Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of new classes of thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidinone and thieno[1,2,3]triazine as inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2)

Synthesis, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and cytotoxicity of new pyrimidine and pyrimidopyrimidine derivatives

A series of novel pyrimidine and pyrimidopyrimidine analogs were synthesized in good yield from 6-amino-4-aryl-2-oxo-pyrimidine-5-carbonitrile (1a-d). The synthesized compounds were characterized using various spectral studies, including FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Newly synthesized pyrimidopyrimidines and 2-(substituted-pyrazolyl)pyrimidine derivatives were assessed in vitro for their cytotoxic activities against three cancerous cell lines: colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116), mammary gland breast cancer (MCF-7), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HEPG-2), as well as normal fibroblasts (W138). The results indicated that compounds 3b, 10b, and 10c exhibited the highest cytotoxic activities, with IC50 values very close to those of the reference drug (doxorubicin) across all studied cancerous cell lines, while also demonstrating good safety effects on the normal human lung fibroblast cell line. Furthermore, all the synthesized compounds were examined for their antimicrobial activity against two Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis), one Gram negative bacterium (Escherichia coli) and two fungal species (Candida albicans and Aspergillus flavus). The antimicrobial results of the synthesized compounds, when compared with the reference drugs ampicillin and clotrimazole, revealed that compounds 3a, 3b, 3d, 4a-d, 9c and 10b exhibited excellent antimicrobial activities. Moreover, membrane stabilization or anti-hemolytic activity was employed as a method to study the in vitro anti-inflammatory activity of the prepared heterocyclic compounds. Antioxidant activities were also assessed by measuring the percentage of free radical scavenging. Compounds 4b, 10c and 11a-c demonstrated strong anti-hemolytic and antioxidant effects, which can be attributed to their ability to protect red blood cells from hemolysis.

Medicinal attributes of thienopyrimidine scaffolds incorporating the aryl urea motif as potential anticancer candidates via VEGFR inhibition

Worldwide, cancer is a major public health concern. It is a well-acknowledged life-threatening disease. Despite numerous advances in the understanding of the genetic basis of cancer growth and progression, therapeutic challenges remain high. Human tumors exhibited mutation or overexpression of several tyrosine kinases (TK). The vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) is a TK family member and is well known for tumor growth and progression. Therefore, VEGF/VEGFR pathway inhibition is an appealing approach for cancer drug discovery. This review will discuss the structure-based optimization of thienopyrimidines incorporating the aryl urea moiety to develop scaffolds of potent anticancer activity via VEGFR inhibition published between 2013 and 2023. Increasing knowledge of probable scaffolds that can act as VEGFR inhibitors might spur the hunt for novel anticancer medications that are safer, more effective, or both.

Design, Synthesis, Docking Studies and Molecular Dynamics Simulation of New 1,3,5-Triazine Derivatives as Anticancer Agents Selectively Targeting Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma (Capan-1)

On the basis of remarkable anticancer profile of s-triazine nucleus, a new series of 2-methoxy-4-(3-morpholino-5-(arylamino)phenoxy)benzaldehyde derivatives 11 a-u was prepared and evaluated for in vitro antiproliferative activity against eight diverse human cancer cell lines (Capan-1, HCT-116, LN229, NCI-H460, DND-41, HL-60, K562 and Z138). Compounds 11 o, 11 r and 11 s were the most potent anticancer agents on pancreatic adenocarcinoma (Capan-1) cell line with IC50 value of 1.4, 5.1 and 5.3 μM, respectively, while compounds 11 f, 11 g, 11 k, 11 l and 11 n displayed selective activity against the pancreatic adenocarcinoma (Capan-1) cell line with IC50 values of 7.3-11.5 μM. These results indicate that derivative 11 o may serve as a promising lead compound for the ongoing development of novel antiproliferative agents. The docking studies were conducted to predict the interactions of derivative 11 o with putative protein targets in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (Capan-1) cell line, specifically the prenyl-binding protein PDEδ. Furthermore, the analysis of the molecular dynamics simulation results demonstrated that complex 11 o promoted a higher stability to the prenyl-binding protein PDEδ.

