory activity against AcrB protein of E. coli TG1 using molecular docking studies. The molecular dynamics simulation provided stability the protein (AcrB) and its complex with chlorogenic acid under physiological conditions. Moreover, the detailed molecular insights of the binding were also explored. The Lipinski rule of 5 and the drug-likeness prediction was determined using Swiss ADME server, while toxicity prediction was done using admetSAR and PROTOX-II webservers. Chlorogenic acid showed the highest binding affinity (-9.1 kcal mol^-1) with AcrB protein among all screened phytocompounds. Consequently, all the phytocompounds that accede to Lipinski's rule, demonstrated a high LD50 value indicating that they are non-toxic except the phytocompound reserpine. Chlorogenic acid and capsaicin are filtered out based on the synergy with tetracycline having FIC index of 0.25 and 0.28. The percentage increase of EtBr fluorescence by chlorogenic acid was 36.6% followed by piperine (24.2%). Chlorogenic acid may be a promising efflux pump inhibitor that might be employed in combination therapy with tetracycline against E. coli, based on the above relationship between in silico screening and in vitro positive efflux inhibitory activity.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

3-Phenylcoumarins as a Privileged Scaffold in Medicinal Chemistry: The Landmarks of the Past Decade

3-Phenylcoumarins are a family of heterocyclic molecules that are widely used in both organic and medicinal chemistry. In this overview, research on this scaffold, since 2010, is included and discussed, focusing on aspects related to its natural origin, synthetic procedures and pharmacological applications. This review paper is based on the most relevant literature related to the role of 3-phenylcoumarins in the design of new drug candidates. The references presented in this review have been collected from multiple electronic databases, including SciFinder, Pubmed and Mendeley.

Utility of 3-Acetyl-6-bromo-2H-chromen-2-one for the Synthesis of New Heterocycles as Potential Antiproliferative Agents

Coumarin derivatives containing pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine, tetrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine, imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine, pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine, 1,3,4-thiadiazoles and thiazoles were synthesized from 6-bromo-3-(3-(dimethylamino)acryloyl)-2H-chromen-2-one, methyl 2-(1-(6-bromo-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)ethylidene)hydrazine carbodithioate, 2-(1-(6-bromo-2-oxo-2H-chromen-3-yl)ethylidene) hydrazine carbothioamide and each of heterocyclic amine, hydrazonoyl chlorides and hydroximoyl chlorides. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were elucidated on the basis of elemental analysis, spectral data, and alternative synthetic routes whenever possible. Moreover, selected newly synthesized products were evaluated for their antitumor activity against a liver carcinoma cancer cell line (HEPG2-1). The results revealed that pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine 7c, thiazole 23g and 1,3,4-thiadiazole 18a (IC50 = 2.70 ± 0.28, 3.50 ± 0.23 and 4.90 ± 0.69 µM, respectively) have promising antitumor activity against liver carcinoma (HEPG2-1) while most of the tested compounds showed moderate activity.

Uses of 3-(2-Bromoacetyl)-2H-chromen-2-one in the Synthesis of Heterocyclic Compounds Incorporating Coumarin: Synthesis, Characterization and Cytotoxicity

In this work, 3-bromoacetylcoumarin was used as the key starting material for the synthesis of pyran, pyridine, thiophene, thiazole and pyrazole derivatives through its reaction with different reagents. The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were confirmed on the basis of their spectral data and elemental analyses. All of the synthesized compounds were screened for their in vitro anticancer activity against six human cancer cell lines, namely: human gastric cancer (NUGC), human colon cancer (DLD1), human liver cancer (HA22T and HEPG2), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (HONE1), human breast cancer (MCF) and normal fibroblast cells (WI38). The IC₅₀ values (the sample concentration that produces 50% reduction in cell growth) in nanomolars (nM)) showed most of the compounds exhibited significant cytotoxic effect. Among these derivatives, compound 6d showed almost equipotent cytotoxic activity against NUGC (IC₅₀ = 29 nM) compared to the standard CHS 828 (IC₅₀ = 25 nM).

Phytochemicals increase the antibacterial activity of antibiotics by acting on a drug efflux pump

Drug efflux pumps confer resistance upon bacteria to a wide range of antibiotics from various classes. The expression of efflux pumps are also implicated in virulence and biofilm formation. Moreover, organisms can only acquire resistance in the presence of active drug efflux pumps. Therefore, efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs) are attractive compounds to reverse multidrug resistance and to prevent the development of resistance in clinically relevant bacterial pathogens. We investigated the potential of pure compounds isolated from plants to act as EPIs. In silico screening was used to predict the bioactivity of plant compounds and to compare that with the known EPI, phe-arg-β-naphthylamide (PAβN). Subsequently, promising products have been tested for their ability to inhibit efflux. Plumbagin nordihydroguaretic acid (NDGA) and to a lesser degree shikonin, acted as sensitizers of drug-resistant bacteria to currently used antibiotics and were able to inhibit the efflux pump-mediated removal of substrate from cells. We demonstrated the feasibility of in silico screening to identify compounds that potentiate the action of antibiotics against drug-resistant strains and which might be potentially useful lead compounds for an EPI discovery program.

Synthesis and biological activity of 3-N-substituted estrogen derivatives as breast cancer agents

3-N-substituted-estrogen derivatives were synthesized and characterized. Their antiproliferative activities against human ER (+) MCF-7 (Breast), ER (-) MDA-MB-231 (breast) and Ishikawa (endometrial) cancer cell lines were determined after 72 hours drug exposure employing CellTiter-Glo assay at concentrations ranging from (0.01-100,000 nM). The antiproliferative activities of these compounds were compared to tamoxifen (TAM), 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OHT, active metabolite of tamoxifen) and raloxifene (RAL). In vitro results indicated that compound 5 (IC50 = 12 µM) displayed comparable antiproliferative activity against MDA-MB 231 cell line; while compounds 6, 7 and 13 (IC50 = 12 µM) displayed higher activity against MCF-7 and Ishikawa cell lines, in comparison to TAM activity (19-33 µM).