Xenobiotic metabolites modify immune responses of the cervicovaginal epithelium: potential mechanisms underlying barrier disruption

OBJECTIVE

Xenobiotic metabolites are exogenous biochemicals that can adversely impact reproductive health. We previously identified xenobiotics in cervicovaginal fluid during pregnancy in association with short cervix. In other organ systems, xenobiotics can modify epithelial barrier function. We hypothesise that xenobiotics dysregulate epithelial cell and macrophage immune responses as a mechanism to disrupt the cervicovaginal barrier.

DESIGN

In vitro cell culture system.

SETTING

Laboratory within academic institution.

SAMPLE

Vaginal, ectocervical and endocervical epithelial cell lines and primary macrophages.

METHODS

Cells were treated with diethanolamine (2.5 mM), ethyl glucoside (5 mM) or tartrate (2.5 mM) for 24 h.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases were measured in cell supernatants (n = 3 per condition). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Dunnett's test for multiple comparisons was performed.

RESULTS

Diethanolamine induces inflammatory cytokines, whereas ethyl glucoside and tartrate generally exert anti-inflammatory effects across all cells. Diethanolamine increases interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8, interferon γ-induced protein 10 kDa (IP-10), growth-regulated oncogene (GRO), fractalkine, matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1), MMP-9 and MMP-10 (p < 0.05 for all), factors involved in acute inflammation and recruitment of monocytes, neutrophils and lymphocytes. Ethyl glucoside and tartrate decrease multiple cytokines, including RANTES and MCP-1 (p < 0.05 for all), which serve as chemotactic factors. Vaginal cells exhibit heightened inflammatory tone compared with cervical cells and macrophages, with a greater number of differentially expressed analytes after xenobiotic exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

Xenobiotic metabolites present in the cervicovaginal space during pregnancy modify immune responses, unveiling potential pathways through which environmental exposures may contribute to the pathogenesis of cervical remodelling preceding preterm birth. Future work identifying xenobiotic sources and routes of exposure offers the potential to modify environmental risks to improve pregnancy outcomes.

Design, synthesis, and antitumor screening of new thiazole, thiazolopyrimidine, and thiazolotriazine derivatives as potent inhibitors of VEGFR-2

New thiazole, thiazolopyrimidine, and thiazolotriazine derivatives 3-12 and 14a-f were synthesized. The newly synthesized analogs were tested for in vitro antitumor activity against HepG2, HCT-116, MCF-7, HeP-2, and Hela cancer cells. Results indicated that compound 5 displayed the highest potency toward the tested cancer cells. Compound 11b possessed enhanced effectiveness over MCF-7, HepG2, HCT-116, and Hela cancer cells. In addition, compounds 4 and 6 showed promising activity toward HCT-116, MCF-7, and Hela cancer cells and eminent activity against HepG2 and HeP-2 cells. Moreover, compounds 3-6 and 11b were tested for their capability to inhibit vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) activity. The obtained results showed that compound 5 displayed significant inhibitory activity against VEGFR-2 (half-maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50 ] = 0.044 μM) comparable to sunitinib (IC50  = 0.100 μM). Also, the synthesized compounds 3-6 and 11b were subjected to in vitro cytotoxicity tests over WI38 and WISH normal cells. It was found that the five tested compounds displayed significantly lower cytotoxicity than doxorubicin toward normal cell lines. Cell cycle analysis proved that compound 5 induces cell cycle arrest in the S phase for HCT-116 and Hela cancer cell lines and in the G2/M phase for the MCF-7 cancer cell line. Moreover, compound 5 induced cancer cell death through apoptosis accompanied by a high ratio of BAX/BCL-2 in the screened cancer cells. Furthermore, docking results revealed that compound 5 showed the essential interaction bonds with VEGFR-2, which agreed with in vitro enzyme assay results. In silico studies showed that most of the analyzed compounds complied with the requirements of good oral bioavailability with minimal toxicity threats in humans.

Acetic Acid Mediated for One-Pot Synthesis of Novel Pyrazolyl s-Triazine Derivatives for the Targeted Therapy of Triple-Negative Breast Tumor Cells (MDA-MB-231) via EGFR/PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Cascades

Here, we described the synthesis of novel pyrazole-s-triazine derivatives via an easy one-pot procedure for the reaction of β-dicarbonyl compounds (ethylacetoacetate, 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexadione or 1,3-cyclohexadionone) with N,N-dimethylformamide dimethylacetal, followed by addition of 2-hydrazinyl-4,6-disubstituted-s-triazine either in ethanol-acetic acid or neat acetic acid to afford a novel pyrazole and pyrazole-fused cycloalkanone systems. The synthetic protocol proved to be efficient, with a shorter reaction time and high chemical yield with broad substrates. The new pyrazolyl-s-triazine derivatives were tested against the following cell lines: MCF-7 (breast cancer); MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative breast cancer); U-87 MG (glioblastoma); A549 (non-small cell lung cancer); PANC-1 (pancreatic cancer); and human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). The cell viability assay revealed that most of the s-triazine compounds induced cytotoxicity in all the cell lines tested. However, compounds 7d, 7f and 7c, which all have a piperidine or morpholine moiety with one aniline ring or two aniline rings in their structures, were the most effective. Compounds 7f and 7d showed potent EGFR inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 59.24 and 70.3 nM, respectively, compared to Tamoxifen (IC50 value of 69.1 nM). Compound 7c exhibited moderate activity, with IC50 values of 81.6 nM. Interestingly, hybrids 7d and 7f exerted remarkable PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitory activity with 0.66/0.82/0.80 and 0.35/0.56/0.66-fold, respectively, by inhibiting their concentrations to 4.39, 37.3, and 69.3 ng/mL in the 7d-treatment, and to 2.39, 25.34 and 57.6 ng/mL in the 7f-treatment compared to the untreated control.

Recent Developments in the Synthesis of Bicyclic Condensed Pyrimidinones

Abstract:

Functionalized bicyclic pyrimidinones and their derivatives are significant heterocyclic scaffolds being their all-around prevalence in biologically potent compounds. In several attempts to explore the different synthetic methodologies for the construction of bicyclic condensed pyrimidinones, different researchers from all across the globe have reported numerous substantial methods. In the present review, considerable work has been critically compiled on the synthesis of substituted and functionalized bicyclic pyrimidinones from 2000 onwards.

New thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine-based derivatives: Design, synthesis and biological evaluation as antiproliferative agents, EGFR and ARO inhibitors inducing apoptosis in breast cancer cells

An array of newly synthesized thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine-based derivatives and thienotriazolopyrimidines hybridized with some pharmacophoric anticancer fragments were designed, synthesized and assessed for their in vitro antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines using erlotinib and pictilisib as reference standards in the MTT assay. In general, many compounds were endowed with considerable antiproliferative activity (IC₅₀ = 0.43-1.31 µM). Some of the tested compounds, namely 3c, 5b, 5c, 9d, 10, 11b and 13 displayed remarkable antiproliferative activity against both cell lines. Meanwhile, compounds 2c-e, 3b, 4a, 5a, 9c and 15b showed noticeable selectivity against MCF-7 cells while compounds 2b, 3a, 4b, 6a-c, 7, 8, 9b and 12 exhibited considerable selectivity against MDA-MB-231 cells. Further mechanistic evidences for their anticancer activities were provided by screening the most potent compounds against MCF-7 and/or MDA-MB-231 cells for EGFR and ARO inhibitory activities using erlotinib and letrozole as reference standards respectively. Results proved that, in general, tested compounds were better EGFRIs than ARIs. In addition, significant overexpression in caspase-9 level in treated MCF-7 breast cell line samples was observed for all tested compounds with the 4-fluorophenylhydrazone derivative 2d exhibiting the highest activation. In treated MDA-MB-231 breast cell line samples, 11b was found to highly induce caspase-9 level thereby inducing apoptosis. Cell cycle analysis and Annexin V-FITC/PI assay were also assessed for active compounds where results indicated that all tested compounds induced preG1 apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase. Compound 9d, as an inhibitor of ARO, was observed to downregulate the downstream signaling proteins HSP27 and p-ERK in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, compound 11b downregulated EGFR expression as well as the downstream signaling protein p-AKT. Docking experiments on EGFR and ARO enzymes supported their in vitro results. Thus, the thienotriazolopyrimidines 11b and 12 showing good EGFR inhibition and the thieno[3,2-d]-pyrimidine derivatives 3b and 9d, eliciting the best ARO inhibition activity, can be considered as new candidates as anti-breast cancer agents that necessitate further development.

Design, synthesis, and in vitro and in vivo anti-angiogenesis study of a novel vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) inhibitor based on 1,2,3-triazole scaffold

In the past five years, our team had been committed to click chemistry research, exploring the biological activity of 1,2,3-triazole by synthesizing different target inhibitors. In this study, a series of novel indole-2-one derivatives based on 1,2,3-triazole scaffolds were synthesized for the first time, and their inhibitory activity on vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) was tested. Most of the compounds had shown promising activity in the VEGFR-2 kinase assay and had low toxicity to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The compound 13d (IC₅₀ = 26.38 nM) had better kinase activity inhibition ability than sunitinib (IC₅₀ = 83.20 nM) and was less toxic to HUVECs. Moreover, it had an excellent inhibitory effect on HT-29 and MKN-45 cells. On the one hand, by tube formation assay, transwell, and Western blot analysis, compound 13d could inhibit VEGFR-2 protein phosphorylate on HUVECs, thereby inhibiting HUVECs migration and tube formation. In vivo study, the zebrafish model with VEGFR-2 labeling also verified that compound 13d had more anti-angiogenesis ability than sunitinib. On the other hand, molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation results showed that compound 13d could stably bind to the active site of VEGFR-2. Based on the above findings, compound 13d could be considered an effective anti-angiogenesis drug and has more development value than sunitinib.

Design, synthesis, and cytotoxicity screening of new synthesized imidazolidine-2-thiones as VEGFR-2 enzyme inhibitors

A series of imidazolin-2-thione derivatives was synthesized and structurally confirmed through the use of different spectroscopic techniques such as infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectrometry along with elemental analyses. The breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was utilized in the evaluation of the cytotoxic activity of the prepared molecules. The tested molecules 3 and 7 exhibited the best results on MCF-7 cells, with mean IC₅₀ values of 3.26 and 4.31 µM, respectively. The results of the VEGFR-2 assay indicated that compounds 3 and 7 displayed a good inhibition of the VEGFR-2 kinase enzyme. Additionally, DNA flow cytometry of compounds 3 and 7 showed cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, cell apoptosis, and marked DNA fragmentation in MCF-7 cells. Finally, compounds 3 and 7 were proved to upregulate the activation of effector caspase-3/7, as presented by the caspase-3/7 green flow cytometry assay.

Barbiturate- and Thiobarbituarte-Based s-Triazine Hydrazone Derivatives with Promising Antiproliferative Activities

A new class of compounds, which include s-triazine with pyrimidinetrione or thiopyrimidinedione moiety through a hydrazone linkage, were synthesized and characterized. The newly synthesized s-triazine hydrazone derivatives were evaluated in vitro against four cancer cell lines: A549, HepG2, HCT-116, and MCF-7. Several derivatives showed growth inhibition activity in the low microgram range. The results reveal that the barbiturate derivatives showed poor to no activity, while thiobarbiturate derivatives showed better activity than the analogues barbiturate derivatives. The substituents on the s-triazine moiety have a great effect on the antiproliferative activity, where derivatives with the piperidino and diethylamino on the s-triazine ring (5h) showed the highest activity against all of the tested cell lines (IC₅₀ 1.6 ± 0.6, 3.8 ± 0.3, 1.9 ± 0.4, and 1.2± 0.5 μg/mL for the tested cell lines A549, HepG2, HCT-116, and MCF-7, respectively). These results indicate that thiobarbiturates-s-triazine hydrazone derivatives may provide an excellent scaffold for the development of an anticancer drug candidate.

Synthesis and Characterization of New Series of 1,3-5-Triazine Hydrazone Derivatives with Promising Antiproliferative Activity

A new series of s-triazine hydrazone derivatives was prepared based on the reaction of 6-hydrazino-2,4-disubstituted-s-triazine with p-substituted benzaldehyde derivatives using a straightforward synthetic pathway. The antiproliferative activity of all synthesized compounds was evaluated against two human cancer cell lines; breast cancer MCF-7 and colon carcinoma HCT-116 using MTT assay. Among all, 11 compounds have shown strong to moderate antiproliferative activity with IC₅₀ values in the range 1.01–18.20 µM in MCF-7 and 0.97–19.51 µM in HCT-116. The best results were obtained with 4,4’-(6-(2-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene)hydrazinyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diyl) dimorpholine 11 (IC₅₀ = 1.0 µM and 0.98 µM in MCF-7 and HCT-116 cell lines, respectively). The substituents on the s-triazine core as well as the substituent at the benzylidene moiety have a great effect on the antiproliferative activity. Whereas compounds containing dimorpholino-s-triazine derivatives 8a–e showed more potent antiproliferative in MCF-7 compared to their analogs 7a–f (compounds containing two-piperidine rings), compounds containing one piperidine and one morpholine ring 9a–f showed better IC₅₀ values in the range 10.4–22.2 µM. On the other hand, compounds containing two-piperidine rings 7a–f showed more potent antiproliferative in HCT-116 (IC₅₀ values in the range 8.8–19.5 µM) than their analogs 8a–e and 9a–f.

Discovery of New Apoptosis-Inducing Agents for Breast Cancer Based on Ethyl 2-Amino-4,5,6,7-Tetra Hydrobenzo[b]Thiophene-3-Carboxylate: Synthesis, In Vitro, and In Vivo Activity Evaluation

A multicomponent synthesis was empolyed for the synthesis of ethyl 2-amino-4,5,6,7-tetrahydrobenzo[b]thiophene-3-carboxylate 1. An interesting cyclization was obtained when the amino-ester 1 reacted with ethyl isothiocyanate to give the benzo[4,5]thieno[2,3-d][1,3]thiazin-4-one 3. Acylation of the amino-ester 1 with chloroacetyl chloride in DCM and Et₃N afforded the acylated ester 4. The amino-ester 1 was cyclized to benzo[4,5]thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one 8, which was reacted with some alkylating agents leading to alkylation at nitrogen 9–13. Hydrazide 14 was utilized as a synthon for the synthesis of the derivatives 15–19. Chloro-thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine 20 was synthesized and reacted with the hydrazine hydrate to afford the hydrazino derivative 21, which was used as a scaffold for getting the derivatives 22–28. Nucleophilic substitution reactions were used for getting the compounds 29–35 from chloro-thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine 20. In the way of anticancer therapeutics development, the requisite compounds were assessed for their cytotoxicity in vitro against MCF-7 and HepG-2 cancer cell lines. Twelve compounds showed an interesting antiproliferative potential with IC₅₀ from 23.2 to 95.9 µM. The flow cytometric analysis results showed that hit 4 induces the apoptosis in MCF-7 cells with a significant 26.86% reduction in cell viability. The in vivo study revealed a significant decrease in the solid tumor mass (26.6%) upon treatment with compound 4. Moreover, in silico study as an agonist for inhibitors of JAK2 and prediction study determined their binding energies and predicted their physicochemical properties and drug-likeness scores.

Structure-activity relationships (SAR) of triazine derivatives: Promising antimicrobial agents

The emergence of drug resistance has created unmet medical need for the development of new classes of antibiotics. Innovation of new antibacterial agents with new mode of action remains a high priority universally. Triazines are six-membered, nitrogen-containing heterocyclic scaffold with a wide range of pharmaceutical properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, antioxidants, antitubercular, antimalarial, anti-HIV, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer, and analgesic activities. The present review focuses on the recent developments in the area of medicinal chemistry to discover various chemical structures as potential antimicrobial agents and their structure-activity relationships (SAR) studies are also discussed for further rational design of this kind of derivatives.

Quinazoline based 1,3,5-triazine derivatives as cancer inhibitors by impeding the phosphorylated RET tyrosine kinase pathway: Design, synthesis, docking, and QSAR study

The present research focused on designing a quinazoline skeleton, framed via 1,3,5-triazine derivatives (QBT) through field mapping and alignment studies. The QBT derivatives were synthesized via time- and cost-effective protocol. The 3D-QSAR study, computational physicochemical properties, and ADME calculation of the derivatives were performed to establish the affinity towards the biological system. Molecular docking in the adenosine triphosphate binding site of the RET tyrosine kinase domain (PDB ID: 7IVU) was studied to elucidate vital structural residues necessary for bioactivity. The derivatives were evaluated for anticancer potency against TPC-1 cells (thyroid cancer), MCF-7 cells (breast cancer), and one normal cell line (human foreskin fibroblasts) via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-y1)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay followed by an in ovo CAM assay. The entire series of derivatives (8a-o) showed mild to significant anticancer potency against the selected cancer cell lines.

Dual Kit/Aur Inhibitors as Chemosensitizing Agents for the Treatment of Melanoma: Design, Synthesis, Docking Studies and Functional Investigation

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer but its medication is still far from being safe and thoroughly effective. The search of novel therapeutic approaches represents therefore a health emergency to push through eagerly. In this study, we describe a novel class of dual c-Kit/Aur inhibitors, characterized by a 1,2,4-triazole core and developed by a structure-based optimization of a previously developed hit, and report the evidence of their significance as drug candidates for the treatment of melanoma. Compound 6a, merging the best inhibitory profile against the target kinases, showed anti-proliferative efficacy against the human melanoma cell lines A2058, expressing the BRAF V600D mutation, and WM266-4, expressing BRAF V600E. Significantly, it displayed also a highly synergistic profile when tested in combination with vemurafenib, thus proving its efficacy not only per se but even in a combination therapy, which is nowadays acknowledged as the cornerstone approach of the forthcoming tumour management.

An efficient synthesis of 3-alkyl-2-diversity-substituted benzofuro[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one derivatives

Benzofuro[3,2- d]pyrimidine derivatives are prepared using aza-Wittig reactions of iminophosphoranes with n-butyl isocyanate at 40–50 °C to give carbodiimide intermediates, which are reacted with nitrogen-oxygen-containing nucleophiles to give 3-alkyl-2-amino (aryloxy/alkoxy)-benzofuro[3,2- d]pyrimidin-4(3 H)-ones in satisfactory yields in the presence of a catalytic amount of sodium ethoxide or K2CO3. The iminophosphorane also reacts directly with excess carbon disulfide, followed by n-propylamine; further reaction with alkyl halides or halogenated aliphatic esters in the presence of anhydrous K2CO3 produces the corresponding 2-alkylthio-3-n-propyl-benzofuro[3,2- d]pyrimidin-4(3 H)-ones in good yields. Their structures of the products are confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, mass spectrometry, infrared and elemental analysis.

Synthesis of thiophene and N-substituted thieno[3,2-d] pyrimidine derivatives as potent antitumor and antibacterial agents

A novel series of carbamothioylamino-benzene-sulfonamide-thiophene-carboxylates 4a-c and thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-2-yl-amino-benzene-sulfonamides 5a-c were synthesized in a series of synthetic steps and were used as key intermediates for the synthesis of thienotriazolopyrimidine-benzene-sulfonamide derivatives 6a-c and 7a-c. Thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidinones (8 and 9) were also prepared. Compound 9 was used as an intermediate for the synthesis of imidazole/1,2,4-triazole and tetrazine functionalized thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives (10-12). Pyrrole derivatives/pyrrolopyrimidine/pyrrolotriazolopyrimidine functionalized thiophenes (15-19) were also synthesized. Structures of the newly synthesized compounds were established by elemental analysis and spectral data. Most of the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated for their in vitro activity against three human tumor cell lines, namely, liver cancer (HepG-2), colon cancer (HT-29) and lung cancer (NCI-H460), using doxorubicin as standard. Compounds 16 (GI50 = 0.02, 0.04 and 0.06 μmol L-1, resp.) and 19b (GI50 = 0.02, 0.03 and 0.05 μmol L-1, resp.) showed higher activity against all cell lines than doxorubicin. Most of the compounds were also screened for antibacterial activity using ciprofloxacin as standard drug. Compounds 4b and 6b, both containing benzenesulfonamide linked to N-, 10 bearing imidazole moiety, and 15 and 19b,c with a thiophene-2-carboxylic acid chain, exhibited high activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Synthesis and antitumor activities of 1,2,3-triazines and their benzo- and heterofused derivatives

1,2,3-Triazines are a class of biologically active compounds that exhibit a broad spectrum of activities, including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiproliferative, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. This review, which covers the literature from the end of last century to 2016, treats, through a comprehensive, systematic approach, the 1,2,3-triazine and related benzo- and hetero-fused derivatives possessing antitumor activity. Their efficacy, combined with a simple synthesis confers to these molecules a great potential as scaffold for the development of antitumor compounds.

Discovery of new BTK inhibitors with B cell suppression activity bearing a 4,6-substituted thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine scaffold

Seventeen compounds with 4,6-substituted thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine scaffold were prepared as new Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Compound 8 exhibits anti-BTK activity, immunosuppressive activity, enzymatic selectivity and low toxicity.

[Synthesis and Neurotropic Activity of 2,4-pyrano[4',3':4,5]pyrido[2,3-b]thieno[3,2-d] Pyrimidines]

2,4-Disubstituted derivatives of pyrano[4',3':4,5]pyrido[2,3-b]thieno[3,2-d] pyrimidines were synthesized and their pharmacological studies was carried out at animals by the tests of antagonism with subcutaneous administration of corazol and behavior of "open field" model. The method of "rotating rod" was used to evaluate of neurotoxicity. The neurotropic properties were found in the new synthesized compounds. The new synthesized compounds as well as diazepam prevented the occurrence of clonic twitchings and clonic corazol seizures in animals. However, the studied compounds in contrast of tranquilizer diazepam having the anxiolytic and activating effects in the test of "open field", induced a oppressive behavior sedative effects.

Mechanism of PEDF promoting the proliferation of lens epithelial cells in human eyes

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the regulation effect of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) on the growth of human lens endothelial cells (LECs) and related mechanisms in vivo and in vitro.

METHODS

In the part of in vivo study, 82 eyes of 82 patients with age-related cataract were included to collect the central lens anterior capsule (diameter at 5.0-5.5 mm) with the informed consent of surgery for patients. The selected specimens were divided into the LECs low density group and high density group with 20 specimens for each group based on hematoxylin and eosin staining results. The relative expression level of PEDF mRNA in LECs was detected by reverse transcription PCR. In the part of in vitro study, LEC line (HLE-B3) was cultured and 50 ng/mL PEDF was added in media for 72 h in PEDF culture group, while normally cultured cells were used as the control group. The percentage of LECs at G0 and S phases and apoptotic rate of cells were assayed by using flow cytometry with annexin Ⅴ-FITC/7-AAD double staining method. Intracellular expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.

RESULTS

The central anterior subcapsular LECs density and relative expression level of PEDF mRNA were lower than those of high density group. There were no significant differences between two groups (P = 0.168). The apoptotic rate in the PEDF culture group was significantly reduced in comparison with the control group (P < 0.001). In addition, the expression level of VEGF mRNA was lower in the PEDF culture group compared with the control group (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In human eyes, PEDF may function as cytotropic factor to promote survival of LECs through anti-apoptosis and reducing-expression of VEGF. Decrease of PEDF content in LECs probably modulates the pathophysiological process of lens cells and further cataractogenesis.

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2) inhibitors: development and validation of predictive 3-D QSAR models through extensive ligand- and structure-based approaches

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2, (VEGFR-2), is a key element in angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels are formed, and is thus an important pharmaceutical target. Here, 3-D quantitative structure-activity relationship (3-D QSAR) were used to build a quantitative screening and pharmacophore model of the VEGFR-2 receptors for design of inhibitors with improved activities. Most of available experimental data information has been used as training set to derive optimized and fully cross-validated eight mono-probe and a multi-probe quantitative models. Notable is the use of 262 molecules, aligned following both structure-based and ligand-based protocols, as external test set confirming the 3-D QSAR models' predictive capability and their usefulness in design new VEGFR-2 inhibitors. From a survey on literature, this is the first generation of a wide-ranging computational medicinal chemistry application on VEGFR2 inhibitors.

CPU-12, a novel synthesized oxazolo[5,4-d]pyrimidine derivative, showed superior anti-angiogenic activity

Angiogenesis is a crucial requirement for malignant tumor growth, progression and metastasis. Tumor-derived factors stimulate formation of new blood vessels which actively support tumor growth and spread. Various of drugs have been applied to inhibit tumor angiogenesis. CPU-12, 4-chloro-N-(4-((2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methyloxazolo[5,4-d] pyrimidin-7-yl)amino)phenyl)benzamide, is a novel oxazolo[5,4-d]pyrimidine derivative that showed potent activity in inhibiting VEGF-induced angiogenesis in vitro and ex-vivo. In cell toxicity experiments, CPU-12 significantly inhibited the human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) proliferation in a dose-dependent manner with a low IC50 value at 9.30 ± 1.24 μM. In vitro, CPU-12 remarkably inhibited HUVEC's migration, chemotactic invasion and capillary-like tube formation in a dose-dependent manner. In ex-vivo, CPU-12 effectively inhibited new microvessels sprouting from the rat aortic ring. In addition, the downstream signalings of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), including the phosphorylation of PI3K, ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK, were effectively down-regulated by CPU-12. These evidences suggested that angiogenic response via the induction of VEGFR through distinct signal transduction pathways regulating proliferation, migration and tube formation of endothelial cells was significantly inhibited by the novel small molecule compound CPU-12 in vitro and ex-vivo. In conclusion, CPU-12 showed superior anti-angiogenic activity in vitro.

Discovery of novel tricyclic pyrido[3',2':4,5]thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4-amine derivatives as VEGFR-2 inhibitors

In an effort to develop ATP-competitive VEGFR-2 selective inhibitors, a novel series of tricyclic pyrido[3',2':4,5]thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4-amine derivatives were designed and synthesized. These compounds were characterized by IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, elemental and mass spectral analyses. Docking studies have given a partial insight into the molecular determinants of the activity of this novel series in VEGFR-2 kinase active site. Moreover, these compounds were assessed at 10μM for their selective inhibitory activities over a panel of 6 human kinases, namely VEGFR-1/Flt-1, VEGFR-2/KDR, EGFR, CDK5/p25, GSK3α and GSK3β. Compound N-(4,6-dimethylthieno[2,3-b]pyridine)-7,9-dimethylpyrido[3',2':4,5]thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidin-4-amine (9d) exhibited the most potent and selective inhibitory activity against VEGFR-2/KDR over the six human kinases, with an IC50 value 2.6μM. The identification of this hit candidate could aid the design of new tricyclic-based VEGFR-2 kinase modulators.

Synthesis of novel dihydropyridothienopyrimidin-4,9-dione derivatives

A novel molecular scaffold, dihydropyridothienopyrimidin-4,9-dione, was synthesized from benzylamine or p-methoxybenzylamine in six steps involving successive ring closure to form a fused ring system composed of dihydropyridone, thiophene and pyrimidone. The pharmacological versatility of the dihydropyridothenopyrimidin-4,9-dione scaffold was demonstrated by inhibitory activity against metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 1 (mGluR1), which shows that the title compounds can serve as an interesting scaffold for the discovery of potential bioactive molecules for the treatment of human diseases.